Page 12 - Industrial Technology February 2020

MACHINE BUILDING

SPIN RIVETING

CONVEYORS

ALEC ANNAND, MANAGER OF
RENOLD CHAIN’S CUSTOMER
SERVICE CENTRE, RECOMMENDS
THAT ALL ENGINEERS SPECIFYING
CUSTOM DESIGNED CONVEYOR
CHAIN, WITH ATTACHMENTS,
SHOULD CONSIDER THE BENEFITS
OF SPIN RIVETING AS AN OPTION,
DUE TO THE EXTRA SIDE PLATE
SECURITY IT PROVIDES

lthough most conveyor chain these days is
wedge riveted as standard, the option to specify
spin riveting is an important one, and should be
Aconsidered for critical applications both by
designers of original equipment and maintenance
engineers alike. It’s an important consideration and an
effective solution on applications where attachments have
been fitted to the side plates of conveyor chain that could
be carrying heavy loads.
The recommendation comes after one manufacturer installation, riveting and dismantling for customers. The customers’ exact specifications with a wide range of
using a large amount of conveyor chain, at one of its spin rivet itself has a mushroom-like head and provides standard and custom designed attachments. It serves a
plants, sent an inspection team to Renold Chain’s much greater surface area contact with the side plate. It is wide range of industries including industrial equipment
Bredbury Service Centre to check on the quality of its spin this feature that provides the enhanced security of the manufacturers, famous theme park rides, packaging,
riveting process. Conveyor chain operated by the chain’s side plates. Renold Chain’s Bredbury Service printing, food manufacture, bottling plants and many
manufacturer was fitted with attachments that had to Centre produces both transmission and conveyor chain to more.
carry very heavy loads through underground chambers
that were inherently dirty and foul smelling. The load on
the chain’s side plates was causing them to work loose
over time and eventually come off. An engineer would then
have to descend into these dark, unpleasant, chambers to
carry out repairs.
The maintenance team at the manufacturer took the
decision to specify replacement conveyor chain with spin
riveted side plates as the solution. Not only would this
virtually eliminate the need for engineers to enter the
unpleasant environment to carry out repairs, but the spin
riveted chain would also cut maintenance generally and
increase productivity.
Wedge riveting is cheaper and quicker than spin
riveting, which is why most conveyor chain manufacturers
have adopted it as a standard. It’s fine on most
applications, especially where the side plates are not fitted
with load carrying attachments, but spin riveted conveyor
chain provides enhanced side plate security, and Annand
recommends that it should be considered for all critical
applications.
During the spin riveting process, at Renold’s customer
service centre, the pins are end softened to prevent
cracking during riveting and to provide easier on site
MORE INFORMATION: www.renold.com • info.uk@renold.com • Tel: 0161 498 4600

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • February 2020
12