Overview of Chain Plate Conveyors

As a key conveying device in industrial automation production, chain plate conveyors are widely used in various fields. They use standard chain plates as the bearing surface and rely on the power provided by a motor reducer to achieve material transmission. In automated production lines, conveyors are extremely important equipment for the transportation and loading/unloading of bulk materials, and chain plate conveyors are the most common type among them.

The working principle of a chain plate conveyor is to use a series of chains fixed on the traction chain to provide traction force, with metal plates or other materials as the carrier to lead the materials to be transported in a horizontal or inclined direction. Its structure is mainly composed of a power unit (motor), transmission shaft, drum, tensioning device, sprocket, chain, bearing, lubricant, and chain plate, etc. Among them, the reciprocating motion of the chain provides the traction power, and the chain plate undertakes the task of carrying materials.

This conveyor can meet the single-row conveying needs of equipment such as beverage labeling, filling, and cleaning. It can also transform single rows into multiple rows and make the materials move slowly to generate a storage capacity to meet the large feeding requirements of sterilizers, bottle storage tables, and bottle coolers. By making the head and tail of two chain plate conveyors into an overlapping mixed chain, the bottle (can) body can be in a dynamic transition state, ensuring that no bottles are 滞留 (stuck) on the conveying line, and realizing the pressure and non-pressure transportation of empty and full bottles.

The materials of the chain plates are rich and diverse, and common ones include carbon steel, stainless steel, thermoplastic chains, etc. According to different product requirements, chain plates of different widths and shapes can be selected to complete various complex conveying requirements such as plane conveying, plane turning, lifting, and descending. Common straight conveying chain plate widths include 63.5, 82.5, 101.6, 114.3, 152.4, 190.5, 254, 304.8 and other specifications; turning chain plate widths include 82.5, 114.3, 152.4, 190.5, 304.8 and other specifications.

Chain plate conveyors play an important role in many industries such as electric power, metallurgy, brewing, chemical industry, medical care, and mechanical manufacturing. In the electric power industry, they can be used to transport fuels such as coal; in the metallurgy industry, they can transport ores, metal semi-finished products, etc.; in the brewing industry, they can transport and 周转 (transfer) wine bottles; in the chemical industry, they are suitable for transporting various chemical raw materials and products; in the medical industry, they can be used for the transportation of drug packaging and medical devices; in the mechanical manufacturing industry, they are used for the transportation and assembly of components and parts.

Introduction to Wear-Resistant Plastic Materials

Types of Common Wear-Resistant Plastic Materials

  1. Polypropylene (PP): A semi-crystalline thermoplastic with good chemical corrosion resistance, capable of resisting the erosion of various acids, alkalis, and salts. It has remarkable wear resistance and can maintain a long service life under high-speed operation and heavy load conditions. It also has high heat resistance and cold resistance, can work normally in a wide temperature range, and is a recyclable material, in line with the development trend of environmental protection and energy saving.
  2. Polyethylene (PE): It has good wear resistance, impact resistance, and chemical stability. Its soft texture can effectively reduce the friction and damage of materials during transportation. Polyethylenes of different densities have different properties. For example, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) has higher strength and wear resistance, while low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is more flexible.
  3. Polyoxymethylene (POM): Commonly known as acetal resin, it is a highly crystalline thermoplastic engineering plastic. It has excellent wear resistance, self-lubrication, fatigue resistance, and dimensional stability. It has good mechanical properties and high strength, and can bear large loads, so it is widely used in chain plate conveyors.
  4. Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE): The molecular weight is usually more than 1.5 million, and it has excellent wear resistance, far exceeding that of ordinary polyethylene and metal materials. The surface friction coefficient is low, and it has self-lubrication, so it can reduce the running resistance and energy consumption without additional lubricant. At the same time, it also has good impact resistance and environmental resistance, can maintain stable mechanical properties in the environment from low temperature to high temperature, and is resistant to chemical corrosion such as acid, alkali, and salt.

