Did you know that #Kastalon now has #3DPrint Mold/Tooling capabilities? This new addition allows us to produce parts that were previously either size or profile-restrictive. To learn more about our 3D Printer capabilities contact a Sales Representative today.
July 2020, Kastalon has purchased and installed a new Summit roll lathe to further enhance our large roll manufacturing and repair capabilities. Kastalon now offers the most comprehensive roller services in the industry.
The Summit lathe/roll grinder allows Kastalon to not only machine metal, but to turn, mill, groove, and grind polyurethane and rubber covered rollers to ultra-precise diameters, geometric finishes, and straightness specifications. This CNC machine has a capacity of 48 inch finished diameters x 20 feet CC (1.22 x 6.1 meters) and almost 50,000 lbs with full CNC grooving. Simple to highly complex and precise grooves and finishes can be produced with this state-of-the-art equipment.
Kastalon’s roller capacity ranges from fractional diameters and face lengths to 62 inches in diameter x 30 feet overall length (1.57 x 9.1 meters). Kastalon’s polyurethane roll coverings are available from 20 Shore A to 75 Shore D (baby’s skin soft to bowling ball hard, and anywhere in between) with surface finishes and groove patterns to optimize your roller’s performance.
We’ve combined chemistry and mechanics just for you. Contact Kastalon today and bring the Kastalon’s advantage to your operations.
According to Wikipedia “A dead blow hammer is a specialized mallet helpful in minimizing damage to the struck surface and in limiting peak striking force, with minimal elastic rebound from the struck surface.”
So here is the STORY…
A tube mill’s high performance automated systems are designed to keep things moving, however, one tube mill had an issue with their pipe bouncing back too far when they impacted their adjustable pipe stop bumpers. The bumpers were designed to stop the tube and prepare them to be fed into the next area of the line.
The bouncing of tubes was causing misalignment and jams. The line then had to be shut down until the jam could be cleared. This was a continuous issue so the mill staff assumed that the hardness of the bumper needed to be adjusted, however, that was not the solution. The problem was so severe that the bumpers were causing a bounce back as far as 18 to 24” on large pipes and 8 to 12” on smaller pipes.
Fortunately, the mill contacted a representative from Kastalon to get a second opinion. Kastalon’s expertise in chemical engineering was able to determine that the hardness was not the issue, the physical and mechanical properties of the polyurethane bumper needed to be adjusted to allow the bumpers to absorb the energy rather than rebounding it. What they needed was a “dead blow bumper”.
Once the bumpers were replaced by a proprietary Kastalon polyurethane bumper, the results were immediate and dramatic. The bounce of large pipes was reduced to 4-5 inches and the small pipes were only bouncing back about an inch.
Regardless where polyurethane is used, the secret is not just the hardness of the material, but how the material needs to work to its optimal performance in that application and environment. This is where Kastalon’s “engineered to fit” philosophy puts the emphasis on the desired result and the environment that a part is operating in. Even if it is a simple bumper!
Kastalon is proud to be a Department of Defense (DOD) sub-contractor for the new aircraft carrier, the CVN 78 Gerald Ford. Not only is the Ford class aircraft carrier the most powerful ship in the world, it’s technology is the most advanced in the entire fleet. If you look at time frames 2:10 through 2:27, you will see 3 angled areas on the deck just after the arresting cable. These are polyurethane covered plates that absorb the initial impact of the cable assembly with the flight deck. To get an idea of the forces and nature of the impact at 2:22 you will see sparks from the cable dragged across the deck after the polyurethane absorbed the force of the initial impact. This is incredibly brutal to the arresting wire equipment. Without the protection provided by the pads the arresting wire would be compromised which could result in failure and the loss of the aircraft, perhaps the pilot as well.
During the ship’s Independent Steaming Exercises (ISE), USS Gerald R. Ford’s crew tested and evaluated the ship’s capabilities, including 83 aircraft launches and recoveries. For these flight operations, the new launch and recovery technologies, Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), were on display.
We are very proud of the fact that Kastalon worked with Navel Engineering to develop the design and is the only manufacturer qualified to supply these pads. Kastalon’s parts and products are in nuclear submarines, mining, heavy equipment, material handling systems, steel and metals manufacturing and processing, converting, food, packaging, aircraft, and even on the space shuttle and space station. From deep sea to deep space, Kastalon manufactures the most innovative, highest quality polyurethane components for military, industrial and commercial equipment systems.
About ACIBC
The Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC) represents businesses that supply parts, equipment and services for the construction and maintenance of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Established in 2004, ACIBC seeks to preserve the strength of the aircraft carrier force and promote the value of the aircraft carrier industrial base as a vital part of the nation’s overall defense structure.
