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| Explosion prevention is a key requirement for oil and gas drilling applications. Plastic drag chains need to comply ATEX regulations as do those made of stainless steel which do not spark. (Photo: Bauer Maschinen GmbH) |
In many areas of applications, operating and ambient conditions demand a specific material property for cable carriers, for example, with regard to explosion protection. TSUBAKI KABELSCHLEPP offers products made from ATEX CE-certified special synthetic materials.
Classic areas of application are oil and natural gas delivery stations, refineries and petrochemical companies. Furthermore, the ATEX-regulations (French: ATmosphère EXplosible) must be taken into consideration in many other areas of the chemical industry, as well as in the mining industry. Even during the processing of coffee, cacao, starches or flour, explosive mixtures from dust and air occur, so the final components produced must conform to ATEX for the respective hazard zone or category.
The safety level makes the difference
As standard, all KABELSCHLEPP synthetic material chains consist of a material that can be used in Zone-2 applications and conforms to a filling station environment beyond the effective range of the dispensing equipment. Here, normal safety requirements apply because ignition hazard only occurs seldom and momentarily.
Zone 1, with high safety requirements, conforms to dispensing areas of a filling station (pump/vehicle tank aperture) or the area for filling the store tank. For applications in the Zone-1 category, for example, transporting systems for filling liquid, a special synthetic material has been developed for cable conveyor chains. The composition of the material ensures the required Ex-protection in the vicinity of gases, vapours and dusts for temperature classes T1 to T6. Drag chains of this design are intended for use on machines and systems certified in accordance with ATEX CE.
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| Wide choice in any case – cable conveyors made of steel, plastic and hybrid materials combining GRP and aluminum offer the right solution to any application problem. |
"The requirements of industry have changed and will also change in the future with technical progress," says Thomas Wendig, manager of the R&D power chain systems at TSUBAKI KABELSCHLEPP.
"Thus, problems often result because of the new standards that occur. Manufacturers in the development of products must respond in advance to these regulations, amongst other things regarding specific materials that indicate the new characteristics required."
In view of the multitude of materials available in technical thermoplastics, functional materials and elastomers or bio-based synthetic materials, this is a wide field which requires high competence in development. From more than 50 years of application practice, the Wenden-based specialist has the required expertise regarding drag chains. Conforming solutions are developed in the ressource-rich R&D department and implemented in the in-house production.