Wajax Industrial Components has added a new Chain Condition Monitoring system (CCM) from IWIS to its product portfolio. The IWIS system measures the elongation of drive chains in operation and provides maintenance staff with an early warning that the chain is worn and needs to be replaced.

Wajax distributes the full line of IWIS products in Canada and is the only distributor in North America to stock the IWIS Chain Condition Monitoring System in inventory.

“The innovative IWIS Chain Condition Monitoring System will allow our customers to improve their knowledge of the life of the drive chain, therefore moving from a reactive mode to a predictive mode,” said Karim Asri, Director of Business Development, Bearings & Power Transmission Products, Wajax Industrial Components.

According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), maintenance costs are reduced by half as a result of using this system. Another benefit of this product is that it can be used on all brands of chain because it evaluates a standardized scale developed by ASME and published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – ASME/ANSI B29.1-2011.

The system uses IWIS patented technology to detect chain wear during operation within 0.01 mm and it runs at speeds of 30 fps or more, making it suitable for a wide range of applications. It is able to operate effectively in harsh conditions, such as in wet or heavily contaminated environments.

The CCM uses an external 24 V DC power supply and delivers feedback with on-board LED lights or via a USB connection for display on a computer using a special interface. Chain wear status is shown in 0.5% steps on the finely graduated LED display.

Since measurement is contact-free, with no direct interference with the chain drive, the unit can be permanently mounted on a conveyor in hard-to-reach locations to help reduce unexpected downtime. The system is available for standard roller chain sizes and can be customized to accommodate a number of attachment chains. It is equally effective on simplex, duplex and triplex chains. Installation is simply ‘plug and play’ and no special attachments are required.

“In 2016, IWIS Drive Systems is celebrating our 100th year as a global leader in the manufacturing of high-precision chain, custom sprockets and engineering drive systems,” said Scott Fleming, Regional Sales Manager – Eastern, Northern & Atlantic Canada, IWIS Drive Systems Inc. “IWIS decided to enter the Canadian market with our diverse product offering and we began our search for the perfect distributing partner that would complement our core values of tradition, precision and innovation. IWIS found these same company values and traditions woven into the core of Wajax Industrial Components.”

“IWIS is excited to be able to have partnered with such a strong player in the Power Transmission products arena in Canada. We look forward to supporting Wajax Industrial Components from our two locations – Surrey, BC, and Toronto, ON,” added Fleming.