Sprocket Puller

[ChazzC]

I know I didn’t mention it before, but I would never put anything in my mouth that came from the customer I did the work for.
You would be shocked and appalled if you knew what i see

When I was consulting there were a number of products that I put on my "Do Not Eat" list, but only a couple that were because of the methods or sanitation – most were due to a better understanding of the ingredients used (did you know that chicken skin qualifies as "Chicken" on a label?).

 

[mmcmdl]

Looks like what we have in at work . A few triple sprockets underneath the extruder tables . We wear the sprockets out quite regularly because our drive wheels are on angles to pull the product thru the rollers . The tool you made also looks like what we used down at the Sunpapers plant . We had very large pullers made up for the Enerpacs to separate the clutches from the line shafts . My only shop somewhat serious injury occured when one of these driveshafts fell onto my hand while on a man lift . The 2 large bearing housings sheared the taper pins allowing everything to drop . I have a few scars to this day . Good save for your customer . We have extra motors but everything takes weeks and weeks to get here these days . We're getting heaters from Canada and it's 7 weeks lead time , the lines are down .

 

[kgibson4]

I have seen pullers using a small hydraulic jack rather than a threaded center bolt. They look easy to use but, of course, are bulky and not always useful in tight spaces.

 

[markba633csi]

I wonder why they didn't use a large timing belt drive? Quieter, no lube required. Probably the need for a tensioner shot it down in the design phase

 

[Ulma Doctor]

I wonder why they didn't use a large timing belt drive? Quieter, no lube required. Probably the need for a tensioner shot it down in the design phase

The prior design had 2, 5L500 belts driving the business end. We had to constantly adjust the belts during maintenance operations. It was a poor design.
The factory upgraded the drive to #35-4 row drive chain to have flexibility and lower sound levels than #40-3 row chain (which in my opinion was a poor choice, the #35-4 is wimpy in comparison to the #40-3)

Since the advent of polyflex belts, i would consider using them as an alternative to the chain drive, as the stretch is minimal and the polyflex belts are tough and have excellent service lives in other equipment i have worked with.

 

[markba633csi]

Personally I would do anything to avoid using a chain drive direct from a motor shaft like that. The noise must have been deafening!
And the wear- hard to imagine it lasting more than a few weeks

 

[extropic]

Good work Mike.

What surprised me most was the broken teeth on the sprocket.
It looks like old damage because there are no bright spots (clean metal) where the teeth should be.
Seems consistent with your description of the customers maintenance program. LOL

 

[rwdenney]

In industry, chain drives would be enclosed in an oil bath. We used chain drives in agricultural applications because belts build static electricity and grain dust is explosive. But the enclosed oil bath seems applicable here, too. The soaps in the grease have bound the flour dust into what I call kitchcrete.

Rick “in my mechanic days rates doubled when the customer worked on it first” Denney

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Personally I would do anything to avoid using a chain drive direct from a motor shaft like that. The noise must have been deafening!
And the wear- hard to imagine it lasting more than a few weeks

Surprisingly, the #35-4 chain is quite flexible. It is like heavy duty bicycle chain.
The sound is nearly half of the #40-3 chain due to the lighter construction.

A direct drive or a worm drive would be more efficient, but at a higher cost, I’m guessing.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Good work Mike.

What surprised me most was the broken teeth on the sprocket.
It looks like old damage because there are no bright spots (clean metal) where the teeth should be.
Seems consistent with your description of the customers maintenance program. LOL

Yeah , the customer is a let it go until fubar kinda guy. I figure he will pay now and later for my problems with his equipment