Was there ever a time when man attempted to build a steel tank and do it without a tank turning roll? Of course there was, and the time wasn’t all that long ago.
The first rudimentary tank turning roll was reportedly put into operation in 1888 at the then Boston shipyard. The roll was reportedly modular and could be aligned to make up a 100-foot-long turning capability.
The power used was supplied by numerous horse driven mills through a belt to the roll. You ready for this? You had to speed up the horses to change the speed of the roll!
Well, needless to say, we have come a long way since then. Today’s modern turning roll is practically maintenance-free, has an inverter controlled drive and is induction motor powered. What does all that mean? You can get the motor to turn really slowly, but still with all the torque the motor has.
At Bud's Machine Tools, we like everything big. For example, we like the fact that our line of BMT turning rolls have the heaviest frames in the business. These frames are made up of stress-relieved forged plate. (Why forged plate? Because it’s the strongest high-carbon plate available.)
Next up, axles and bearings: The axles on the BMT tank rolls are made at the factory on Okamoto 3-axis CNC grinders using boron wheels. Bearings are the most critical component on our turning rolls and they do not cut corners there, NSK is their specified provider.
The motors and gearboxes have been developed to a fine degree over many years of continued service and have proven to run on little required maintenance. All steel rolls are created in-house with the stringent cylindrical requirements. The compound used to produce the rubber-like rolls that make contact with the side of the cylinder is the epitome of the industry and was itself years in development.
Bud's Machine Tools offers two different tank turning roll types. The first is the self-aligning style, the other is the conventional tank turning roll. On the self-aligning type, the rollers can pivot to accommodate different tank diameters. On the conventional style, the rolls are in a fixed “universal” position (but also able to accommodate tanks of differing diameters).
The self-aligning tank turning rolls run various h.p. motors to three separate gearboxes, for a full 4-wheel all-gear-driven power ability. Both styles of turning rolls have a pendant control as well as a foot pedal control, controlling various functions:
The best tank turning rolls on the market come in seven different sizes/capacities. The BMT turning rolls range in tank diameter sizes from 9.8 inches to 216.5 inches. Weight capacities are liberal and start at 5.5 tons and go to 110 tons on the largest model we stock. (Please be aware that the factory will take orders for custom machines and will avail us of capacities in excess of 350 inch diameter tank, with a maximum weight of 716 metric tons, for those of you guys and gals in Texas!)
The conventional manual adjustment turning rolls basically follow the same weight and diameter capacity as the self-aligning ones referred to above. As with almost all machine lines that we carry, the BMT tank turning rolls are not above — or below — having to take on a special customization in order to meet a special need of a customer. For example, the factory engineers researched special urethane for use with the wind turbine industry, as well as multiple ganged tank rolls supporting three different diameters for a power generation company — chances are good that they can produce a solution for your company as well.
At Bud's Machine Tools, we strive to offer the absolute highest quality machine tools possibly available. In our experience, we have seen manufacturers come and manufacturers go. We've therefore determined to partner with the best suppliers, those of sound management and a sales philosophy that parallels our own. Consequently, our suppliers — the people we deal with every day — treat our business with respect and supply us with the utmost in quality.
We'd love to show you what we have to offer. Come knock on our door in Salt Lake City, or browse through our website (you are already here, after all) or give us a call at the phone number displayed at the top of this page. We think you'll like what we have to offer, both as far as product as well as support.
