Almost every village in France still has its own boulangerie, a bakery that has been passed down through generations of an artisan family. Today, these bakers combine tradition with technology to produce the best baked goods. When larger bakeries supply supermarkets in their region, they rely on high quality standards. However, they can only guarantee this if they rely on efficient and cost-effective technical solutions for their machines, equipment and processes.

One such bakery put its costs and processes to the test to ensure the high quality standard of its production line. It turned out that the tunnel oven for producing pre-baked rolls required downtime every 1.5 to two years to replace the conveyor chain. To replace the chain, the machine had to be completely dismantled. As this was very cost-intensive, the question arose as to how the service life of the chain could be increased.

Up to 300 degrees Celsius ambient temperature
Those responsible contacted Tsubaki. On site, its engineers discovered the temperatures to which the chain is exposed throughout the baking process. With an average of 240 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 300 degrees Celsius, the inside of the rollers wore out too quickly. As a result, the chain was damaged earlier than desired.

The DT chain and its customized lubrication system reduce maintenance and increase performance. © Tsubaki

As the operation of a chain in harsh environments can be improved with a special lubrication system, the specialists recommended a technical solution from their conveyor chain catalog. The new conveyor chain from the DT series has heat-treated rollers and bushes to ensure smooth interaction even at high temperatures. It has also been designed in terms of strength and performance to withstand the regular load.

The bakery was also recommended to apply a special food-grade lubrication to the chain, which remains stable even when exposed to very high temperatures. An electrically operated gear pump is used for optimum lubrication dosing. It is synchronized with the speed of the chain. This ensures that the chain is always supplied with the optimum amount of lubrication.

Service life increased from two to five years
After installing and commissioning the DT chain with its customized lubrication system, the bakery's maintenance staff did not have to wait long for the increase in performance. Where the conveyor chain previously wore out quickly within a few months, the new chain quickly showed visible improvements. It is more durable than the previous chain. In fact, it proved to be more than twice as reliable and ultimately achieved a service life of more than five years. The resulting reduction in total cost of ownership had a direct impact on the bakery's bottom line. as