Source: US Navy. Originally reported by ACIBC (The Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition). Photo Credit: US Navy/Erik Hildebrandt
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Location: 84” Hot Mill Roll Shop
Originally reported: April 3, 2009
At the 84″ Hot Mill Roll Shop, the Area Manager and his team were experiencing a short life span of three to four weeks from their Gib Blocks that had standard Babbitt material on their Herkules Roll Grinder. The Gib Blocks in question measured 5.118” diameter by 2.717” in overall height and 6.69” diameter and 3.11” in over all height. Two of each is required at time on this machine. Kastalon looking to always come up with a way to ease our clients pain, suggested replacing the standard Babbitt material used throughout the industry for this application, with our specially formulated polyurethane material. The roll shop has now been using Kastalon’s polyurethane Gib Blocks for over a year now with great success. The polyurethane Gib Blocks are lasting four to five times (12 to 16 week life span) longer than the Babbitt material Gib Blocks. Putting a cost savings number to this is as follows.
Due to this mill’s purchasing standards, the area manager was unable to tell us what they were paying for the Gib Blocks to be reconditioned with the Babbitt material, but they did gave us permission to quote him on saying “Kastalon’s material costs substantially less”
The price of the Gib Block reconditioned from Kastalon is as follows:
5.118″ diameter by 2.717” overall height $190.00 ea
6.69″ diameter by 3.11 overall height $225.00 ea
The machine uses two of each at a time for a total of $830.00
$830.00 x 15 times per year with Babbitt material equals $12,450.00
$830.00 x 4 times per year with Kastalon’s Polyurethane equals $3320.00
Savings per year to the mill: $9130.00
Using Kastalon Prices, with the substantial longer life cycle of the Kastalon Gib Blocks, we can show a savings to the mill of $9130.00 per year for one roll grinder. We have now moved passed the testing period and we are outfitting the rest of the grinders with the Kastalon Gib Blocks at the 84″ Roll shop.
In addition, weigh inventory costs, transportation costs, labor costs.
In February of 2007 Kastalon was called to a Steel Mill for interest in our mandrel sleeves. We were called because this particular customer was having issues with the rewinding of their steel coils, as a result of the mandrel sleeves that were being used. They had also tried a few different mandrel sleeves from different vendors without the satisfaction they were looking for. Along with the operating issues, they were just not experiencing a longevity that they felt was adequate.
This particular line was a high speed steel processing line that converted hot band to automotive/appliance grade steel. The area of concern was at the end of the line where they have two rewind mandrels, that they alternate rewinding their finish product with. Most of their steel is considered exposed steel and they guarantee to their customers, 100 % coil usage.
Kastalon met with this customer and discussed their needs and concerns for this particular problem. We obtained drawings of their steel mandrel and engineered a mandrel sleeve that we felt would meet and exceed all of their expectations. In March of 2007, this customer placed an order for one mandrel sleeve for trial. The sleeve worked right out of the box and they ran it for three months, not experiencing any of the issues they had experienced with the prior sleeves. In July of 2007, they placed an order for the second sleeve and outfitted both of their mandrels with Kastalon Mandrel sleeves. They continued to see no reoccurring issues seen from the prior sleeves so they purchased two more sleeves as spares in November of 2007and continue to run problem free. Soon after the two spare sleeves were delivered to the customer, I stopped out and met with the customer to offer them with some tips on how to store and add operating life to all four of their mandrel sleeves. Tips that were never offered to them from previous suppliers.
In June of 2009 an order was received at Kastalon, Inc. for one sleeve. We called the customer to check in and we were told that they had an operator error and that one of the sleeves was tore and that they had to take it out of use. We asked them why they didn’t call us out to take a look at the sleeve before that was determined. They responded that the operator admitted to his error. And that the sleeves were just inspected a few weeks prior and looked as good as new, other that being oily from use. In November of 2011, two more sleeves were ordered. The customer was concerned that they have never had Mandrel Sleeve last this long and wanted to add two more to their inventory in case of a sleeve failure.
Since March of 2007, Kastalon has supplied a total of seven Mandrel Sleeves to this particular line. As of April of 2012, three of the four original sleeves provided by Kastalon are still in use. Remember, one was taken out of use due to operator error. This particular line is considered a High Speed, High Tension, Dual Rewind line. This customer has averaged 1,125,000 tons of steel per year that has been recoiled on our sleeves at an average speed of 1800 feet per minute. Their steel is considered very high quality steel which also adds something to say about our sleeves. (If our sleeves had poor cut resistant properties, we could also create them quality issues with their thinner gauge steel. But they have not experienced any of that.) Our customer has worked with us and together we engineered a sleeve that would meet and exceed their expectations. To say that they are satisfied with Kastalon Mandrel Sleeves is an understatement.
