Hitachi's previous range of roller chain, the SBR and Neo-SBR has outperformed competitors for the last 20 years and now one of the markets most respected brands just got 30 per cent better.
In 1987, Hitachi introduced the first premium line of solid bushing/solid roller (SBR) industrial chain products. Cold forged solid steel parts replaced traditional curled components to increase the strength and extend chain life.
In 1997 Hitachi added a unique Neo coating to pins and bushings and redesigned the connecting link. A market leading product was made better as Hitachi's design focus shifted to increasing the chain wear life and improving the endurance of the connecting link.
The new coating assisted lubrication and protected against corrosion providing and additional 5 per cent-10 per cent increase in wear life.
In 2009 Hitachi went into full production of the new SBR-Prime series roller chain across the standard range. Hitachi once again were the front runner and introduced new innovations in manufacturing technologies and parts processing which has lead to the development of the New SBR-Primes series roller chains.
Most of the competitors were still using a split bush roller chain or converting to a form of the SBR. Some even made improvement to the chain which actually reduced maximum allowable loads due to modification of the bushing. The new Hitachi SBR Prime chain now offers up to 30 per cent increase in Maximum Allocable Load (M.A.L) compared with its leading competitors.
Hitachi introduced new manufacturing processes to deliver the extra load capacity for the SBR-Prime roller chain. By using High Energy Mechanical Process Hitachi have improve fatigue strength by improving compressive residual stress zones.
A simpler explanation is the Hitachi components combine for a perfect fit for maximum resistance to the stress and loads roller chains are subjected too during service life. Heat treatment has also been improved by the introduction of the Triple Zone Hardness Wear protection for pin and bushing. By better balancing the heat treatment to exact depths Hitachi got the maximum wear capacity of the heart of the roller chain.
Corrosion was also addressed with a unique Stainless Steel blast treatment of all components prior to assembly. The film works with a high quality pre-lubrication to protect the chain from corrosive attach and extend life.
The new rating truly enables the user to select size down for future roller chain applications without affecting service life. What's even more incredible is there is no increase to the price as Hitachi remains one of the most competitive premium quality roller chains on the Australia Market place.
Almost 80 per cent of GB Power Transmission Hitachi stock is the new SBR-Prime range already so please do not hesitate to contact us and our Stocking Distributors for further information.
