Superior Industries, Inc., a US-based manufacturer and global supplier of bulk material processing and handling systems, is making its Titanium
Seal standard on all of its conveyor idlers.
Previously available as a premium option, the patented seal is designed to protect bearings from contamination and extend idler life by at least 25% compared with other commonly used rolls, the company explains.
Superior introduced the Titanium Seal in 2020 following years of testing and field trials. Since then, thousands of idlers equipped with the seal have been put to work in aggregate, mining and other bulk material handling applications where they are regularly exposed to washdowns, slurry, dust and abrasive material. Strong performance in those real-world conditions gave Superior the confidence to make the Titanium Seal standard across its idler offering, with the exception of CEMA B rolls.
“Conveyor roll failures almost always come down to a failed bearing, and the bearing seal is its only line of defense against moisture and dust,” Paul D. Schmidgall, Superior’s Chief Engineer of Conveyor Components, says. “That’s why we made the seal our primary focus in 2014 and spent years testing, tweaking and working through dozens of designs to keep contamination away from the bearing.”
The Titanium Seal uses a series of moisture and dust barriers that create a longer, more difficult path between contaminants and the bearing. Superior engineers evaluated the design through controlled testing that accelerates exposure to water, slurry and dust particles, then followed its performance in real-world applications. Together, those results show idlers equipped with the Titanium Seal lasting at least 25% longer than other idlers tested.
Superior says field performance also influenced the decision to make the seal standard.
Heidelberg Materials experienced positive results in a wet, gritty area of one of its Illinois operations in the US where rolls had been failing quickly. As failed idlers were replaced with idlers equipped with Titanium Seals, the operation began getting significantly more roll life and spending less time changing them.
A failed idler creates costs beyond the replacement roll, including maintenance labour, conveyor downtime and potential belt damage if the roll locks up, Superior says. By improving the barrier around the bearing, the Titanium Seal is designed to help idlers remain in service longer and reduce the frequency of those replacements.
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