In automotive assembly, overhead conveyors usually transport the body parts from one work station to the next. The conveyor systems driven by conveyor chains are therefore an important part of the material flow. If the conveyor chain fails here, not only does a large part of the production line come to a standstill. Rather, this can quickly spread to the other production processes from the subassembly to the interior, painting, quality assurance and other downstream processes. This makes it all the more incomprehensible that the performance of the chain is no longer a priority. Special chains often offer a much longer service life than standard chains - especially in high-performance applications.

A good example of these differences in quality is provided by one of the largest British car assembly plants: the conveyor chain installed in the overhead conveyor had to be replaced at least every twelve months and serviced quarterly. The requirements for maintenance and replacement increased because the chain could only be lubricated every three months. It became stiff and sluggish and dust particles in the air caused the chain to become contaminated, which led to wear. The chain usually broke before the twelve months were up. So those responsible decided to replace it every three months as a precaution.

The plant manager wanted to change this and turned to Tsubaki: they quickly realized that the OE chain originally installed by the system manufacturer was not at all suitable for high-performance operation and suggested replacing it. They also wanted the chain to have a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). The Tsubaki engineers then recommended a maintenance-free, self-lubricating chain from the Lambda series. This eliminated the need for manual lubrication, which reduced maintenance costs. The costs for downtime and replacement chain are also a thing of the past.

In terms of durability, the engineers went one better: they developed a special cover plate that was attached to every second chain link to reduce contamination and protect against wear. The rivets used to attach the cover plates have been replaced by special, high-strength screws that are held in place with threadlocking adhesive. as