Chain conveyors are an essential part of many bulk handling systems, where they are used to convey bulk materials such as powders, grains, flakes, pellets, etc and include operations in the milling industries.

1. Digital Re-print January | February 2014
Keep running costs down operating
en-masse chain conveyors
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2. F
&Feed millinG technoloGy
28 | January - February 2014
Grain
Keep running costs down
operating en-masse chain
conveyors
by 4B Braime
C
hain conveyors are an essential
part of many bulk handling
systems, where they are used to
convey bulk materials such as powders,
grains, flakes, pellets, etc and include
operations in the milling industries.
Many of these conveyors use drop forged
chains with flights as a means of conveying
the material being handled. This ‘en-masse’
conveying system is very popular as it is a
simple but highly efficient system of moving
material.
When it comes to purchasing a chain
conveyor, it is easy to look just focus on the
one-time purchasing cost and the quality of
the components. The problem with conveyors is that they are exposed to a lot of
wear and tear, and even the best chains can
fail after a certain period of time: although
this can be many years depending on the
conveyor’s use and its maintenance.
If we look at the lifetime cost of an enmasse chain conveyor, we’d find a big part is
and repair can cost a lot of money and time,
usually requiring the services of a team of
engineers and a considerable amount of
resources.
So how does the en-masse conveying
system work, and where does the chain
failure occur?
In En-Masse conveying, the flight height
can be as low as 12.5 percent of the material being transported in the chain conveyor.
The material is fed into the conveyor from
the top and falls through the moving chain
to the bottom of the box. Because the
particles interlock, the material moves as a
single stream at the same speed as the chain.
This highly efficient conveying process allows
nearly the entire conveyor cross section to
move as bulk.
Flights of steel and welded links
The links with flights are then assembled
in many different arrangements using pins
and circlips, headed pins and circlips or
headed pins with collars and roll pins. The
to order new chain links with flights welded
or grind the sides of the failing links and
weld new flights onsite. In both cases, a lot
of resources including time are needed to
complete the maintenance procedure.
Having new links with flights welded is
only the first step of the maintenance process:
the chain needs to be slackened, the circlips
must be broken in order to take out the links
where the flights have failed, new links with
welded flights need to be put in, and finally
the chain has to be re-tensioned before the
conveyor is at last operational or the whole
chain removed from the conveyor.
One of the other major causes for concern with this traditional assembly is the fact
that the circlips can sometimes come loose
due to poor installation, not only causing the
chain to collapse, therefore again stopping
the conveyor, but also contaminating the
product that was being conveyed and risking pollution and obstructions in the plant
process.
Working to supress and minimise
problems
Engineers have been working hard at
suppressing and minimising the different
problems encountered within a chain conveyor as much as possible with solutions
such as more frequent maintenance checks,
metal detectors, etc. Whilst this has helped
to reduce the number of unexpected breakdowns, it hasn’t removed the need for
conveyor shut downs when the chains or
flights need to be replaced.
With 125 years experience providing
solutions to customers within the bulk material handling industry, worldwide, engineers
at 4B have come up with a revolutionary
simple solution that minimises conveyor
maintenance downtimes and overcomes a
lot of the problems encountered when using
drag chain conveyors.
maintenance: the cost of replacement chains
and links, the cost of the labour and finally
the cost of downtime.
For each and every user of chain conveyors, it is of vital importance to have the
conveyor running at full capacity for as long
as the equipment can allow it. Maintenance
whole assembly is very robust and works
well until general wear, operational errors,
material build up and many other reasons
that bring about maintenance shut down.
In the case of a minor incident, such as
the flights breaking, although the chain does
not need to be changed, it is still necessary
New flight assembly
4B’s Bolt ‘N’ Go system is a new flight
assembly system that gets rid of the need
for welded flights and pins and circlips
assemblies which are quite costly and time
consuming in terms of manufacturing. This
new system includes:

