It should come as no surprise that fires and explosions cost companies billions of dollars each year. Lost productivity, the cost of repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed equipment, settling lawsuits originating from employee injuries or deaths – it all contributes to the total. Industrial operations that handle materials such as grain, sulfur, oil and gas, biomass, and wood pellets […]
In a previous blog, we discussed the Turtle Philosophy as it applies to CDM’s exclusive conveyor chain formula, which combines a case-hardened exterior with a malleable core to create the strongest, longest-wearing chain in the industry. This time we’ll reference a notable literary turtle as we analyze the issue of material degradation. In Aesop’s fable “The Tortoise and the Hare,” […]
Comedian and social activist Dick Gregory once remarked that he lived his life by the Turtle Philosophy: “Hard on the outside, soft on the inside, and willing to stick my neck out.” In a nutshell – or a turtle shell, if you will – this is the basic philosophy behind CDM’s exclusive conveyor chain formula: Hard on the outside to […]
An article in the June 2017 edition of Engineering and Mining Journal stated that the mining industry has had to adapt to stay competitive due to declining material grade and low commodity prices, among other factors. Typically, when someone uses the word “adapt” in a business context, they follow it with “or die.” That’s a rather draconian way of saying […]
If you’re moving material in the pulp and paper industry, you’re all too familiar with corrosion. That’s the deterioration of a metal as a result of chemical reactions between it and the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, keeping corrosion in your conveyors to a minimum isn’t as simple as applying a highly corrosive-resistant surface to everything and calling it a day. A […]
“I walked 20 miles to school, uphill, both ways, in the snow.” “l used to carry 50 pound bags of ice up six flights of stairs.” In a casual conversation, statements like these are great for impressing other people with feats of strength and a capacity for physical exertion. In a heavy-industrial operation, manual labor is not only outdated and […]
A global fiberglass insulation manufacturer was having issues with misapplied conveyors for handling glass cullet. The issues caused increased housekeeping and maintenance problems, while reducing production output. The manufacturer was using belt conveyors for material that had to move greater than 30 feet, and a screw conveyor for shorter distances. The highly abrasive nature of the material was hard on […]
Within the mining industry, a common factor in downtime is due to the abrasion that occurs when conveying harsh materials. Plant maintenance is consistently trying to resolve the issues of equipment that is broken down and needs to be replaced due to this corrosion. Economic pressures have also begun to impact the industry, placing importance on becoming more efficient and […]
We understand the importance of having a conveyor you can not only trust to last in the harshest of conditions, but also to perform and allow you to hit your production goals by minimizing downtime. A pulp and paper mill in Pennsylvania was struggling with the subsequent costs of frequent downtime plaguing them due to the nature of their product […]
During the design and engineering process it’s crucial to have a firm grasp of the characteristics of your materials and capabilities of your equipment. If you choose the wrong type of equipment to move your material (especially abrasive, corrosive, or high-temperature material) you could face higher than expected maintenance costs to replace prematurely warn parts or even catastrophic failure resulting […]
