Perry Bridge Works   Aldridge Road   Perry Barr   Birmingham   B42 2HB   England
Tel: +44 121 356 5255/6  Fax: +44 121 344 3172  E-Mail: info@edwinlowe.com

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Bearing housing cartridges represent new technology to the international idler manufacturing market and as a result - a technical change to the way in which idlers are manufactured. Naturally enough therefore, idler manufacturers considering using our products frequently raise certain questions with us, in order to answer specific queries or to provide them with additional technical information concerning our products.

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Shown here are some of the main questions we are most often asked, together with our considered replies:
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What are the main principal advantages of Edwin Lowe cartridges compared with 
. traditional idler manufacturing methods?
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What is your standard sealing arrangement within the cartridge?
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How effective is this 3 lip seal and for which applications is it best suited?
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Does heat generated during the idler welding process damage or harm the internal 
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These are fairly new products - how do we know they work?
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What brand of bearings do you use within your cartridges?
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Can you only manufacture ball bearing cartridges?
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What do you mean when you say your technology is "set to revolutionise" idler 
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Do you always use standard ball bearings within your cartridges?
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What range of cartridges do you presently manufacture?
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Do you sell your own brand of ball bearings as separate products?
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Do we need any special welding equipment to enable us to use the Edwin Lowe 
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How long do your cartridges last in the field?
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What kind of grease do you use within your cartridges?
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Question 1 Bookmark
The main advantages as we see them, may be summarised as follows:

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Idler reduced to three components only
Increased production flexibility batch -v- bulk
Economics of batch production = economics of bulk production
Simplifies idler manufacturing process
Reduces production cycle time
Significantly increased production throughput
Easier to maintain high quality standards
Reduced customer lead times
Technology now exists - different idler specifications produced upon the same line
Therefore - minimises future capital investment
Therefore - instant change of product design
Therefore - ability to provide for 100% of all domestic and overseas market

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Question 2 Bookmark
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There are many pros and cons for different designs of sealing arrangement, but upon serious reflection, we have adopted the following design as our current standard seal:

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A low friction 3 lip shaft contact seal in flame retardant polyurethane
This design is now widely accepted by customers here in the UK and overseas
The seal itself has received formal approvals both here in the UK and overseas

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Question 3 Bookmark
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Our seal is suitable for all common idler applications, both above and below ground. It is designed:

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To exclude both dry and liquid contaminants
To be hardwearing and give many years of sealing life
In fire resistant material for underground applications
To minimise rotational resistance on the shaft
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Question 4 Bookmark
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The answer is definitely - NO. Provided that:

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All components involved i.e. cartridges, tubes and shafts are clean - to ensure good 
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The idler welding process is controlled accurately
The weld speed is controlled correctly
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- then we can say with absolute certainty that no damage will be caused to any of the constituent components within the cartridge.
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Question 5 Bookmark
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The short answer is - look at our Customer List. Our products may be new to you, but they have now established a reputation for quality and reliability, despite encountering tough applications in the field.

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Question 6 Bookmark
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We now only use Edwin Lowe Ltd own brand ball bearings..  These are manufactured exclusively for us - to suit our range of idler bearing housing cartridges.
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Question 7 Bookmark
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No - we already have an internationally patented design of Taper Roller Bearing Cartridge.

In fact we go further and positively say that it is also possible to build into our cartridges:
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All common specifications of bearings, presently used by idler manufacturers around 
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Whatever specification of sealing arrangement you wish
Or even a combination of sealing arrangements, within the cartridge
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Different cartridge designs however would be offered subject to prior agreement on production tooling costs.
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Question 8 Bookmark
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It is quite simple - for the first time ever we can say that the technology now exists to enable idler manufacturers to produce idlers of different specifications, upon the same production line and upon the same production equipment - but without changing any element of the production process. This has never been done before.
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Question 9 Bookmark
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The answer is no.  We are continuing to design and produce our own improved specification of ball bearings.
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On 1st July 2002 we introduced two brand new ball bearings - to our own design - the first to bear the Edwin Lowe Ltd brand - bearings references EL6204W12/20 mm and EL6205W12/25 mm.
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These two new ball bearings have superceded and replaced all earlier specifications.  We are continuing to look at redesigning the 30 mm, 35 mm and 40 mm specifications.
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Question 10 Bookmark
We manufacture ball bearing cartridges to suit the following range of idler and shaft diameters:

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Idler diameters from 60.0 mm up to and including 202.3 mm. (2.36" up to and including 8.00")
Shaft diameters from 20.0 mm up to and including 40.0 mm
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Question 11 Bookmark
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Some equipment yes - i.e. the standard piece of equipment used by our customers is a conventional twin headed MIG welding lathe, with which idler manufacturers are already familiar. However it is necessary to utilise a new design of Head Tooling for the welding lathe. We can supply additional information here if required.
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Question 11 Bookmark
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Yes - we are happy to sell our own brand of bearings - to customers old and new.  Please let us know if we can help you here
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Question 12 Bookmark
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Provided the idler has been manufactured correctly - our cartridges will last for several years in the field. Some of our customers' idlers installed in the early 1990s are still performing efficiently, despite operating in the most arduous conditions.

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Question 13 Bookmark
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We use a standard lithium based grease within our cartridges - but we can offer alternative greases to suit different field applications - for example:

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Low temperature grease - Arctic conditions
High temperature grease - hot/desert conditions
Fire resistant grease - coal mine/underground applications

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All of our greases have been tested for compatibility with our polyurethane seal raw material via external laboratories.
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