FOX BUSINESS
DECEMBER 1, 2017
Supreme Gear Company and Dorris Company are proud to share our finished video tour with you! The video aired on the FOX Business network as a Manufacturing Marvels video on November 30th, 2017. We have been waiting in anticipation for the video premiere date, and are very proud of how it came out. So please take a moment to have a short tour of our manufacturing plant, meet our staff, and see what capabilities we have for you and your gear box needs.
MICHIGAN RESOURCES
SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
On August 25, 2011, Congressman Sander Levin, State Representative Marilyn Lane and Dr. Albert Lorenzo, Assistant Macomb County Executive, paid a visit to the Dorris Company. The topic of conversation was how to create more jobs in Macomb County. At a roundtable discussion, then later during a plant tour to meet the employees, the Congressman spoke of the resources available to businesses in Michigan, as well as what Washington was considering for the future.
SILICON TO SEAL IN OIL
JANUARY 1, 1999
A leading manufacturer of shaft mounted gear drives and screw conveyor drives is using a silicone sealant prevent oil leakage in its drive housings. The material effectively seals in a variety of lubricating oils, despite harsh operating environments such as high temperatures, vibration and contamination.
The Dorris Company, Inc. (St. Louis, MO) manufactures a premium line of gear drives used in a variety of applications, including: feed and grain handling, sand and gravel transport, laundry equipment, pumps, materials handling, and food processing equipment. As a supplier of more than 15 different gear drive designs, the company needed a sealant that could prevent oil leaks despite the temperature fluctuations inside the gear box, and withstand the service environment outside..
Temperatures inside the gear box can range from -40oF to 180oF, with the lubricating oil reaching as high as 200oF," said Engineering Vice President Dave McCarthy.
Depending on the individual model and the customers service environment, a wide range of industrial lubricating oils may be used," he explained. "Some users specify petroleum-based gear oils, while others prefer synthetic hydrocarbon-type lubricants.The integrity of the seal is critical in all designs, regardless of the oil type." McCarthy said the company is currently using Dow Corning® 732 Multi-Purpose Sealant on all of its units.
"A significant feature of these gear drives is the exclusive sealant groove that keeps the housings oil tight," said McCarthy. "The caulking material is applied into the groove, located along the parting line of the clamshell-like housings," he explained. "Once cured, the silicone makes a tight seal to contain the lubricating oil and prevent dirt or other contamination from entering."
Dorris gear drives are used in outdoor applications throughout North America, where they can be subject to extreme temperatures, high humidity, dirt/dust, or airborne contaminants. The companys products can also be found on food handling equipment and other sensitive indoor applications. In some cases, they must withstand high-pressure washing or other cleaning techniques that could stress the integrity of the housing seal
"With the variety of commercial and industrial applications for these drive systems, especially food handling equipment, its important to have a sealant thats recognized by governing agencies," McCarthy observed. When fully cured and washed, Dow Corning 732 Sealant meets the requirements of FDA Regulation No. 21 CFR 177.2600, subject to end-user compliance with any limitations on total extractables.
Dow Corning 732 Multi-Purpose Sealant is a one-part, non-slumping RTV silicone paste that cures to a tough, rubbery solid upon exposure to moisture in the air. The product exhibits good resistance to weathering, retaining its elastomeric properties over a temperature range from -76oF to 400oF (intermittent to 425oF)
Typical properties include 325 psi tensile strength and 620% elongation, with good lap shear adhesion strength. The product exhibits a Shore A durometer hardness of 25 points, and is recognized by UL for service to 302oF (150oC).
Dow Corning 732 Sealant is available in 3 and 1.7 fl oz. tubes, 10.1 fl oz cartridges, 4.5-, and 52 gallon containers. When stored at or below 77oF in the original, unopened container, the material has a shelf life of 30 months from date of shipment.
PROJECT HORIZON
SEPTEMBER 1, 1998
One of the largest construction projects the North American grain industsry has ever seen is underway across the prairies of Western Canada under the code name Project Horizon.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP), Regina, SK (306.569.4328), is in the process of building 22 new high-throughput grain handling and farm supply marketing centers -- 14 in Saskatchewan, 6 in Alberta and 2 in Manitoba -- a C$275 million effort. These elevators will be located on main rail lines and will have unit-train loading capabilities. In the process, SWP is consolidating 170 other locations, many of them outdated wood elevators. When Project Horizon is complete in 2000, SWP will be operating approximately 200 locations across Western Canada
It takes a lot of gear drives to build that many elevators. And for Project Horizon, SWP has chosen to go with state-of-the-art beltless technology for most of the drives in the new facilities. The units are TR/TL Series shaft-mounted and screw conveyor gear drives supply by Dorris Company, Inc., St. Louis, MO (800.325.2520
PRICE AND PERFORMANCE
OCTOBER 1, 1998This isnt the first time SWP has utilitzed beltless gear drives, says Senior Project Manager Rob Schappert. "Our previous supplier was located in Europe, with service in Eastern Canada, however," he says. "The selection came down to price, performance, and the location of service. Dorris Company is based in North America, and they were willing to have stock in Canada. Thats important to us"
Beyond the choice of suppliers, he notes, there are the advantages of the elimination of belts through the use of direct coupling between the drive and the motor shaft. This results in a smaller, simpler drive that requires less maintenance than belt drives. It eliminates the potential hazard of a misaligned belt
And the Dorris design offers higher gear ratios than conventional drives, up to 40:1 on Models 107 through 407 and up to 250:1 on Models 415 through 700. A higher gear ratio allows for direct coupling and still achieving the desired conveying speeds, with the economics and proven reliability of a shaft-mounted gear drive.
SWP is ordering drives with two difference types of mounts. The C-frame design, generally used with motors up to 50-hp in size, is mounted to a flange around the circumference of the motor shaft and remains suspended in air. For larger motors, ranging in size from 60- to 250-hp, SWP is utilizing the Dorris scoop mount design, which still offers a direct coupling and is supported through a flexible mount to the head of the bucket elevator.
Ed Zdrojewski, editor
Reprinted from the September/October 1998 GRAIN JOURNAL
