Bennett Engineering, 8525 N 43rd St, Augusta, MI 49012, US

Omega Castings, Inc began operation in 1975 with a staff of people that understood the nature of alloy founding as well as the problems that customers were experiencing with cast-link belts. Since our first day of operation, our quality has been determined by the amount of time our product serves in our customer's furnace. We have always striven to be the best by providing our customers with the best technology, the best customer support and the best value. Today, Omega is one of the world's largest producers of cast-link conveyor belts. This has been achieved by realizing that it takes more than an in-tolerance chemistry and a perfect casting to meet our customers' needs. Omega also employs some of the best engineers in the business to help extend the life of their belts and maximize furnace throughput. Furthermore, we do not charge for our engineering/consulting services. They come as an added value to our customers. First off, cast-link belts are what we do. Most companies that produce cast-link belts do it as a side-job to their main business. Hence, the amount of thought they put into their product is less than optimum. Second, we perform more after-casting operations than any of our competitors. These operations include machining every link we produce to assure that the bearing surfaces are presented without draft and the pitch dimensions are within tolerance. Links are re-oxidized so that the link surfaces will have a reduced rate of carburization if used in an atmosphere type furnace. We also apply a think layer of our special high-temperature lubricant to either the rod or the link-bearing surface at assembly to assist in initial run-in. For years, Omega has purchased scrap belts from customers - whether of our original manufacture or others - and has examined them to determine the nature of their failure. Through visual examination, as well as chemical and metallographic testing at our research laboratory, we determined the primary causes of failure. If the data showed that a change in the casting could improve longevity, the change was made. If the data indicated that the customer had a furnace with difficulties that may have been over-stressing the belt, we advised the customer as to what they might do to improve belt life.