Regular maintenance and lubrication are essential to ensure low wear and extend the service life of a chain drive.
More than two thirds of all chain failures can be avoided with proper relubrication. Which was reason enough for Munich-based chain manufacturer iwis to extend its chain-related portfolio to include a new, service-oriented product: Thanks to the use of a special applicator, the new CLA lubrication system from iwis (CLA = Chain Lubrication Application) permanently delivers lubricant to the chain drive and other components – and in this way ensures a long chain service life economically, cleanly and with absolute precision.
When developing the new lubrication system for chain drives, iwis Engineering, the in-house R&D department, concentrated on maintenance – The objective was to extend the service life of the chain by ensuring that the chain is lubricated properly. And the result is a highly efficient minimum quantity lubrication system. The special applicator, which is made from a high-performance material, acts as a reservoir via which small quantities of lubricant are continuously delivered to the employed chain drive at the precise locations where it is actually needed. This prevents the operating roller chain from not being supplied with enough lubricant and also prevents unnecessarily large volumes of oil from being dispensed onto the chain and its environment. An environmentally friendly, "green" solution that also lowers costs and reduces the risk of contamination of plant equipment.
The CLA pumps can be operated separately with time control or can be simply integrated in the machine’s PLC. The compact size simplifies the task of retrofitting the device in existing plant and machinery. Thanks to a pump pressure of up to 70 bar, the distributors are able to supply as many as 16 lubrication points with sufficient oil without contaminating the environment and wasting valuable lubricant. The special applicators, which are made from PU foam, are extremely robust and are available in many variants, including custom designs.