Steinemann has a long tradition of drum manufacturing. For 100 years now, Steinemann has been fabricating contact drums, tension drums, guide rollers and conveyor rollers for wide-belt sanders in its own production facility. Perfected over many years, the drum design and the optimized manufacturing process support a reliable, precision sanding process even after years of use. This is guaranteed by precision manufacturing methods and find-tuned balancing for all drums and rollers produced by Steinemann Technology.

The contact drums in the calibration process are at the heart of a wide-belt sander. At speeds of up to 1,500 rpm, working widths of up to 3.3 m and an output of up to 200 kW per drum, they sand a wood-based panel without any vibration and at an accuracy level in the region of hundredths of a millimetre. High demands clearly must be imposed on the design and manufacturing of drums of such calibre.

The key to years of fatigue-free operation on high-stress sanding jobs is the forged bearing shaft welded inside the contact drum tube. Optimum calculation of the ratio of grooves in the surface of the contact drum prevents slip between the drum and the sanding belt, thus ensuring a long life time not only for the sanding belt, but also the contact drum. To minimize natural wear of the drums during the sanding process, Steinemann Technology has developed a special method for surface hardening: the Arctech® coating. It is applied in an arc-spray process onto the surface of a contact drum. Because Arctech® is four times harder than the base material, the coating results in a much longer life time than an untreated, conventional contact drum.

As a drum specialist, Steinemann Technology manufactures new drums, but also refurbishes used ones. Worn contact drums are reworked by us in-house and upgraded with the wear-resistant Arctech® coating. Drums treated by this method are like new again and ready for heavy duty, everyday use in our customers’ sanding lines.