Update: 8/1/14
This customer placed an order for two more Mandrel Sleeves in July of 2014. Two of the original sleeves from 2007 finally wore out. That brings the total amount of sleeves ordered to 9 since 2007. Six of the sleeves are still in working order and are in their rotation being swapped out during downturns every three months.
Total cost of the nine sleeves that have rewound 9,000,000 tons of steel since 2007 have produced an operating cost for Kastalon’s Mandrel sleeves of $0.07 per thousand tons.
New patent pending Coil Saddle takes safety and stability to a whole new level.
Alsip, IL – Kastalon, Inc. has blended portability and stability to create the Coil Saddle , a revolutionary coil storage device for any application. The deep cradle fits virtually any size coil and takes up minimal floor space. The unique design offers the versatility of using it as a moveable fixture in staging areas or affixed permanently to the storage area floor.
Made of bright safety yellow polyurethane and reinforced steel frames the Coil Saddle surprisingly only weighs 45# and can be easily moved out of the way when not in use, thus avoiding tripping hazards.
With the cost of metal continually increasing, the cost of scrap becomes a greater factor to your profitability. Coil Saddles is your front line weapon in scrap management by protecting surface sensitive metals from floor irregularities and contamination.
Kastalon has been a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of high quality, innovative polyurethane parts and products to protect metals. From the time metal is rolled, coated or processed Kastalon roller coverings, mandrel sleeves, filler plates, coil handling pads, fork truck bumpers and coil storage products are in service providing outstanding protection and increasing yields.
For more than 40 years, Kastalon supplies crane bumpers into every imaginable environment around the world.
From ports and shipyards to steel mills and industrial facilities, Kastalon bumpers are unaffected by extreme environmental conditions, and are highly effective in temperature extremes from less than -51°C (-60°F) to 107°C (225°F).
Approved for use on nuclear fueling cranes by the U.S. Navy and for nuclear power house cranes, Kastalon crane bumpers are virtually unaffected by gamma ray exposures in excess of 1×109 Roentgens.
Whether you are purchasing new equipment or are replacing existing bumpers, specify Kastalon Crane Bumpers.
To assist you in sizing or customizing bumpers, Kastalon offers an interactive web site for calculating the exact bumpers to meet any requirements.
Access the Kastalon Crane Bumper Calculator by visiting www.kastalon.com or contact us directly and an applications engineer will help select your optimum bumper.
Kastalon offers mills and processors highly engineered polyurethane mandrel sleeves, filler plates and filler rings with material hardness and surface options to match customer needs, protecting coils from damage
Kastalon brings 50 years experience in coil processing to the task of engineering a new offering of application-specific, proprietary formulated polyurethane mandrel sleeves, filler rings and filler plates. These products are designed to adapt the mandrel to handle coils with larger ID’s and addresses the problems of damage from creasing, scratching and marring at mills, service centers, toll processors and fabricators alike. Such damage is expensive for any coil handling operation, especially when the metal is prepainted or must maintain optimum cosmetic surface integrity. By the use of Kastalon mandrel sleeves, filler rings or filler plates on the uncoiler or recoiler, the inside wraps on coils are protected from metal to metal contact. More finished material is produced or usable, as a result.
Mandrel sleeves are custom designed with engineered surface hardnesses and grooved or smooth finishes, depending on the particular application. Full sleeves are usually recommended for the recoilers, while filler rings and filler plates are more often utilized for uncoilers.
In use, the proprietary chemistry of the Kastalon Polyurethane material withstands the stress caused by the weight of the coil, then reforms when the mandrel is collapsed back to the rest position, owing to the inherent memory of the Kastalon engineered material. With other materials now on the market, sleeves will often sag due to memory loss and the resulting gap can cause significant coil damage. Correspondingly, additional labor and line downtime result from this condition, as realignment of the coil, sleeve and mandrel is needed. Through the true and precise sizing of the mandrel sleeve, combined with the proper material hardness and surface texturing, a Kastalon sleeve can last up to 10 times longer than rubber, fiber or even other commodity type polyurethane products, according to company research, available on request.
Kastalon mandrel sleeves are non-marring, cut-resistant, abrasion-resistant and offered for friction fit, requiring a separate “keeper”, or bolt-on installation. Company engineers consult customers on the amount of lubricant, cleaning solution or other coating chemistries present in the process, as this will determine the particular formulation selected. Furthermore, Kastalon offers these mandrel sleeves in a wide variety of grooved or soft surface finishes to meet the specific tension and pressure requirements of a processor’s uncoil/recoil apparatus. Special dual-durometer sleeves are also available for mills and processors where “head-in” damage is often encountered.
For most uncoilers, Kastalon filler rings or filler plates can provide the optimum performance for the tension, pressure and metal contact requirements typically present.
