Smart Elbow® deflection elbow virtually eliminates wear

November 16, 2015 by Miaja Cornelius

Fiberglass is an especially abrasive material. RheTech Inc.’s long-sweep elbows were being worn away little by little until the inevitable happened — an expensive breech in the conveying system. The result was costly: product spillage, line shutdowns, and a substantial impact on productivity.

Gary Wright, RheTech’s director of Plant Engineering, was convinced there was a more efficient and cost-effective way to keep the conveying systems operational.

RheTech manufactures proprietary thermoplastic polyolefin alloys and compounds, frequently requiring minerals and fiberglass as part of the formulations. To meet demand, RheTech operates around the clock. Repairing or replacing even one worn-through sweep elbow would cause downtime — and with it significant impact on delivery timelines.

The Smart Elbow® deflection elbow from Hammertek — or, to be specific, 170 of them — proved to be just the solution he was seeking. When a year-old Smart Elbow model was pulled apart to inspect for damage and wear, the original casting marks were still visible, evidence that abrasive wear was all but eliminated.

Prior to making the switch to Smart Elbow deflection elbow, RheTech replaced each conventional sweep elbow in the facility an average of five times over the course of a year.

Six years after initial installation, we checked back with RheTech to see how Smart Elbow products were holding up. None of those original 170 Smart Elbow models had been replaced!

When the company redesigned its Fowlerville, Michigan, plant, engineers specified Smart Elbow deflection elbows — and have yet to experience a single sweep elbow failure.

To find out how HammerTek Smart Elbow deflection elbows can save your company expensive repairs and downtime, visit us at HammerTek.com.