GRAPHALLOY® at Heat Treat Conference in Cincinnati

Graphite Metalllzing Corporation will be exhibiting at the 2011 ASM Heat Treating Society Conference and Exposition from October 31 - November 2, 2011. This event will be held at the Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Visit us at Booth #1925.

For more information about the 2011 Heat Treating Society Conference, click here.

Bearings That Can Handle The Heat

The bearings on the dampers controlling airflow to two 535-MW coal-fired units at a power plant couldn’t handle the heat. High-temperature bearings solved the problem.

The inlet-air section of a utility boiler is a harsh environment for the dampers that control the flow of preheated air into the combustors. Over time, the hot air dries out the lubricant in the metal bearings, or roller elements, that control the movement of the dampers, causing the dampers to seize.

This was a problem at the Sioux Power Plant of Ameren UE (Union Electric), near St. Louis. The plant has two 535-MW, coal-fired units, each of which has 10 cyclone burners. There are two dampers on each burner -- a control damper and a shut-off -- for a total of 40 secondary air dampers. “On average, we had a bearing problem about every two months,” says James Riegerix, general supervisor at the plant.

Ameren has solved the problem by replacing the lubricated steel bearings with self-lubricating bearings made from GRAPHALLOY®, a graphite/metal alloy by Graphite Metallizing Corp., Yonkers, N.Y. All of the bearings for one boiler were replaced in the spring of 2004, and those in the other unit were replaced a year later. Both installations were completed during planned plant outages, which normally are scheduled every two years. So far, there have been no problems with the new bearings, says Riegerix.

He adds that when the changeover was done, the installers found a single bearing from Graphite Metallizing that had been put in a few years earlier. It was still in such good condition it was not changed.

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GRAPHALLOY® Provides Pillow Block Solutions for Confined Areas

If you have conveyor applications with closely spaced roll or other confined applications, GRAPHALLOY® can provide a solution. The 845 and the 448 series pillow blocks are available with a tapped base, allowing for installation in areas where space is a factor. The 845 series provides a solution for normal duty applications while the 448 series is designed for heavier duty requirements.

Both designs provide the same advantages of all GRAPHALLOY pillow blocks:
• Self lubricating; requiring no grease or oil
• Work in temperatures ranging from -400°F to +1000°F
• Available in FDA accepted grades
• Can be used submerged
• Survives harsh chemicals including wash down applications

• Self aligning design

 • 845 series interchanges with traditional ball bearing design

Typical applications include ovens/furnaces, conveyors, dryers, submersed screens, food processing and more. If you have an application where these or other GRAPHALLOY products can be problems solvers, contact one of our application engineers.

GRAPHALLOY® at the Turbomachinery Symposium

Graphite Metallizing Corporation will be at the 40th Turbomachinery Symposium on September 12 -15, 2011 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX.

Visit us at Booth #1707.

Click here for more information about this symposium.

GRAPHALLOY® Stainless Steel Cam Followers for Wet or Submersible Applications

Graphite Metallizing Corporation announces the availability of GRAPHALLOY® stainless steel cam followers for wet or submersible applications. These stainless steel cam followers are corrosion resistant and survive wash down and steam, eliminating the problems experienced with traditional cam followers.

GRAPHALLOY® cam followers do not contain oil or grease to harden, burn up, contaminate or wash away. They are designed to handle moderate loads and speeds of up to 100 RPM and provide reliable performance in temperatures up to 750° F (400° C).

Typical applications include bakery and industrial ovens, steel mill equipment, glass plants, conveyors, kilns, stokers and substrate dryers. GRAPHALLOY® cam followers also perform well in low temperature environments of -100° F (-75° C).

GRAPHALLOY®, a graphite/metal alloy, is a uniform, solid, self-lubricating material. GRAPHALLOY® cam followers will not deform under load, maintain dimensional stability and provide a constant low coefficient of friction for improved wear. GRAPHALLOY® cam followers are especially suitable in applications where lubrication or maintenance tasks are cumbersome, difficult or impossible to perform.

Graphite Metallizing's GRAPHALLOY® cam followers are made to industry-standard dimensions. Metric sizes and special or custom designs are also available.

GRAPHALLOY® Eliminates the Need for Grease and Keeps the Ovens Running

Glass ceramic is ideal for use in a variety of appliances because it is resistant to temperature extremes. This unique material is well-suited for use in cooktops and doors for microwave ovens and fireplaces.

Constant greasing and frequent failures drove a major manufacturer of glass ceramic to seek a better solution. The manufacturer was experiencing problems with their production ovens and dryers. Stud-type cam followers with grease lubrication were being used. The cam followers needed replacement after six months because the grease was failing at the high temperature (428° F/220° C).

After learning about the run dry, self-lubricating properties of GRAPHALLOY®  bearings, the manufacturer contacted Graphite Metallizing Corporation and requested a design solution. Eight standard GRAPHALLOY metric cam followers were installed for testing.

After five months, this manufacturer had already realized significant savings because of reduced maintenance costs and the elimination of high cost, high temperature grease. They were so pleased with the performance of the GRAPHALLOY cam followers that they ordered an additional 200 to retrofit their current ovens.

These GRAPHALLOY cam followers have now been in operation for over one year without the need for replacement or the constant greasing of the original equipment.

The manufacturer plans to retrofit additional ovens in plants worldwide with GRAPHALLOY cam followers.

GRAPHALLOY® No-Lead Bronze Solves Difficult Application Problems

Graphite Metallizing Corporation has developed several bronze GRAPHALLOY^® grades that do not contain lead. These essentially lead-free formulations are used in bearings and bushings where the potential for lead contamination is unacceptable.

Applications include deep-well and potable water pumps, and food-processing equipment such as ovens and conveyors. GRAPHALLOY no-lead bronze has been accepted by the FDA as suitable for many food-grade applications.

The family of no-lead bronze, developed by Graphite Metallizing, offers all the advantages of the leaded bronze GRAPHALLOY without any sacrifice in performance. GRAPHALLOY bushings and bearings are non-galling and are dimensionally stable even when submerged, under load or experiencing wide temperature swings.

There are GRAPHALLOY grades that can withstand temperatures ranging from cryogenic to +1000˚F. Because GRAPHALLOY bushings and bearings are self-lubricating, they are suitable for applications where maintenance operations are infrequent or difficult.