Equipment supplier BMG’s Light Materials Handling division supplies and supports a comprehensive range of belting products which are suitable for use in diverse sectors, including high-temperature applications, like in furnaces in glass bottle manufacturing.

“Owing to extreme heat generated from furnaces in glass bottle manufacturing plants, we recommend the installation of flat top chains, that run efficiently at a safe distance from the furnaces,” explains BMG Light Materials Handling business unit manager Ryan Forsyth.

To ensure efficient handling and optimum safety of bottles during production, BMG proposes that bottles should be conveyed from the furnace, through a cooling system and then transported on a specialised stainless steel Cambridge Knuckleback flat surface belt to the packaging area for distribution.

“In high temperature conveying applications near ovens, kilns and furnaces, extreme heat causes conventional metal belts to stretch. This damage adversely affects performance and results in costly downtime for urgent repairs,” he says.

BMG’s Cambridge Knuckleback belts, which have been developed specifically for high-temperature applications, offer three times the belt-life of conventional furnace belts. This ensures minimal downtime and reduced maintenance requirements.

Fully customisable high-temperature Knuckleback belts have a reinforced proprietary reverse back-edge weld that prevents belt breakage, by moving the tension away from the weld point. This robust design reduces stretching and camber in high-temperature applications and extends belt-life by strengthening and lengthening the connection between the belt’s spirals and rods. The uniform surface helps remove excess deposits and minimises slag build-up.

These durable belts, which can withstand temperatures up to 1 176 ºC, are available from BMG in widths up to 5 080 mm. BMG also offers Knuckleback Platinum belts that undergo an additional treatment process to reduce carbon diffusion, which extends belt-life by an additional 25%.

All products for food handling, bottling and packaging applications are carefully selected by BMG specialists to meet the highest conveying and packaging standards in terms of reliability, flexibility, safety and consistent quality and hygiene controls.

The company offers a technical advisory and support service throughout Southern Africa. Workshops and stock depots are equipped with the latest tooling and equipment and are manned by skilled belting technicians.