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Chains cut theme park down time

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 14, 2002

Tsubaki lube-free LS Series stainless-steel chains have doubled the service-life of roller conveyor chain on the "Pirate Falls" log flume at the Legoland theme park in Windsor.

Tsubaki lube-free LS Series stainless-steel chains have doubled the service-life of roller conveyor chain on the "Pirate Falls" log flume at the Legoland theme park in Windsor.

Previous chains had lasted only 12 months with repeated problems caused by corrosion and excessive wear.

In contrast, Tsubaki's LS Series chain has given continuous trouble-free operation for over two years and is only now being replaced with a new attachment version.

Visitors may be deceived into thinking the Pirate Falls is another leisurely boat ride, but the animated pirates and creatures warn of impending danger.

Passing through the graveyard, the boat starts a steep 20m ascent and there is only one way down - with a big splash.

This is one of the most popular rides in the park, so when the chains used to transport the boats up to the top of the ride required excessive maintenance time, the park maintenance crew turned to their local Wyko branch for a solution.

Wyko provides a variety of power transmission and maintenance products to Legoland Windsor and recommended the use of Tsubaki LS Series stainless steel chain for it's self-lubricating properties and increased resistance to water and chemical corrosion.

Alistair Crouch Wyko Slough Branch Manager comments, "The water in the Pirate Falls ride is kept clean using a chlorine based antibacterial solution similar to that used in a swimming pool.

This provided a challenge for us because the fluid would have removed any externally applied lubricant from a standard chain and quickly corroded most stainless steel chains.

Any corrosion on roller chain causes excessive wear and can lead to breakages.

If the chain were to break on this ride, the ships would only move 0.25in and settle safely on the causeway, but with the ride being so popular, Legoland ideally wanted to avoid downtime completely".

Tsubaki's LS chain was first fitted on the ride two years ago and has reached its life expectancy without a problem.

The original pair of LS chains carried the rides 'ships' on slats attached to the chain through holes in the outer links.

The replacement chain now being used is a new 'attachment' version of Tsubaki's LS chain with KT attachments and galvanised slats.

KT attachments are an extended outer link plate with predrilled holes for mounting lateral bars, providing better clearance and a more balanced load on the chain.

Tsubaki Sales Manager Neil Fox adds, "The real advantage of LS chain is its lube-free nature, traditional stainless-steel chain is not heat treated and uses any liquid it is immersed in as a proxy lubricant.

This means that when conventional stainless steel chain is operated only partially submerged as it is on the ride at Legoland, the chain tends to wear excessively because the lubricant is drained away from it when it operates outside of the liquid medium.

LS chain overcomes this problem by using engineered plastic bushings between the chain roller and the pin, the plastic provides a barrier between the metal elements and prevents wear while maintaining a very low friction coefficient between the two materials".

LS chain provides the ideal solution in operating environments where lubrication is difficult or impossible, when frequent wash downs are necessary, or if the chain has to be used in water.

It has been introduced to meet the needs of customers in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, sanitation, paper manufacturing, ceramic and other similar industries where the conveyed materials can act as a corrosive on the chain.

In addition to its self-lubricating properties, the plastic sleeve overcomes the problems of improper indexing over time, which are experienced as a result of stretching on standard stainless chains.

The operation of the sleeve increases the wear life of the LS chain, so stretching is greatly reduced.

LS chain has a wide operating temperature band from -10 to +100C.

This allows its use across a broad range of applications.

The chain is available four different sizes and can also be supplied with low-noise Delrin rollers where required.