Application:
Glen Raven Company produces commercial and residential awnings, marine
exterior and interior fabrics, convertible car tops, casual and
residential furniture, and market umbrellas. Their Anderson, SC
facility’s operations include spinning acrylic fiber into yarn,
weaving fabric, applying a variety of finishes and coatings, and
warehousing the finished fabric. This facility used approximately 100
pairs of safety chucks that were manufactured in-house to accept 5000
lb. rolls of fabric on an 8” mandrel or an air shaft. The wound
shaft (finished roll) is automatically side-loaded onto a portable
A-frame (the material rolls down rails and drops into the safety chucks
from the side) from a finishing process, and the A-frame is then taken
to other processes, inspection, or cutting.
Problem:
The problem Glen Raven faced was finding a safer alternative to their
“homemade” safety chucks. The original chucks used the
Boschert-style square engagement (“U”). The chucks used a
flange bearing and created a safety hazard with operators
loading/unloading 5000 lb. rolls. Glen Raven needed a replacement that
would .t the existing dimensions on their machines. They also needed a
custom splined drive shaft to facilitate engagement with a brake or
motor (shown in the drawing above).
Double E Solution:
Double E provided the SP100/P0 and SP100/P1 Safety Chucks for Glen
Raven’s textile application. Double E’s standard SP100
safety chucks are designed only for top-loading applications. Double
E’s engineers modified the existing jaw insert to allow both
side-loading and top-unloading of the textile rolls (see drawings
above) without compromising the safety chuck’s performance. An
initial pair of safety chucks was tested for 9 months before Glen Raven
ordered another 15 pairs.
Jerry Moore, Glen Raven’s Maintenance Supervisor at the Anderson
facility, describes the Double E safety chucks as “100%
better” than their previous chucks. He says that the chucks are
“fitting their need to take care of the safety issues.” As
Glen Raven’s funds permit, they will be upgrading the remaining
safety chucks in the Anderson plant.
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