The design process for Kastalon mandrel sleeves can begin with a visit to the company’s website, www.kastalon.com, for completion of a needs assessment questionnaire. Detailed information is gathered on this form, allowing the Kastalon engineers to calculate the best sleeve design and chemical composition to suit the job.
Short run forming of complex sheet metal shapes using rubber dies and pads is quick and highly effective. This technique was first accomplished using the Guerin Process. After the Second World War, the Wheelon process was developed as an improvement over the Guerin Process. A Wheelon press is capable of manufacturing large, complex, short run parts with economic tooling. This type of hydraulically actuated bladder forming is widely used in the aerospace industry today.
When the Wheelon process was first employed, the forming press fluid cells and forming pads were made of Neoprene rubber. The Neoprene formulations of the day were developed by rubber molders’ chemists. Their formulas were proprietary and highly secretive.
The high grade formulation of Neoprene used was an excellent material for the function of forming pads and fluid cells. It was tough, had very high extensibility, good cut resistance, excellent oil resistance and produced good detail with moderate pressures.
This was the standard material for Wheelon forming pads and fluid cells for many years. However, as the U.S. industrial rubber goods industry matured, its productive capacity diminished. The industry lost the capacity and knowledge required to make Neoprene pads and cells. There are presently no suppliers of rubber Wheelon or Guerin cells or pads in North America.
Fortunately, there was capacity to produce these parts from polyurethane. Polyurethane is a synthetic elastomer that is far stronger than Neoprene. Polyurethane has greater cut resistance, more abrasion resistance, greater tensile strength and has suitably high elongation for effective use in the Wheelon process.
Polyurethane is also a more environmentally stable material than the original Neoprene. Most often, when installing forming pads and upon starting forming operations, the Neoprene would be “dried out”. This would lead to shrinkage of the pad and increased stiffness. In order to install the pad and/or start the operation, it would be necessary to heat the Neoprene to restore it to its original softness and resilience. Polyurethane is far more consistent, retaining its size, shape and maintaining its softness and resilience. This eliminates the need for heat “rejuvenation”.
However, in spite of the superiority of the physical properties of polyurethane over the previously used Neoprene, there is a drawback to polyurethane. Due to its increased strength and toughness, far greater pressures must be employed to achieve acceptable part definition and this results in greater strain on the press, its components and some reduction in forming definition.
Some of the difficulties encountered with the use of commercial and even Kastalon KAS43210AE forming pads and cells are:
The challenge to industry has been to create a material that has polyurethane’s toughness and the extensibility of the lost Neoprene material.
Our initial discoveries led us to improve the traditional polyurethane formulations to increase extensibility, reduce working pressure and improve cut and tear strength in the “mid extension” ranges where these pads operate. However, this was only a compromise and a temporary solution to producing a forming pad with superior performance.
After years of continuing research, a hybrid polyurethane compound, trademarked Gümmilast by Kastalon, has been developed. The properties of Gümmilast are very similar to the original Neoprene in performance and exceed the toughness of traditional polyurethane. A comparison of the original Neoprene, Gümmilast, Kastalon KAS43210AE and commercial polyurethane is presented in the following table.
| Neoprene | Gümmilast KAS021909A | Kastalon KAS43210AE | Commercial PUR | |
| Hardness, Shore A Tensile, psi | 55-602,002 psi | 602850 | 704153 | 704660 |
| Elongation | 773 % | 774 | 694 | 630 |
| 5% modulus | 92 psi | 133 | 201 | 221 |
| 50% | 119 psi | 184 | 260 | 282 |
| 100% | 157 psi | 229 | 340 | 360 |
| 200% | 277 psi | 262 | 434 | 475 |
| 300% | 472 psi | 337 | 522 | 670 |
| 400% | 741 psi | 471 | 738 | 985 |
| Split tear | 228 psi | 191 | 181 | 185 |
| Dynamic modulus | 289 | 372 | 733 | 836 |
The similarity between Gümmilast and the original Neoprene is apparent. In the operating range extension (250-400%), previously available polyurethanes create far higher internal stresses. The rapid increase of these stresses in this operational strain range leads to need for higher pressure and less definition. This makes tool design and the use of intensifier pads highly critical.
When using Gümmilast, the reduction in operating pressure will yield greater press life, while offering greater part definition.
Life testing of Gümmilast pads and cells is ongoing. To date, Kastalon anticipates 3-6 times the life of Improved Kastalon Polyurethane and an even greater life over commercial polyurethane.
In conclusion, Kastalon Gümmilast will provide the Wheelon Process user with a material that offers similar process ease, forming definition and reparability as experienced with the original rubber and providing significantly improved life over commercial polyurethane. Gümmilast is also available for hydroforming bladders, throw pads and Guerin Process pads.
Kastalon Gümmilast products are available from your press parts provider or from Kastalon, Inc.