Performance Advantages of Wear-Resistant Plastic Materials

  1. High Wear Resistance: Compared with traditional metal materials, the above-mentioned wear-resistant plastic materials show more excellent wear resistance. For example, when UHMWPE is used to transport highly abrasive materials, the service life is significantly prolonged, which can effectively reduce the replacement frequency of chain plates and lower the equipment maintenance cost. In industries such as mines and coal, when transporting materials with strong abrasiveness such as sand and ore, wear-resistant plastic chain plates can withstand long-term friction and maintain good working conditions.
  2. Self-Lubrication: Materials such as POM and UHMWPE have self-lubricating properties and low surface friction coefficients. This makes the transportation of materials more smooth, reduces energy loss, and lowers the power requirement for the driving device. At the same time, the low friction characteristic can also reduce the load on the chain and transmission system, and prolong the overall service life of the equipment. In industries with high hygiene requirements such as food and pharmaceuticals, self-lubricating wear-resistant plastic chain plates do not need to add additional lubricants, avoiding the pollution of materials by oil stains.
  3. Impact Resistance: Wear-resistant plastic materials not only have good wear resistance but also have strong impact resistance. Materials such as PE and UHMWPE can withstand a certain degree of material impact and are not easy to break or damage. During the transportation process, when the material falls or collides with the chain plate, the wear-resistant plastic chain plate can effectively absorb the impact energy, protect the equipment from damage, and ensure the continuity and stability of the transportation process.
  4. Corrosion Resistance: Plastic materials such as PP, PE, and POM have good tolerance to chemical substances such as acids, alkalis, and salts. In industries such as chemical engineering and metallurgy, the materials often have strong corrosiveness. Using wear-resistant plastic chain plates can effectively resist corrosion, prolong the service life of the equipment, and reduce the equipment failure and maintenance costs caused by corrosion. For example, in the chemical production line transporting acidic or alkaline chemical raw materials, the wear-resistant plastic chain plates can operate stably without being affected by corrosion.
  5. Lightweight: Compared with metal chain plates, wear-resistant plastic chain plates are significantly lighter in weight. This not only reduces the load of the equipment itself and energy consumption but also makes the installation, debugging, and maintenance of the equipment more convenient. In some occasions with strict requirements on equipment weight, such as the material transportation system in the aerospace parts manufacturing workshop, the lightweight wear-resistant plastic chain plates have obvious advantages.

Application of Wear-Resistant Plastic Materials in Chain Plate Conveyors

Application Scenarios and Cases

  1. Food Processing Industry: In the food processing industry, health and safety are the primary considerations. The plastic chain plates are integrally formed with food-grade hygienic standard plastic materials, and the structure has no capillary pores or gaps, eliminating the penetration of pollution sources. For example, on the baking food production line, PP plastic chain plates are used to transport products such as bread and biscuits. Their non-toxic, odorless, and easy-to-clean characteristics ensure the safety and hygiene of food during transportation. In meat processing enterprises, the chain plates need to frequently contact pollutants such as blood and grease. The wear-resistant plastic chain plates do not adsorb impurities and are easy to clean and disinfect, meeting the strict hygiene requirements. A well-known food enterprise originally used a metal chain plate conveyor. In the high-temperature environment in summer, the metal chain plates were easy to rust, resulting in potential safety hazards for food and high cleaning and maintenance costs. After replacing it with a PP wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveyor, not only the rust problem was solved, but also the cleaning and maintenance became simple and efficient, greatly improving the production efficiency and reducing the food safety risk.
  2. Electronics Industry: The electronics industry has extremely high requirements for the accuracy and stability of material transportation. The plastic chain plate conveying line has become the ideal choice for the transportation of electronic components by virtue of its precise operation track and stable performance. In the mobile phone manufacturing factory, electronic components such as chips and capacitors need to be accurately transported to each assembly link. The POM wear-resistant plastic chain plates have good dimensional stability and low friction coefficient, which can ensure that the electronic components do not shift or be damaged during transportation and ensure the assembly quality of the products. An electronic equipment manufacturing enterprise, after introducing the POM wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveyor, the defective rate of the products was significantly reduced, the production efficiency was significantly improved, and at the same time, the number of equipment maintenance and maintenance costs were reduced.
  3. Logistics Sorting Industry: The conveying equipment in the logistics sorting center needs to bear high-intensity continuous operation. The wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveying line has the characteristics of being strong, durable, and running smoothly, which can meet the needs of the logistics industry. In the express sorting center, a large number of parcels need to be sorted and transported quickly and accurately. The UHMWPE wear-resistant plastic chain plates have excellent wear resistance and impact resistance, can withstand frequent parcel collisions and friction, and can cooperate with the intelligent sorting system to achieve efficient logistics sorting. A large logistics enterprise, the chain plates of the metal chain plate conveyor originally used in its sorting center were severely worn and needed to be replaced frequently under high-intensity work. After replacing it with a UHMWPE wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveyor, the service life of the equipment was extended by several times, which greatly reduced the equipment maintenance and replacement costs, and at the same time improved the efficiency and accuracy of logistics sorting.
  4. Chemical Industry: In the chemical production process, the materials often have corrosiveness and abrasiveness. The wear-resistant plastic chain plates are widely used in the chemical industry by virtue of their excellent corrosion resistance and wear resistance. For example, in fertilizer production enterprises, it is necessary to transport raw materials and semi-finished products containing corrosive chemical substances, and the PP wear-resistant plastic chain plates can effectively resist corrosion and ensure the safety and stability of the transportation process. In the plastic particle production workshop, the chain plates need to bear the friction of plastic particles, and the high wear resistance of UHMWPE wear-resistant plastic chain plates can meet this requirement, reduce the wear of the chain plates, and improve the production efficiency. A chemical enterprise, on a production line transporting corrosive chemical raw materials, when using a metal chain plate, the chain plate needed to be replaced once a month on average, and there was a risk of leakage. After changing to a PP wear-resistant plastic chain plate, the service life of the chain plate was extended to more than one year, and at the same time, the leakage hidden danger was eliminated, ensuring the safety and continuity of production.

