Winkle Industries debuts the Bullet

Alliance, Ohio-based Winkle Industries has introduced a product that is designed to protect lifting magnet power cables.

Winkle’s Bullet^® is designed to prevent smashing and exposing of electrical conductors in the lifting magnet’s power cable, which can restrict the performance capabilities and service life of lifting magnets and components in magnet systems. The new patent pending Bullet is a high-density polymer device that is designed to slide over the power cable and protect magnet leads from abrasions, cuts and heavy impacts that cause electrical interruptions and catastrophic failures.

“The bullet-shaped units are modular in design, providing desirable coverage and reliable operation,” the company states in a news release about the product’s introduction. The polymer material used in the Bullet is “impervious to environmental factors such as UV degradation, as well as extreme hot and cold conditions, ensuring durability and extended service-life,” the company adds.  

“Constant handling of sharp metal objects coupled with notorious impacts on swinging power cables are a nasty combination that damage power cables, a leading cause for maintenance costs associated with lifting magnet systems,” says Joseph Schatz, president of Winkle Industries.

He adds, “When grounds and short circuits occur during operation, magnet system performance is restricted, and power surges may inflict considerable damage to components. Sometimes instantaneous and virtually always over time, the detrimental effects are a major reason why lifting magnets and system components may underperform and prematurely fail. We repair a lot of lifting magnets, magnet controllers and power supplies that have failed as a result of damaged magnet leads. In extreme cases, the machine’s main electrical system can be interrupted or damaged due to faulty power cables.”

Mark Volansky, Winkle Industries director of sales, says, “The cost of the Bullet is really negligible compared to the savings it offers. Technicians today frequently have to repair or change out damaged magnet leads, and operators don’t like interruptions in productivity—preventing those repairs or cable changes makes this product a valuable investment. If you factor in the indirect costs of downtime and the direct costs associated with the repair or replacement of magnet system components and the machine’s main electrical system, the potential savings are phenomenal.”

He adds, “We showed the Bullet to one of our larger scrap metal recycling customers, and they can’t wait to install this product on all their material handling machines equipped for magnet use.”

Winkle says the Bullet currently is in production and it expects to offer customers Bullet kits to suit various magnet lead lengths.

“This product is a little outside the usual range that magnet suppliers provide to the marketplace,” Volansky says, “but our focus at Winkle is on providing complete material handling solutions to our customers. This was a problem that required a solution—and the Bullet provides that solution.”