Motion Control & Drives


Drive chains for clean environments

March 2021 Motion Control & Drives

BMG’s extensive range of Tsubaki chain products encompasses the Lambda lubrication-free roller chain series, which has been designed for industries where clean working environments are required and where product contamination cannot be tolerated.

Typical applications for this chain are in packaging machines used in food processing, pharmaceuticals and electronics manufacturing, as well as in environments where abrasive contamination is prominent, like wood processing and the paper and packaging sectors.

“Tsubaki’s environmentally-friendly Lambda lube-free chain series has been designed with a sintered oil-impregnated bush, where the chain is internally lubricated to avoid premature wear,” explains Carlo Beukes, business unit manager, Power Transmission, BMG. “This feature extends the operating life of the chain, without the need for additional maintenance or messy external lubrication.

“Difficulties encountered with conventional chain for case packaging and secondary packaging equipment include contamination of cardboard surfaces and products, caused by lubricants and paper dust. This gives rise to high maintenance costs and costly production halts for the necessary cleaning cycles of equipment. Added to this, uneven wear and elongation cause problems with chain alignment, resulting in unsynchronised product transport.

“BMG’s Tsubaki Lambda chain is supplied with a specially developed food grade lubricant as standard and this increases chain wear life by 30%, with no compromise on chain strength. Because there is no need for external lubrication, the chain is kept cleaner, making it easier to specify and install, especially in areas with strict hygiene regulations.

“The microscopic pores in the seamless sintered bush of Lambda chain are vacuum filled with a high-performance NSF-H1 food-grade lubricant. While most of the lubricant is held in place, where it is needed most, a small amount will inevitably migrate to the surface of the chain. For this reason, it is critical that the lubricant is deemed suitable for use in the food industry.”

BMG’s Tsubaki Lambda lube-free chain meets all NSF-H1 requirements and can be safely used in environments where there is the possibility of incidental contact with food. H2 lubricants are suitable for locations where there is no possibility of contact with food and H3 lubricants, which are typically edible oils, are used where there is likely to be contact with foodstuffs.


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