According to Renold Chain’s John Probert, the most popular downloads from his company’s web site are a free chain-selector and a troubleshooter guide. “There’s more pressure now than ever to find ways to make chain last longer,” he says. “Engineers are looking for longer lasting chain and chain that might require less maintenance. Energy prices are hurting and one way to claw something back is to cut downtime, reduce the frequency of component replacements, and maintenance.”
Mr Probert believes that engineers are really starting to look at their chain drives to identify problems or to look for a longer lasting chain solution. That’s why Renold has brought together all of its high-tech chain products under the banner of ‘Solutions Products’ to make it easier for customers to find a chain that will not only solve problems, but also last longer.
“We’ve saved companies some really serious money in man hours, downtime and component replacement costs,” says Mr Probert. “In some cases we’ve supplied chain that has lasted over six times longer than what was being used before, so just imagine how that adds up in terms of recovered downtime.”
Solutions Products is spearheaded by Renold’s high performance Synergy chain. On some applications Synergy has slashed chain replacements from once a month to once a year, and one American customer recently described the chain’s performance as ‘astonishing.’
The complete range includes the non-lube Syno, which also includes a polymer bush version for arduous, heavy-duty and outdoor applications. There is a range of stainless steel chain for applications where corrosion might be a problem, and there is Klik-Top polymer block chain for conveying applications. Klik-Top has no sharp edges coming into contact with conveyed goods and the polymer blocks can be individually placed or removed without having to dismantle the whole chain.
Sovereign chain is particularly useful for applications involving exposure to significant amounts of dust and debris that would cause a standard specification chain to wear rapidly. Then there is the coated Hydro-Service chain, which will last up to 30 times in corrosive environments compared with standard carbon steel chain.
The chain selector software and troubleshooter guide can be downloaded freely from Renold’s site - and you don’t even have to register for it.