Reducing conveyor downtime with FB Chain

Company develops wooden scraper attachment as an alternative to traditional scrapers

LETCHWORTH-based chain specialists FB Chain Ltd have developed a new type of conveyor scraper attachment – the Inno. The scrapers are made from multi-laminated beech wood and are designed to reduce the costly conveyor downtime that often results when a conveyor belt’s steel scraper becomes buckled or deformed.

According to FB, multi-laminated beech is one of the toughest and strongest types of wood which, when processed and assembled using thermosetting synthetic resins, makes a material that is a tenth of the weight of steel but with almost the same strength. By making scrapers from this tough yet durable material, the stress exerted on the conveyor drives is reduced and damage caused by overloading is significantly lessened.

Furthermore, instead of buckling like traditional steel scrapers, Inno scrapers simply snap when overloaded. This means that the damage to the conveyor chain and sprockets associated with buckled steel scrapers is eliminated. And because they are made of wood, broken Inno scrapers can be disposed of easily and in an environmentally conscious way in shredders or furnaces.



‘Our new scrapers save time and money,’ said Peter Church, managing director of FB Chain. ‘Not only do they not cause costly damage to other conveyor components when overloaded, if they do break they can be easily and cheaply replaced which reduces conveyor downtime considerably. In addition, due to their lightness when compared with steel scrapers, Inno scrapers save on conveyor energy costs making them an even more attractive option than the old fashioned steel alternative.’



The scrapers are currently available in a choice of three different strengths to suit a number of diverse applications.