F1-inspired FB Chain scrapers are the winning choice for conveyor customers

FB Chain applies Formula 1 technology to its revolutionary Inno wooden scrapers to potentially save customers hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Any customer using scraper attachments (also known as flights) on their conveyor chain will know the headaches they can cause. Traditional steel scrapers can become deformed or break if too much pressure is applied to them. This can lead to jammed conveyors and even major, irreparable damage to chains, sprockets, chipping units and furnaces. The replacement of damaged units, as well as the production downtime, can cost customers a great deal of money.

Graham Barber, a senior conveyor expert at FB Chain, says: “In several biomass cases we’ve seen jammed steel parts being conveyed into the burners and re-emerging on the ash removal conveyor, where they cause more unsalvageable damage.”

In response, leading UK chain manufacturer FB Chain began supplying an innovative wooden scraper that uses technology previously found in Formula One skid pads. Originally developed in Germany for the recycling and waste management industry, these Inno scrapers are now sold all over the world for a wide variety of applications, including sawmills, cement plants and biomass power plants.

The flights are made from multi-laminated beech wood and, when processed and assembled using thermosettings, weigh one tenth of traditional scrapers but are equally as durable. Instead of buckling under too much pressure like traditional steel scrapers, the Inno scrapers simply snap without damaging the conveyor chain or sprockets, and can be quickly and easily replaced. Furthermore, being made of wood, they can be cheaply and easily disposed of.

Proven technology

“Despite selling our first Inno scrapers a few years ago now, we have only recently encountered our first flight break,” says Barber. “A customer told us how their conveyor had been overloaded and the flight broke exactly how it was supposed to. It went through the furnace without any damage being caused. In fact, the customer didn’t even know it had happened until it came to routine maintenance and they found that one flight was missing! It was easily replaced in a few minutes and the conveyor carried on as if nothing had happened.”

With FB Inno scrapers, the cost to the customer was one flight. With traditional steel flights, the cost could have been the whole chain, sprockets, repairs to the furnace and potentially the ash removal conveyor too. In previous cases, we’ve seen this cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

What flights would you rather use?

Visit www.fbchain.com to find out more.