Wear-resistant plastic energy chain under high acid load in indoor cranes

Chemically-resistant e-chain and plastic trough have operated for years

Difficult conditions prevail in the pre-treatment line of a hot dip galvanising plant: To ensure that the workpieces are as clean as possible, they must first be cleaned in diluted hydrochloric acid, among other things. As a result, the proportion of hydrogen chloride in the air of the pre-treatment line is around 2 per cent. This means an extraordinary exposure to acid, especially for the indoor cranes and the associated components. Plastic energy chain systems for supplying energy to the process cranes have been proving their worth at Wiegel for several years now. These run in plastic troughs made of the chemical-resistant material igumid EG+, which means that the system can cope with the aggressive conditions without any problems.

Profile

What was needed: Energy chain system E4/4 including guide trough
Requirements: Due to a high hydrogen chloride content in the air of the pre-treatment line of approx. 2 per cent, all components in the system are exposed to high acid levels. The aim was to find a wear-resistant solution for these conditions.
Industry: Cranes
Success for the customer: The chemical-resistant material igumid EG+ ensures high resistance despite the high hydrogen chloride content. The material also has very low total moisture absorption, which enables increased resistance to aggressive chemicals.

Products used

Energy chain E4/4

Guide trough for energy chains

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► Overview of sample energy chains

Problem

In the past, so-called festooning systems were used in the pre-treatment line of Wiegel's hot dip galvanising plants. Cables and hoses are suspended like a garland here and moved with small trolleys. The disadvantage of this technology, however, is that a cable station at the end of the travel path takes up a lot of space and the area of the pre-treatment line cannot be completely sealed off. In addition, the rollers of the cable trolleys sometimes fail after some time, as the C-profiles in which they are guided corrode and become sharp-edged due to the exposure to acid. This causes the rollers to wear quickly.

Solution

The project management of the technology department at Wiegel Verwaltung GmbH & Co KG decided in favour of polymer-energy chains from our product range, which offered the customer two main advantages: They ensure a tightly sealed solution for the material preparation area, which was not previously the case with a festooning system, as well as high wear resistance.
The first energy chain was installed in a Wiegel plant in 2015. The next application followed a year later, where we supplied both the E4/4 series energy chain and the new plastic trough made from the chemical-resistant material igumid EG+. This ensures high chemical resistance, making the guide trough ideal for use in hot dip galvanising or fertiliser production, for example. The material igumid EG+ is characterised by very low total moisture absorption. This enables increased resistance to aggressive chemicals. With its significantly optimised sliding properties, the material can be used for the guide trough and also for most e-chains series in a temperature range from 0°C to +100°C. As both the e-chain and the trough in the complete system are made of the chemical-resistant material, they form a very good mating surface.

Overview of the E4/4RHD energy chain system

Guide troughs - overview

In the pretreatment lines of the galvanising plants of the Wiegel group, energy chain systems from igus supply the process cranes with energy and data.

Before the actual galvanising, the workpieces must be pre-treated to rid the workpieces of grease, rust and scale.

In the enclosed pretreatment line there is an HCL condensate of about two per cent in the air.

A few years ago, Meissner Krane and Wiegel started modernising the energy supply of the cranes and used energy chain systems.

The side sections of the guide trough are connected by clipping and snapping in by hand and without tools. The clamping mechanism specially designed for the system holds them together securely and resiliently.

The chains move in plastic troughs made of the chemically resistant material igumid EG+, as a result of which the system easily copes with the difficult conditions.

Trouble-free in all plants

So far, the energy chains from igus have proven to work well and reliably at Wiegel. "The experience gained since 2015 shows that the use of an acid-resistant energy chain in the pre-treatment line for energy and signal transmission was the right decision," concludes Ronny Horn, project manager at Meissner Krane. "The systems have been running smoothly in all plants since they were commissioned." And Peter Zorn from Wiegel adds: "The plastic trough was very important to us. Neither stainless steel in 304 nor 316 stainless steel would have withstood these environmental conditions. It was equally important to us that the wall to the pre-treatment line can now be completely closed and that we also have much less maintenance with the new system." These requirements have been fully met so far. The next Wiegel plants to be converted by Meissner Krane will also be equipped with energy chain systems from igus.

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