They come into play wherever there are process engineering tasks to be solved in addition to conveying: Wire conveyor belts from HEIN, LEHMANN meet the process requirements for lye, boiling, cooling and baking products.
Wire conveyor belts can be found in almost every branch of industry, especially where technical processes have to be carried out at temperatures from -150 °C to 1,200 °C or where the unhindered passage of air or liquids is required. In other words, applications where non-metallic means of transport reach their limits.
In conveyor systems in the production of baked goods, they are used, for example, in enrobing machines for biscuits, in lye application systems for baked goods, in cooling systems, in deep-frying devices and industrial continuous ovens.
Every wire conveyor belt is a tailor-made suit
A specialist on the market with more than 70 years of experience is Hein, Lehmann GmbH, headquartered in Krefeld. Around 75 employees belong to the "Wire Conveyor Belts" team, which processes around 350,000 kg of wire and more than 280 different wire diameters and materials every year. In two manufacturing companies, a largely self-developed machine park is used for this purpose.
"A metal conveyor belt is not an off-the-shelf product," says Sales Manager Edgar Kischel. With the wide range of possible steel qualities and dimensions, the metal conveyor technology is adapted to the individual task. In order to define the "tailor-made suit", the company works closely with its customers, which are both the plant manufacturers at home and abroad as well as the plant operators themselves.
"Special tasks often also require an individual wire belt solution made to order," reports Mr. Kischel. Due to constantly new customer requirements, the metal conveyor belts go through a kind of continuous further development process. Completely “new belts” are often created. Mr. Kischel observes something else on the market. "Due to the current issue of 'microplastics', some companies are considering converting plastic to metal."
The Metallurgical Laboratory
The fact that HEIN, LEHMANN has access to its own metallurgical laboratory is helpful when it comes to selecting the right material or if problems need to be solved. For example, the laboratory can B. checking the hardness of materials or, in the case of a wire break, assessing the type of break it is. Is it a vibration or a broken wire caused by force?
According to the company, answers to such questions can only be found through laboratory tests, some of which are complex. In one case, the company was able to help a large European bakery. An example from Mr. Kischel: “The bakery recorded heavy wear on a wire belt on which small glazed cakes were baked. As there was no explanation for this phenomenon, an on-site visit was arranged where we received samples of the wire belt, support rails, etc. from the customer. The cause was finally found in the laboratory: the new recipe for the sugar glaze. The sugar crystals acted like sandpaper and caused the extreme wear on the wire belt. Our laboratory then gave the recommendation to switch to a different metal material at the relevant points on the furnace. The bakery complied and the problem was solved.”
www.heinlehmann.com
