Unplanned Downtime - Are Your Flexible Connectors To Blame?

In a bulk processing plant, maximizing production uptime is key. When assessing your production line, have you considered how much the transitions between your equipment really impact overall production efficiency if they fail?

Any unexpected stops in production due to equipment failure are ‘unplanned downtime’. These can create massive backlogs in your processing line, and ultimately have a disastrous effect on your overall profitability.

Regular maintenance is essential to prevent unplanned downtime so investing in quality machinery is always a good idea. However, when considering process line components, it can be easy to look at something like a flexible connector and think of it as a ‘disposable commodity’ where skimping on quality is fine – but nothing could be further from the truth.

The true cost of using low-quality connectors

It’s important to understand the true, long-term business cost of choosing low-quality flexible connectors over investing up-front in a high-quality solution for your processing line.

Whilst clamped connectors are generally cheap to purchase and initially ‘easy’ to install, they often present a variety of issues during day-to-day operation that can have a significant impact on your production uptime. For example:

• Product leaking through crevices causing dust in the factory environment, particularly when using pneumatic transport.
• Product building up between the connector and the outside of the pipe, causing a hygiene risk and requiring regular cleaning.
• Many cheap, clamped connectors tear easily, and the clamps can wear holes in the material, particularly on moving equipment like sifters.
• Many clamped connectors can be cut to length, so there are installation variations, depending on who changes the connector.  It can be difficult to ensure the length, positioning and tightening are all done correctly and consistently during change-outs.

All of these examples require production downtime for cleaning and replacing or repositioning the flexible connector.

Long-term efficiency gains with BFM® fitting

The patented BFM® fitting system was initially designed to solve these problems, which had long been plaguing bulk powder handling plants.

Unlike a traditional flexible connector, it sits on the inside of the pipe rather than being clamped to the outside. To achieve a 100% seal that prevents dust from escaping, it is ‘snap-fitted’ into specially shaped grooves in a stainless-steel adaptor, or spigot, welded to the inlet and outlet pipes.

The outward pressure of the metal ‘snap’ bands inside the connector cuff holds it securely in place, and the connector is simply snapped in and out manually in seconds.  No tools are needed, no difficult screws or clamps. It’s always the correct length fitted in the correct position.

If there is positive pressure inside the system, the seal only improves as it pushes outwards against the pipe.  

More durable connectors save time and money

The most popular of the BFM® fitting connector materials, Seeflex 040E, is also extremely durable and won’t tear like other cheaper connectors. In fact, BFM® fitting customers have reported that in some applications, the BFM® fitting connectors last more than 50 times longer than their previous clamped connectors, an impressive saving in both time and money.

Since its introduction, the BFM® fitting system has transformed plant environments and improved the efficiency of thousands of factories around the world.  It’s now trusted by some of the world’s leading manufacturers and is their preferred connector option because they see the long-term productivity benefits achieved.

Read more about how BFM® fitting helps reduce production downtime and improves efficiency.