A manufacturer of optical glass had been experiencing product failure with their conventional Lehr belt. T his was a result of belt vibration and poor tracking, which were contributing factors to shortened belt life. Ashworth Engineers noticed that the belt was made of round wire rather than flattened wire. It was also evident that as the belt aged and elongation took place, the hinging on the spirals would become greater, causing belt harmonics and resulting in cracked strip glass.

In conjunction with the company's maintenance supervisor, an Ashworth Engineering Associate reviewed the company's history of unscheduled down time, product loss and throughput, as well as the current belt and maintenance practices. Together, the Ashworth associate and the company representative decided that all aspects of the belts operation could be improved. The Ashworth associate suggested a total product and service package featuring Ashworth's TruSeat Lehr belt. The service package included benchmarking, installation, maintenance procedures and tracking services.

An Ashworth Engineering Services Associate led the installation of a TruSeat Lehr oven belt, 1 meter wide and 270 meters long. Unlike the belt it replaced, Ashworth's TruSeat Lehr is manufactured with flattened wire spirals, which not only eliminates hinge wear and belt elongation problems, but also eliminates harmonic vibration, which creates an extremely smooth running belt.

The Results:

The company found immediate improvement in almost all aspects of their Lehr belt's performance, including much-improved product support and stability, reduced harmonic vibration, a greater carrying surface, better tracking and less belt surging and slippage. The company also noted they were very pleased with the rapid response and belt services offered by Ashworth Engineering Services Group.

Click here for more information on our TruSeat Lehr® belt.