Excessive Oven Chain Wear: Case Study

The Situation

An oven running continuously at 260 °C with the door closed had a chain that squealed loudly and showed heavy wear. The oven used a 30-metre bush roller chain running at 1.2 m/min.

As things stood, the chain had to be replaced every year, at a cost of €30,000 each time. On top of that came two weeks of downtime a year, with further costs attached.

The NEUKIRCH team carried out the fault analysis by phone and found the following:

Analysis

The oil was applied by hand during weekend oven maintenance, with the oven temperature only slightly reduced. Applying the lubricant produced heavy smoke, and over time it left hard, black residue.
To increase throughput by running the line faster, the oven was operated at a higher temperature, pushing it to its thermal limit. As a result, the temperature measured at the chain was still 240 °C during maintenance.
The lubricant in use was a polyol ester oil, which couldn’t cope with the long seven-day relubrication interval.
The oil was applied by hand at the return roller, giving it little time to penetrate the chain on the return run. The result was a squealing chain and a build-up of residue.

Possible Measures

The customer could solve the problem with the following measures:

Change where the lubricant is applied

Making the area around the oven entry roller accessible would allow the lubricant to be applied there.

Switch lubricants

We recommend a chain oil based on a highly stable ester with low residue formation. Alternatively, a solid lubricant in a fluid carrier could be used. A PFPE oil would be the ideal solution, but its cost-effectiveness should definitely be checked first.

Install a dosing system for regular chain lubrication

A manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic chain lubricant dosing system allows regular daily or intermittent lubrication, ensuring the chain is lubricated consistently. Installation costs between €1,500 and €6,000.

Weekly manual lubrication with a suitable oil

As an alternative, continuing weekly manual lubrication with a suitable oil can also improve wear behaviour.

Our Recommendation

The customer should implement measures 1 and 2 as soon as possible, as both are easy to put in place.
Measure 3 should follow in the short to medium term.
Measure 4 should only be considered if there’s no other option.

Excessive Wear on an Oven Chain

The Situation

Analysis

Possible Measures

Our Recommendation

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