Reduce Downtime, Save Money with the HammerTek Smart Elbow®

The HammerTek Smart Elbow® deflection elbows reduce the costly headaches of manufacturing plug-ups. Learn how we solved this problem for Fiberglas Canada by reading the full case study here.

Manufacturers of abrasive materials are all too familiar with the downtime and expense caused by material clogging. Dave Goodwin of Fiberglas Canada is one of those people. Goodwin, Plant Maintenance Superintendent for the Scarborough, Ont.-plant, was tired of the aggravation of blowing out up to 20 clogs a year caused by wear on the two refractory elbows connecting the batch house and the furnace hall. In addition to suffering costly fabrication delays and quality degradation, Fiberglas Canada was spending $350 U.S. to replace each of the ceramic piping elbows at an average of five times per year.

The fiberglass produced by the Canadian plant is formed in an automated process by mixing six ingredients, including sand, borax, soda ash and limestone, and conveying it under pressure into the plant’s furnace hall where it is melted into glass and spun into fiberglass. Goodwin knew that the refractory elbows couldn’t withstand the abrasive materials. He decided to try the HammerTek Smart Elbow deflection elbow, which is designed to minimize flow turbulence and plugging.

After installing the new elbow, it functioned trouble-free for 15 months. At a cost of about $800 U.S., the HammerTek Smart Elbow saved them considerable money by reducing the downtime due to plugging, blow outs and cleanup. Fiberglas Canada replaced the second refractory elbow a few months later. It experienced even less clogging than the first.

For more information on the HammerTek® Smart Elbow® deflection elbow, please visit www.hammertek.com.