If you had milk with your cereal this morning or a soft drink with your lunch, there’s a high chance the product you held in your hands travelled on a Rexnord conveyor chain at some point in its production or handling process to reach you. As a world leading manufacturer of conveying solutions, Rexnord’s conveying chains are adopted by many original equipment manufacturers in the food and beverage sector.

Rexnord introduced its ground-breaking FlatTop conveyor chains in 1938, starting with the straight-running 815 TableTop® stainless steel chain. These were the world’s first metal chains that integrated a top plate with hinge eyes, giving them the versatility to convey anything from individual units to packaged and
cased goods.

The Rexnord FlatTop conveying chains, including the TableTop and MatTop® series, have since been expanded to offer many materials, types and grades, enabling the solutions to be used across a wide range of applications, from beverage filling to case handling, container making, food conveying and even automotive.

Rexnord’s conveying chains are supplied and supported in Australia through Industrial Solutions Australia businesses – namely CBC, BSC and Webster BSC.

Troy Markland, National Product Manager for Power Transmission at Industrial Solutions, says in recent years, there has been a growing trend to adopt plastic conveying chains where metal chains were traditionally used.

“Plastic chains are the preferred option in food and beverage industries. That’s mainly because they are quieter, they run faster and easier to maintain in general,” says Troy.

Matt Crehan, National Product Manager for Rexnord Australia, says Rexnord’s FlatTop conveyor chains are engineered with many design features that help improve productivity in filling and packaging lines in food and beverage processing plants.

“Rexnord TableTop and MatTop chains and sprockets are designed to meet different speed, friction and wear requirements. The modular design of the chains means you have both straight-running and side-flexing options to match your floor space limitations. Rexnord also offers the best chain-to-sprocket interaction within the industry,” says Matt.

The majority of support provided by the Motion Industries businesses, according to Troy, is around replacing the MatTop and TableTop chains.

“All CBC, BSC and WebsterBSC stores have undergone training by the Rexnord Australia team so that they all have thorough knowledge of the Rexnord conveying solutions and how to help their customers when help is required. While most of our job is replacing the Rexnord chains like for like, we can also help with re-designs or customised solutions, in conjunction with Rexnord Australia,”
says Troy.

“Rexnord also offers the Marbett® conveyor components, including corner tracks, straight tracks, return rollers, serpentines and plugs. Because these components are designed specifically to be used in conjunction with Rexnord’s FlatTop conveying chains, they help extend the chain life and are easy to fit for smooth running of the chains,” he adds.

Rexnord provides a complete portfolio of conveyor components including chain guide components, frame support and levelling components, product handling components and specialty components that are available in both plastic and stainless steel to address a wide range
of requirements.

What is the Difference Between MatTop and TableTop Chain?

There are two main types of Rexnord FlatTop chains: TableTop and MatTop Chain. While the basic functions of TableTop and MatTop are the same, there are several differences between them. TableTop is similar to a door hinge with slats attached, while MatTop can be almost any width and consists of smaller modules held together with a full width pin. TableTop chains are moulded in standard widths from 3.25 to 12 inches and are typically shipped in ten-foot sections. MatTop chains (generically known as plastic modular chain) are usually assembled-to-width via “bricked” construction up to 20-feet wide. Some styles of MatTop chains are also available as “moulded-to-width” (abbreviated as MTW) in standard widths similar to TableTop chain widths. Some of those are also available with Positrack tabs for side-tracking, like TableTop chains. Both narrow TableTop Chains and MTW MatTop Chains can be used for single-file conveying.  Multiple lanes of wider TableTop Chain or single strands of wide MatTop Chain are used for mass flow applications.

Did you know?

The lower friction additives included in the patented Rexnord LF® Low Friction acetal mean:

  • Longer chain life due to improved wear between chain and wearstrips
  • Better accumulation due to lower resistance between chain and products
  • Easier chain pull and less tension at headshaft