3. 15
29 | January - February 2014
• A set of Nylon flights that can be cut
to accurate lengths depending on the
desired overall width. Nylon flights
are very strong and wear resistant but
remain light- weight, therefore reducing
the amount of power required to drive
the chain
• A hollow pin made of alloy steel (the
same material as the link) and case
hardened to C57-C62. This pin will
take the load in the assembly. It is very
strong and can be supplied in stainless
by Richard Mills, FOSS,
steel for applications in a corrosive
environment
Denmark
• Bolts, nuts and washers are used
to hold the flights onto the link and
outh African grain suppliers Senwes
assemble out a new way of Lock nuts
have tried the links together. using near
are used to secure the whole system
infrared (NIR) analysis to optimize
the • At of increasingly the bolthigh-protein
use no point does scarce take the load
wheator is in contact with the pin. It merely
in blends going into milling. The new
holds will now become a permanent
instrument and secures the flights
• The system uses the very best out of
feature, helping to get 4B drop forged chain
links and low-protein material.
both high- that have special lugs on the sides
onto which the flights are fastened,
In giving thetale ‘Rumpelstiltskin’, a miller
the fairy assembly extra stability
The Bolt that his daughter extremely
boasts to a king‘N’ Go system is can spin
easy to install,
straw into gold. yet very robust and has a
long lifespan. It can make this enduring in
While nothing has many advantages
comparison to the traditional analytidream come true, modern process pins and
calcirclips assembly. form of an in-line NIR
technology in the
This system will undoubtedly save
analysis system is making a real difference a
toprecious amount of time and wheat grain
what millers can get out of money when
conducting maintenance work. With the
deliveries. It is not exactly turning straw into
Bolt ‘n’ Go system, it is no longer required
gold, but is perhaps the next best thing given
to take the tension high quality wheat.
the increasing scarcity ofout of the chain and
take the chain out of the solution before
The new (190x132mm)(outlines)_Layout
Corporate Banner process analysis conveyorcalled 1
How to get the mix
right with in-line NIR
S
Grain
changing been on the old
ProFoss hasthe flights; trial at a flights can be
taken out and South Africa.
Senwes facility in new ones fitted while the
chain is still tensioned inside
The solution consists of an NIR the conveyor.
Since a shorter amount
analyser, a sample interface and of time is
required to for graphical
special softwareassemble the nylon flights
rather the welding
display ofthan results. steel flights onto links,
all the flights usedbe delivered quickly, thus
It has been can at a group
of eliminatingto a large mill.stock a lot of spare
silos next the need to The
parts; silos contain kept in minimum
different or they can be differentstock on site
at low cost, 9 percent, 10 percent, 12
protein levels: since they are not welded to
the chain.
percent and so on. The sample interface is
The a pipe that delivers the from
installed insystem also enables grain full use
of the links since
the different silos ontoita is not necessary to
conveyor belt that
change mill.
serves the the links every time new flights
are needed. interface is installed by cutting a
The sample Once again this represents
major the pipe facilities using diameter.
a hole in saving forof about 10 cm this system.
It has a sapphire window that sits flush with
the sides of theheat allowing the NIR unit to
Superior pipe, treatment
take measurements on the grainlinks flowsmade
4B's Bolt ‘n’ Go chain as it are by.
Measurements treated alloy few case
of special heatare made every steelseconds and the results areC57 - C62 on a a
hardened to Rockwell displayed with
computer core hardnessroom, where they
ductile in the control of Rockwell C40.
can be viewed as heat treatment technique
4B’s superior a trend graph to make it
easy tomaterial provides protein content. If,
and keep track of the the optimum chain
for example, 11 more resilient is the target
link with a percent protein ductile core
and the level starts to fall belowan extremely
for shock resistance and that, then a
little higher protein wheat for superior wear
hard exterior surface can be added to
stabilizecorrosion resistance. This results in
and the overall protein content.
reduced downtime and maintenance with
an increase in to higher grade
Lower grade the working life for the chain
conveyor. of special products Mariana
Manager
The assembly system ProFoss anaPurnell describes how the is an excellent
and robust solution Senwes not in
lyser was installed at the that will facility only
improve the
October 2012. overall capacity of the conveyor to perform was its optimal use,
When the analyser at brought into ability
for were just over helps to minimise the
there longer,08:54 also5000 tonnes of grade
23/12/2013 but Page 1
&Feed millinG technoloGy
offline maintenance 4000 tonnes of B2
B1, about periods thus improving the yearly4500 tons of B3profits and
and capacity and grade, made
using the lower conveyor. lower grades.
chain amounts of
The Bolt TheGo system has been used
‘n’ process analysis system
successfully in many facilities, in a wide
enables continuous monitoring of
range of applications includingallowing inwheat protein levels, agricultural,
wood chips, sugar, animal feeds, etc. All
line adjustment to regulate the
these products have been used specific
blending and maintaining in conveyors of during length, angles and high
protein levels various outloading. As indicated
bycapacity applications.this resulted inhas the
the B1–B3 columns, The system all been
such a success that many suppliers of enlower grades being blended with higher protein
masse chain conveyors grades that were
grades, yielding B1 and B3 now offer the Bolt
‘n’ Go chain and flight system as an option.
considerably higher than the initial stock level.
Bolt ‘n’ Go
currently available for
“We successfullyismanaged the optimiza4B102NA, 4B142NA and homogeneity
tion of all protein levels and the4B142HA links
of with flights up to 750mm wide. Purnell.
quality in all wheat batches,” says
“As far I am concerned the ProFoss works
very well for managing your grain quality as
it monitors 100 percent of the batch being
loaded or More inforMation: fluctuation
f and really keeps protein
within4B narrow band.”
a Braime Elevator Components
She also points out that it is of course
Hunslet Road
important toLS10 1JZ right quantities availLeeds have the
able to maximize the usefulness of NIR
United Kingdom
analysis.Website: www.go4b.com
The Email:completed, the plan is now to
trial 4b-uk@go4b.com
put the system into use on a permanent
basis. Note: can see that the level of control
“We 4B’s drop forged chain is backed
and management of the network level being
by an international protein of compashipped out is far125 years of bulk handling
nies with over superior to when it is
controlled by a human being who does infreexperience. 4B engineers are specialised
quentin the dropand testing,” industry and can
sampling forged chain says Purnell.
“By gathering more precise data of proprovide engineering design service and
tein units leaving any drag oneen-masse chain
advice for the silo, or can be assured
of a lower number of disputes related to
conveyor application.
protein levels and subsequent downgrading."
F

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January - February 2014
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Production control in
rapeseed processing
using NIR technology
operating en-masse
chain conveyors
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Getting your
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