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INDUSTRY FOCUS pizza roller chain!


Needing a roller chain that would not just reduce maintenance requirements and replacement costs, but also contribute to increased productivity, a pizza manufacturer in France turned to Tsubaki. A roller chain is used to drive the conveyor that moves packaged


product to a final chilled storage area. The chain is vital to ensuring that product is quickly and efficiently transported to despatch without damaging either the packaging or the pizzas. Every three days, the maintenance team had to check the chain for


elongation and, despite maintenance and adjustment, including regular lubrication, the previous chain had to be replaced every three months –a situation the company had endured for 15 years. However, the trial of a premium quality roller chain resulted in increased productivity and a reduction in the total cost of ownership, with the team selecting Tsubaki’s GT4 Winner roller chain as the replacement. A key attribute in reducing elongation is Tsubaki’s


patented Ring Coining design. Applying a cold deformation process around the pin hole of the connecting link plate adds strength and reinforces the chain immediately surrounding the pin. Reinforcing this typical stress area allows the chain to be specified to its full kW rating and significantly decreases the effects of elongation. In combination, Tsubaki’s Lube Groove system enables


more effective lubrication, both decreasing maintenance requirements and increasing chain life. The specially designed lube grooves mean that lubrication is retained between the pin and the bush, the point of highest contact and friction, instead of dispersing. This feature minimised chain wear and elongation over time. Following installation, the Tsubaki GT4 Winner far exceeded the


three months lifetime of the previous chain and only required its first adjustment after 18 months of use. However, the longer life of the chain resulted in a new challenge that the production facility’s maintenance engineers hadn’t previously encountered with the former roller chain: humidity. The original chains didn’t last long enough to be susceptible to corrosion, so Tsubaki suggested using the Neptune chain instead to further prolong life in humid conditions. With a special coating and resin, the Tsubaki Neptune is tested to withstand 700 hours of saline spray and remain corrosion free. The chain retains the same tensile strength and resistance to elongation as the GT4 Winner, thanks to its carbon-steel base. In addition, the Neptune’s anti-corrosion treatment doesn’t impact its strength or durability in any way, unlike some rust-prohibiting coatings.


Tsubaki https://tsubaki.eu


PRINTING & PACKAGING


a linear soluTion for TexTile prinTers


Linear guides from NSK have been selected by a specialist in the development and manufacture of high-speed industrial digital printers for the garment, apparel and home textile industries. The linear guides feature a special surface


treatment that protects them from wear in the company’s latest direct-to-garment digital printer. This next-generation printing machine provides garment decorators and screen printers with a tool for mastering the current and future challenges of the textile supply chain. Notably, the high-volume machine delivers typical annual production capacity to hundreds of thousands impressions. When developing the printer, the company knew that the linear guides for providing motion


in all the axes would have to overcome a specific set of challenges, including the humidity and evaporation caused by the printing process, which leads to high wear. NSK’s team of expert engineers undertook


a comprehensive review of the application and working environment, recommending its NH/NS series linear guides, which feature a special surface treatment to protect against the causes of wear. According to the company, the guides offer


features such as specially developed ball groove geometry for a longer service life; and up to a 30% more dynamic load rating (over previous generation products), which helps to provide end users with double the fatigue life in a


applying ai to automated vegetable trimming for repeatable precision


With an organic object such as a vegetable, there is no fixed size, shape or colour, and this presents a problem for classic machine vision camera systems that rely only on known shapes or patterns. Accurate trimming is key to the presentation of vegetables


destined for retail sale. If the leek is cut too short it ‘telescopes’ and dries out; if it is left too long, unsightly roots are left. However, a standard 3D camera will struggle to determine the stem plate when it is obscured by roots or soil. In this scenario, applying AI improves machine vision performance dramatically. As a solution, Scorpion Vision builds AI vision


systems to deliver robust and reliable application- specific solutions to food processing problems. By guaranteeing that processes such as sprout, carrot and leek trimming are consistently completed within the tightest visual tolerances, Scorpion Vision’s bespoke AI approach enables food processors to achieve presentation that will meet the approval of even the most discerning shoppers.


significantly more compact and lightweight format. Low-temperature chrome and fluoride low-temperature chrome treatments are also available to deliver even more endurance, while stainless steel versions are said to be ideal for use in potentially corrosive environments.


nsK www.nskeurope.com


According to the company, the Scorpion 3D


Neural Camera will enable food factories to put a stop to perfectly good food being discarded due to inconsistent and sub-standard inline preparation techniques. The system is based on the 3D Stinger -


designed by Tordivel AS to be used in cutting- edge 3D stereo vision applications. The company can, however, also design automation systems incorporating machine vision technology from other manufacturers. Since signing a distribution agreement for the


UK and Ireland with camera and vision systems manufacturer HIKROBOT in 2017, Scorpion Vision has installed a number of systems based on products from HIKROBOT’s innovative portfolio.


scorpion Vision www.scorpionvision.co.uk


MAY 2022 DesiGn soluTions 53


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