PROBLEM

Our customer operates an old slitter/rewind. As usually happens, they were pushing for more and more production. Higher speeds and increased tension resulted in excessive heat. The higher temperatures resulted in excessive brake wear.

SOLUTION

This is a classic situation, trying to do more work than a brake was originally designed to do. The simple answer is a larger brake, however mounting and envelope often eliminate this approach.

We always try to upgrade friction material or other components prior to throwing out the original equipment. Given the location of the brake, this turned out to be the most practical approach.

We bonded a special plastic friction material to their existing 18″ diameter disc. Testing was successful. The brake has been operating without problems for 2 years in Antarctica.