A toast to the chain

A German wine producer was able to improve its productivity in transporting wine bottles through the production process by replacing the conventional conveyor chain with a corrosion-protected chain. With the replacement by the Neptune chain, downtime and maintenance were reduced. Finally, the longer service life minimised the total cost of ownership.

The wine producer uses a series of conveyor belts in the wine bottling process to move the bottles through the production process. At the end of the line, the bottles are buffered and collected on a spiral conveyor. A roller chain drives this spiral conveyor. However, the chains used to corrode quickly in the wet environment. They are also subject to high friction, which resulted in a short service life.

The position of the chain is difficult to reach for maintenance. Relubrication is also difficult to implement due to the wetness. Due to the irregular lubrication combined with the corrosive conditions, the spiral conveyor chain had to be replaced every two years. The high procurement costs and increased downtime due to difficult accessibility reduced the wine producer's productivity.

After replacing the old spiral conveyor chain with Tsubaki's quality Neptune chain, the wine producer was able to significantly reduce its Total Costs of Ownership (TCO). The Neptune chain is specially designed for use in corrosive environments. It has now significantly exceeded the previous two-year service life of the old chain. 

Durability through surface treatment

The high durability of the Neptune chain is due to its innovative surface treatment. This ensures high resistance to corrosion and chemicals. The coating easily withstands alkaline cleaning agents, salt water, acid rain and other adverse weather conditions. The Neptune has been tested for 700 hours in salt water spray and 2,000 hours for resistance to sodium hypochlorite and caustic soda. Both are commonly used as cleaning agents in the food and beverage industry.

The lugs, bushes and bolts have two special layers including a resin layer. These provide maximum protection against wear. But the chain is also resistant to temperature changes and excessive moisture.

While users have to make concessions in terms of strength with other corrosion-protected chains such as stainless steel versions, they are spared this when using the Neptune. The carbon steel chain offers the same tensile strength and allowable load as the heavy-duty standard roller chains from the leading manufacturer of power transmission products. The special coating also protects against friction, which accelerates chain wear. This is achieved by minimising the strong dynamic contact between roller and sprocket.

The Neptune chain from Tsubaki is RoHS compliant. This means it is free of harmful hexavalent chrome and other potentially hazardous elements such as arsenic, lead, mercury or cadmium.