Pfaff-silberblau screw jacks from Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products automate the heat treatment process

Screw jacks of the Pfaff-silberblau brand from Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products are increasingly used also in special purpose machine construction - for instance in conveyor systems of the special purpose machine manufacturer KREI-MA for loading and unloading heat treatment units, where a mechanically synchronised multi-lifting system based on the Pfaff-silberblau SHE 20.1 worm gear screw jacks increases the degree of automation and productivity. This has put an end to the days when semi-finished products were fed into the heat treatment units in a time-consuming, difficult or even manual process. Multi-lifting systems with mechanical synchronisation The entire conveying equipment of KREI-MA, Ahlen, comprises four jacking systems - namely two for the loading side and two for the unloading side, with four SHE 20.1 being used per system according to drive scheme 4.1. These multi-lifting systems featuring mechanical synchronisation according to scheme 4.1 involve four screw jacks being driven via bevel gear boxes and highly flexible connecting shafts by a single motor. The engineers at Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products designed the complete powertrain according to the requirements of KREI-MA. In this solution, the special-purpose machine manufacturer received everything from one source: the design and delivery of all components from the coupling and the transfer gearbox to the motor. With the SHE series with integral ball screws, the best efficiency is achieved with minimum axial backlash and high precision at a total stroke of 150 mm. The load in the conveyor system weighs up to 15 tons, which the four SHE 20.1 worm gear screw jacks master easily with a maximum lifting capacity of 200 kN. With the KREI-MA conveyor equipment, steel tubes are lifted with a chain conveyor, transported in the upper position transversely to the roller conveyor, before being lowered and set down on a roller conveyor, which transports them in longitudinal direction downstream to the heat treatment furnace for hardening and tempering. After the annealing process, the system transfers the tubes to the raising and lowering mechanism of the quenching basin. The cooled semi-finished material is subsequently removed again by means of a chain conveyor, whose height is also adjusted using Pfaff-silberblau worm gear screw jacks. Robust series for heavy loads The SHE screw jack series covers a load range of 0.5 to 200 t. SHE drives are notable for their case-hardened and ground worm-drive shaft and a gearbox with two selectable ratio steps. They are always used when heavy loads have to be positioned and lifted precisely for medium duty ratios and moderate lifting speeds, as now also in the KREI-MA conveyors for the heat treatment process. The machines and systems from this manufacturer are used worldwide in metal engineering and heavy industry, for example in steel and rolling mills, smelters, aluminium and non-ferrous metal works as well as in foundries and the automotive industry. Further information on worm gear screw jacks of the Pfaff-silberblau brand from Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products is available online at www.pfaff-silberblau.com/components-products/Screw-Jacks/

About Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, Kissing/Germany, ranks with its brand Pfaff-silberblau amongst the technology leaders in components and system solutions for mechanical motion and lifting technology. The product portfolio ranges from high quality worm gear screw jacks to powerful lifting tables and rope winches. Based on these components, Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products also offers customer specific solutions for all kinds of applications. Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products GmbH, Kissing/Germany, is a company of the listed Columbus McKinnon Corporation (CMCO), Getzville/USA, a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, systems and services. Worldwide, the corporation has around 3,300 employees at 20 manufacturing facilities in seven countries and in 47 sales and service offices in 21 countries. For more information about Columbus McKinnon Engineered Products and the brand Pfaff-silberblau please visit www.pfaff-silberblau.com.