24 hours a day in a curing oven without becoming magnetised

Citation

(2001), "24 hours a day in a curing oven without becoming magnetised", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 48 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2001.12848bab.002

24 hours a day in a curing oven without becoming magnetised

24 hours a day in a curing oven without becoming magnetised

Keywords: Tsubaki, Stainless steel, Ovens

Tsubaki's standard 300 Series stainless steel drive chain has reportedly enabled one of Europe's largest metal packaging manufacturers to overcome the problem of chains becoming magnetised while operating in a curing oven at ~350°C 24 hours a day. The chains (Plate 1) carry cans on a conveying line where previous chain products had become magnetised, causing cans to stick to the line.

Plate 1 Stainless steel chain from Tsubaki survives 24 hours a day in a curing oven without becoming magnetised

One-third of Europe's metal packaging, excluding beverage cans, is said to be manufactured by Impress Metal Packaging Ltd, an international company with three plants in the UK. Impress have employed Tsubaki stainless steel drive chains at their Grantham manufacturing facility, where previous brands did not perform satisfactorily. The chains form part of a magnetic conveying line that transports coated steel cylinders through curing ovens on five production lines, producing round cans for human and pet foods, including the innovative new ring-pull lid design.

The stainless steel chains from Tsubaki replaced products from a competitive manufacturer that had become magnetised and were not releasing cans completely after the curing process. Part of the production process for building round cans involves welding a seam down the side of the can body; this seam has to be sprayed with lacquer and cured in order to keep the food stuffs separate from the raw metal weld. Curing is achieved by heating the sprayed seam with gas burners in a continuous process oven. Each line processes 500 cans per minute, so the potential results of a pile-up on any line could be catastrophic.

Pure grades of stainless steel such as 316L have no magnetic properties at all, but chains made of this material are extremely expensive. Impress required approximately 500ft of chain for this application and so cost was a consideration. Tsubaki engineers are said to have solved the problem by recommending the use of Standard ANSI 304 Series Tsubaki Stainless Steel chain. The quality of materials used in this product are believed to ensure that the chain stood up to 24 hours a day operation at ~350°C while not becoming magnetised significantly enough to affect the removal of cans from the line.

Can production lines at Impress run continuously five days a week and so chain wear life is crucial; Tsubaki's standard stainless steel product is considered capable of returning an extremely long wear life in this arduous environment, working continuously at temperatures up to + 400°C.

Stainless steel chain is one of a range of corrosion resistant chains from Tsubaki designed for use in arduous environments. Other options include titanium chains for highly corrosive atmospheres such as chemical processing, engineered plastic for the food industry and lube-free variants for clean room applications.

Details available from: Tsubaki, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1623 688788; Fax: +44 (0)1623 688789; E-mail: sales@tsubaki.co.uk Web site: www.tsubaki.co.uk