With produce destined tor demanding supermarkets, conveyors driven by roller chains must maintain the quality of packaged produce, as well as high throughput. A French food manufacturer turned to Tsubaki to provide a roller chain that would not just reduce maintenance requirements and replacement costs, but also contribute to increased productivity. At a pizza manufacturer, a roller chain is integral to drive the plant's conveyor that moves packaged product to a final chilled storage area. With the majority of product shipped to supermarkets, profit margins are tight. This means that, in addition to ensuring quality, the pizza manufacturer has to maximise productivity and make sure that production targets are achieved. The conveyor's 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. While this important maintenance forces a halt in the production process, the consequences of chain elongation include uneven conveyor motion as well as an increased risk of breakdown. Vibration and slippage of the conveyor can damage the product, as well as causing uneven alignment and disruption to the subsequent packaging process. More seriously, machine breakdown caused by chain failure can result in lengthy downtime.
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