Plastic Flat Top Chain Bevel Sideflexing Replacement Of System Plast 880

Description

Product Overview

The LF880 bevel sideflexing flat top chain is the standard specification for curved conveyor sections in food and beverage manufacturing — the System Plast 880 equivalent that enables horizontal curve handling without mechanical curve units. The bevel edge design cuts a chamfered profile onto the outer corner of each link plate. As the chain enters a horizontal curve, adjacent link plate bevel faces close against each other, controlling the maximum lateral flex angle per link and maintaining a smooth, gap-free top surface through the curve. EverPower plastic chain Australia supplies the LF880 bevel sideflexing series across widths K118 to K1200 as a direct replacement for System Plast 880.

The LF880 operates within a maximum chain tension of 2,250 N and a maximum recommended straight-section run of 9 m — the shorter maximum run compared to the LF820 reflecting the additional link plate mass of the bevel geometry and the inherently higher chain tension that sideflexing chains experience at the outer radius of each curve. Maximum dry-run speed is 60 m/min; maximum lubricated speed is 90 m/min. Standard packing is 10 ft (3.048 m) per box at 26 links per metre.

Operating Parameters

Bevel Edge Sideflexing: How the Geometry Creates the Curve

The bevel edge on the LF880 link plate is a chamfered cut on the outside face of the plate — the face that faces outward on a horizontal curve. When the chain enters a curve to the left, each link’s left-side bevel face closes toward the left-side bevel face of the next link behind it. The angle of the bevel face determines how far the chain can flex before the bevel faces make contact and stop further flexing — this contact point defines the minimum inner bend radius of the chain.

The key property of the bevel geometry is that the chain top surface remains continuous through the curve. Adjacent link plates overlap in the horizontal plane as the chain curves, and the bevel face geometry is designed so that the top plate edge of each link passes over the top plate surface of the adjacent link without creating a step or gap. A smooth, flat surface is maintained from outer radius to inner radius throughout the curve — a critical requirement for stable product transport through a curve without tip events at the plate transition points.

Minimum Bend Radius and Width Relationship

The minimum achievable inner bend radius of the LF880 increases with chain width. At K118, a minimum inner radius of approximately 400–500 mm is achievable. At K600, the minimum inner radius increases to approximately 750–900 mm. At K1200, the minimum inner radius may be 1,200–1,500 mm. This relationship is inherent to the bevel geometry: wider chains have longer link plates, and the bevel contact occurs at a larger radius for the same bevel angle. Engineers specifying LF880 for wide-chain applications should verify the minimum bend radius at their target width before committing to a conveyor layout that assumes a tighter curve.

For curve radii tighter than the LF880 bevel minimum, the LF880TAB (tab-link sideflexing variant) achieves approximately 30–40% tighter curves at equivalent widths by using a different link geometry. The TAB variant is covered in the LF880TAB product page. If your required curve radius is above the LF880 bevel minimum, the standard LF880 is the more economical and structurally simpler choice.

Outer Radius Guide Rail Forces: A Critical Design Variable

When a sideflexing chain runs through a horizontal curve, the chain’s tendency to run straight creates a centrifugal-like side force directed toward the outer radius of the curve. This force is proportional to chain speed squared and to the mass of the chain-and-product system per unit length. At K450, 40 m/min, and 10 kg/m product load, the side force on the outer guide rail is approximately 8–12 N/m of curve. At K750, 60 m/min, and 15 kg/m, the same calculation yields approximately 35–45 N/m.

The outer guide rail must be designed to absorb this force without deflecting — under-dimensioned aluminium rail profiles will bow outward under sustained side force, allowing the chain to climb the rail and eventually derail. EverPower recommends guide rail selection based on the calculated outer radius side force for each curve section. For forces above 25 N/m, steel-backed aluminium composite rails or heavy-section aluminium extrusions are specified rather than standard light-extrusion profiles.

LF880 Variants: Anti-Static and Magnetic

Two functional variants of the LF880 bevel sideflexing chain are available beyond the standard POM construction. The LF880 anti-static (ESD) variant uses carbon-black loaded POM with surface resistivity 10⁴–10⁶ Ω/sq — specified for electronics assembly lines, explosive atmosphere zones, or film packaging lines where static charge accumulation on the chain surface causes product cling or discharge risk through the conveyor curve section.

The LF880M magnetic variant integrates rare-earth magnets into the bevel link body, providing magnetic holding force on ferrous products through both straight runs and horizontal curves. The magnetic holding force of approximately 10–14 N per magnet-equipped link at a 2 mm working gap is sufficient to retain steel cans and tinplate lids through curves at speeds up to 40 m/min without side guide rails. This is the standard specification for steel can conveying through curves on filling and decorating lines where format-specific guide rail adjustment would otherwise be required.

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