Application Effects and Advantages

  1. Improving Equipment Service Life: The high wear resistance and impact resistance of wear-resistant plastic materials make the chain plates not easy to damage during long-term use, which greatly extends the service life of the equipment. Compared with metal chain plates, the replacement frequency of wear-resistant plastic chain plates is greatly reduced, reducing the production loss caused by equipment shutdown for maintenance. For example, in the ore transportation of the mining industry, the service life of the conveyor using UHMWPE wear-resistant plastic chain plates can be 2-3 times longer than that of the traditional metal chain plate conveyor.
  2. Reducing Maintenance Costs: The maintenance of wear-resistant plastic chain plates is relatively simple. On the one hand, due to their good wear resistance and few replacements, the labor, material, and time costs required for replacing the chain plates are reduced; on the other hand, some wear-resistant plastic chain plates have self-lubrication, and there is no need to add lubricants frequently, reducing the lubrication maintenance cost. In addition, the modular design of the plastic chain plates allows for quick replacement of a single module when local damage occurs, further reducing maintenance costs. For example, in the food processing industry, the annual maintenance cost of the conveyor using PP plastic chain plates can be reduced by 40%-50% compared with the metal chain plate conveyor.
  3. Improving Conveying Efficiency: The self-lubrication and low friction coefficient of wear-resistant plastic chain plates reduce the resistance during material transportation, and the conveying speed is faster, thereby improving the overall conveying efficiency. In the logistics sorting industry, fast and accurate transportation is crucial to improving work efficiency, and the wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveyor can better meet this requirement. At the same time, the stable operation performance also reduces the downtime caused by equipment failures, ensures the continuity of production, and further improves the conveying efficiency. A logistics enterprise, after adopting the UHMWPE wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveyor, its sorting efficiency increased by more than 30%.
  4. Meeting Special Environmental Requirements: In some industries with special environmental requirements, such as the food and pharmaceutical industries with strict hygiene requirements and the chemical industry with high corrosion resistance requirements, wear-resistant plastic chain plates can well meet these needs. Food-grade wear-resistant plastic chain plates ensure the safety and hygiene of food and drugs during transportation; plastic chain plates with strong corrosion resistance can operate stably in chemical production and ensure the smooth progress of production. In pharmaceutical production enterprises, using POM wear-resistant plastic chain plate conveyors that meet GMP specifications can effectively avoid pollution during transportation and ensure the quality and safety of drugs.
  5. Realizing Lightweight Design: The lightweight characteristics of wear-resistant plastic chain plates make the overall weight of the conveyor lighter, which is very beneficial to some occasions with restrictions on equipment weight. At the same time, lightweight is also helpful to reduce the energy consumption of the equipment and achieve the goal of energy conservation and environmental protection. In some mobile or portable material transportation equipment, using wear-resistant plastic chain plates can facilitate the handling and operation of the equipment and improve the flexibility and practicability of the equipment.