GRAPHALLOY^®

Graphite Metallizing Announces Bearings for High Temperature Oven Applications

YONKERS, NY (July 2014) — Graphite Metallizing Corporation announces GRAPHALLOY® bearings for use in high temperature oven carts. These bearings are uniquely suited to prevent loss of lubrication that may occur in sealed ball bearings because of the high temperatures.

Recently, a manufacturer of high purity alumina requested help from the design engineers at Graphite Metallizing to overcome problems with movement of carts through a heating process. During their manufacturing operation, pans containing blocks of powder mixture are loaded onto a train of carts and then driven by an electric motor through a series of ovens. It is critical that the carts move smoothly, at a consistent speed, through the heating process so that the blocks of powder do not break.

However, the high temperature of the oven was causing the sealed ball bearings to fail, lose lubrication and stick. The wheels would then lock causing the carts to shake and increasing the load on the motor. The electric motor would continue trying to drag the carts through the oven.

As a result, the powder blocks would break, the electric motor would overload and the carts would then have to be manually pulled through the ovens. The engineers at Graphite Metallizing recommended GRAPHALLOY Grade 212 to replace the sealed ball bearings. The manufacturer tested the GRAPHALLOY bearings, approved them and changed all their cart bearings to GRAPHALLOY.

The result for this manufacturer was a savings of thousands of dollars annually in replacement parts, maintenance costs, product waste and downtime.