Mario Töpfer looks at some of the latest developments in rubber and plastics technology.

With its elastic properties, rubber provides a suitable connection between materials in industrial, dynamic applications. ContiTech Fluid Technology, for instance, develops and produces innovative hose line systems for all areas of industry.

The hose manufacturer’s hydraulic expertise ranges from special applications to a full service package. Various requirements are met by ContiTech with a broad range of suitable hose assemblies and individual line system designs. These include compact hydraulic hoses with stable, yet highly flexible, steel wire reinforcement that fit perfectly into ultra-tight spaces to perform high-pressure tasks in the lifting gear of industrial trucks, hydraulic hoses for hydrostatic propulsion, and dual hoses made of plastic that control the hydraulic lift mast. Preshaped fuel hoses made of polyurethane and polyamide are also contained in the selection. A space-saving plug-in system is used to ensure quick fitting of all these hoses. And, to round off the product range, there are molded hoses for special charge-air cooling applications among other things.

With its Schwingmetall range, ContiTech Vibration Control is offering mounting technology for machine and equipment construction, the rail vehicle industry, as well as for cabs, engines and accessories. From simple rubber-metal mounts to noise decoupling and on through to mounting elements for top comfort requirements in industrial vehicles, ContiTech supplies the whole range from one source. Rotofrix friction wheels and rings from ContiTech are the result of many years’ experience in the field of drive technology.

The Rotofrix products are characterised by their high transmission power, high efficiency, long service life, low noise generation and compact space requirement. Further advantages include trouble-free installation, easy fitting and maintenance-free operation.

MEGI mount elements from Phoenix are design elements used in the effective minimisation of vibration and noise from machinery, equipment and systems, and where power is transmitted without play and friction. They are characterised by their firm bond between metal and elastomer as well as their wide range of possible applications. The extensive MEGI product range has the right mount element for nearly every vibration control application. The ranges includes buffers, stop buffers, bars and machine mountings with and without break safeguard, cones, ring elements and U-V-W parts through to ceiling elements, bushes and rings.

A wide spectrum of specific components made by ContiTech are indispensable elements of modern lift trucks. Flat polyurethane belts from the ContiTech Power Transmission Group with ultra-high-strength steel cord reinforcing materials save space and virtually eliminate drive noise. For years, Conti Polyfalt PU PU flat belts have proven their worth in elevators. In forklifts, they give the driver a larger field of view, and noise from rattling chains is a thing of the past. Flat belts also have a longer service life than chains, they require no maintenance.

“Flat belts are an elegant power transmission solution that is gaining ground, now for scissors-type lifting tables as well,” says Thomas Winkler, who works in R&D and applications engineering at the ContiTech Power Transmission Group.

There are a multitude of benefits with Conti Synchrochain, which is suited to drives with high torques or high speeds. The belt combines many properties otherwise found only in those special belts developed for specific uses. Conti Synchrochain is a suitable all-round talent for extreme applications where it is essential to achieve not only superb power transmission but also maximum resistance to numerous media. As the first drive belt of this performance category, the belt permits counter flexing in multi-pulley drives and is the optimum alternative to chain drives. Thanks to its hygiene properties, it feels equally at home in the food industry as it does in a tough mining industry environment or in materials handling systems at ports. These belts also provide for fun and safety in fairground attractions, just as they are used in cable car systems where they lift and lower the cars for passenger boarding and alighting. Moreover, they deliver great benefits in the injection molding and printing technologies thanks to their wear resistance and savings potential.

The ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group offers a new kind of conveyor belt system, called Ropecon, that works on the principle of an aerial ropeway. “The Ropecon concept” explains ContiTech development engineer Dr Heinrich Flebbe, “is of advantage wherever high conveying capacity is required across impassable terrain, wooded areas or wide rivers. Also, it can be used on inclines of up to 20degrees.”

Air actuators made by ContiTech Air Spring Systems are the ideal solution whenever space is limited and high forces need to be applied in lifting and pressing applications. They are capable of taking on even the most difficult industrial pneumatics tasks. ContiTech air actuators keep cool even in an extremely hot environment. Featuring outstanding heat resistance, these products are penetrating new areas of application in the paper processing and chemical industries. They consist of a special tensile member, the high-temperature version of which is capable of withstanding temperatures up to 130°C. ContiTech also offers extended-travel air actuators. Although based on a simple principle, these highly efficient pneumatic helpers are doing a fine job mainly in the woodworking and textile machinery industries, in materials handling and in the foodstuffs and construction industries.

The ContiTech company Benecke-Kaliko has developed Benelit nature trend, a new furniture surface quality that opens up entirely new perspectives for kitchen furniture and facility interiors. Thanks to its high resistance to typical spills of coffee, tea, red wine and other aggressive or strong coloured substances, this material is now setting a new standard. What’s more, it combines an elegant matt look with top serviceability.

ContiMetalflex, a dirt-repellent composite material which can be coated with metallic or effect pigments, is made by ContiTech Elastomer Coatings. ContiMetalflex makes it possible to give flexible surface materials new effects previously possible only with rigid substrate materials.

Mario Töpfer is with ContiTech AG, Hanover, Germany. www.contitech.de