Engineering components distributor Bearing Man Group (BMG) recently completed the installation of a new steel cable carrier system, of undisclosed value, at a straightening mill of one of the largest steel producers in Africa.

“This project in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, entailed the removal of a worn, damaged cable carrier and the installation of a new 8.28 m steel Tsubaki Kabelschlepp cable carrier system, which is designed to withstand highly corrosive environments,” says BMG Kabelschlepp product manager Mike Owens.

“This lubricant-free Kabelschlepp system, which features self-cleaning links, has increased geometry that prevents blockages of the stroke system, caused by dirt deposits when the cable carrier is in motion,” he says, add- ing that this enhances productivity and reduces maintenance breaks and costly downtime.

Other advantages of the cable carrier system include high load-carrying-capacity, high-impact resilience and no maintenance, Owens adds.

The new steel cable carrier system, which meets the 50-kg-a-metre load-carrying-capa- city requirement, runs below the straighten- ing mill and withstands about 5 t of mill scale depositing on the carrier and surrounding bay in a 24-hour period.

The tandem design of this steel cable carrier has three sidebands, with solid aluminium, machined to suit the cable framestays. Features of this Tsubaki Kabelschlepp cable carrier system include 2-m-a-second acceler-ation and a running speed of 1 m a second. Continuous thermal loads of up to 600 °C are possible, Owens notes, adding that the system is designed to last ten years.

BMG’s Tsubaki Kabelschlepp range, which extends from standard individual components to complete system solutions, is enhanced by custom-manufactured systems to meet exact requirements in diverse sectors, Owens says, adding that these systems are available in heavy-duty steel and corrosion-resistant stainless steel, as well as in durable, light-weight plastic materials.

Further, he comments that BMG has installed the system at steel and aluminium producers, and that BMG installed seven systems last year.

The Kabelschlepp range also includes emergency cable carriers (ECCs), which are designed to prevent downtime and reduce repair costs, he notes.

The ECC series, which detects a blockage in the travel lengths of cable carriers, automatically switches the system off to prevent damage to the entire cable system, he explains.

In addition to the emergency stop function, the ECC series also offers a bridging safeguard for the braking distance in both directions of travel. Once the blockage has been removed, the system is easily recoupled and ready for operation immediately, Owens says.

He notes that this safety system is designed for applications with long travel lengths in ports and steel works, as well as cranes, com-post, coal or raw material conveyor systems.

The steel industry market’s reaction to the new cable carrier system is “pleasing”, owing to the ease of the system’s installation and its low continuous maintenance, he concludes.