Asphalt Roofing Shingles
The manufacture of asphalt roofing shingles is a prime candidate for Barco rotary unions with all three of Barco’s main media types (steam, hot oil and water) being used in some capacity depending on equipment. Companies that produce these products include Tamko, Certainteed, Owens Corning, GAF and ELK to name a few.
The machines used to produce these shingles are usually extremely long with numerous sections completing various differing operations. In simple terms the web—usually paper or fiberglass—is unwound from a reel and hot asphalt is appied to coat and subsequently impregnated the web. Here, you would find the steam or hot oil applications. Following sections will apply the colored roofing granules covering onto the hot asphalt and then the web is cooled with cooling rolls and ambient air. The cooling rolls would normally be water-cooled and would have rotary unions installed. The roofing shingles (or roofing paper without roofing granules) are then cut to size and packed.
As one can imagine, the running environment for any equipment in this process is extremely demanding, especially for a union which has to continue to seal over a prolonged life cycle. The abrasive contaminants are evident everywhere and the rotary unions need to be robust to maintain their performance over an extended period.
Barco has historically been the leader in industrial hot oil and steam applications. The model of choice for the hot sections of these machines would be our Type C, a field-proven rugged design union that has continuously outlasted competition in longevity and performance for these applications. A carbon bearing and advanced seal design union that comes in a full range of common sizes. The Type C is our flagship design that can be easily interchanged with any competitive model. A brief description is found on the reverse of this page and more in depth literature can be ordered from our Customer Service department.
For the cooling roll applications we supply our Barco E-75 RS a ball bearing design water service union that is designed to run under the most demanding conditions. This union utilizes an oversized, deep groove bearing together with a silicon carbide-to-carbon graphite seal that provides the optimum in longevity. Available in a wide range of sizes and connections it is the most cost effective water union available in today’s market. Form, fit and function comparable to a multitude of competitive designs, this union is guaranteed to outperform the competition in any environment.
Type C Ferrous
Type C Bronze
E-75 RS Plus
