IMC's solution takes the cake for baking industry firm

A company in the baking industry was experiencing frequent downtimes due to excessive wear in the oscillating mechanism on three machines. Parts were expensive and difficult to obtain.

One of the firm’s representatives contacted IMC about the possibility of providing an electronic, servo-based linear actuator solution. An IMC sales representative assessed the situation and the machines and suggested a mechanical oscillator solution instead.

In making his recommendation, the IMC sales representative considered the following disadvantages to an electronic servo solution:

• A servo solution would require additional electrical equipment and programming logic to implement — including, but not limited to, limit switches, power control, electrical cables, push buttons and programming.
• An additional electrical cabinet would be required.
• The environment is contaminated with flour dust. Isolating the electronics from the dust would be difficult.
• The operators would have to be trained in how to operate the servos. They are typically mechanically inclined.
• The machine would have to be homed upon power cycling or a power loss.
• This would be an expensive solution.

The sales representative also weighed the following advantages to a mechanical oscillator solution:

• The machines were already mechanical.
• The motion is dedicated; there is no need for flexibility.
• Installation would be relatively simple, requiring modification to just the existing chain drive.
• The motion would be custom-tailored to match the current motion timing and eliminate the violence and shock loading.
• No training would be required. Operators would run the machines just as before.
• This solution would be more reliable in the long run.
• The installation and operational costs would be lower than with an electronic servo solution.

For these reasons, the company chose IMC’s mechanical parallel oscillator solution. The implementation was so successful that IMC’s customer plans to retrofit their entire fleet of machines.

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Intrinsic features of Modular Tabletop Conveyor provide key benefits

In February 2007, IMC introduced the Modular Tabletop Conveyor. While this new conveyor provides obvious benefits such as flexible design and a wide, open frame, other less-obvious features provide key benefits as well:

Precision

• A chordal compensation cam at the take-up end of the conveyor provides constant chain tension and controlled displacement throughout the index.
• A pair of cam followers, mounted to the bottom of the link and in line with the direction of travel, guide the link in the track and minimize link lean — the tendency of the link to twist about an axis perpendicualr to the mounting surface of the link.
• In addition to tapped holes, two dowel holes in the mounting surface of each link provide precise positioning of tooling.

Strength

• Links are made from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy (6061-T6). The ultimate tensile strength of this aluminum (42,000 psi/290 MPa) exceeds that of the commonly used class, 30 cast iron (31,000 psi/214 MPa), and is equivalent to the higher-grade class, 40 cast iron (42,500 psi/293 MPa).
  • The material strength of the link is more than three times the capacity of the indexer driving the conveyor — the chain will not stretch.
  • Aluminum links require less horsepower to drive than heavier cast iron links.
  • Links are connected with large-diameter pins and oil- impregnated bronze bushings.

Read more about the Modular Tabletop Conveyor here.