Fish processing with long service life

• What was needed: iglidur plain bearings
• Requirements: High reliability and maintenance-free operation of all components, since no maintenance work can be carried out on the machine on board the ship
• Industry: Food technology
• Success for the customer: Thanks to new stainless rol e-chains "12 B-2" from Wippermann Engineering with iglidur high-performance bearings in the chain joints, the service life could be significantly increased from 400 to 450 hours to over 3,000 operating hours.

Fish is processed in two shifts below deck by machines weighing 1.5 tonnes. The whole process takes place in rough seas, with multidirectional accelerations of up to three times the acceleration due to gravity acting directly on the machines and their components. This also applies to the sophisticated de-heading and gutting machines from Baader that are used on these ships. The rol e-chains that are used to drive the main and auxiliary units of these machines, as well as all other components, are subject to the most stringent requirements. No maintenance work can be carried out on deck. This means that all components must be absolutely maintenance-free and reliable when processing fish on board the ship. However, the conventional rol e-chains initially used here were already worn out after 400 to 450 hours and had to be replaced. It therefore came as no surprise that the operators were quickly looking for a robust and durable alternative to the existing rol e-chain.

Today, the machine manufacturer Baader relies on stainless rol e-chains "12 B-2" from Wippermann Engineering in Hagen. The new solution with the "Marathon chains" from Wippermann has now increased the operating time to over 3,000 operating hours - a significant improvement on the previous solution. Equally important: the chains do not need to be relubricated or re-tensioned. The enormous increase in service life - without maintenance - is due to the rol e-chain's special joint design. A high-performance plain bearing made of iglidur was used in a stainless steel carrier bushing, significantly improving the tribology of the chain joint. The plastic bearing is characterised by extremely high wear resistance, a low coefficient of friction, high compressive strength and chemical resistance. It is also maintenance-free and insensitive to dirt. Tests at Wippermann confirmed the selection before it went into series production. The collaboration has already led to various customised bearing solutions for Wippermann chains in the past. This is because every chain application places different demands on the components involved.