Do You Know About the Spaghetti Effect?

 

Let’s play a game.

 

I’m going to describe some aggravating problems that result on the line, and you’re going to tell me what’s causing the problem. 

Ready? Here we go:

  • The tips of your bristle brush don’t engage with the metal surface. Instead of hitting the strip from the tip of the filament, it folds and the sides of the filament graze across the strip, which won’t clean the strip and can damage it. 
  • Bristles act sporadically. Bristles move in a circular motion, causing an irregular pattern on the strip, rather than cleaning the surface.
  • Bristles fall from the brush: Brushes prematurely age and you find yourself pulling rogue bristles from the system filter.
  • Brush is crushed into the back-up roller: The machine never reaches the correct kW value, and crushes the brush as it searches for a load point.

 

Ok: those are your clues. What’s the problem?

If you answered “the wrong brush,” you’re right. 

The four problems described above are a result of a condition we refer to as the “spaghetti effect.” We’ve named it that because, similar to spaghetti, nylon and polypropylene brushes soften in response to heat and water. This is particularly important if the bristle brush is operating in an alkali solution. Of course, brushes will be exposed to heat and water on the line, so what can be done to make sure they retain their ability to produce friction on the surface of the metal sheet to get it clean?

 

As Sherlock Holmes would say, “It’s elementary.” The solution is science and engineering.

 

To avoid the spaghetti effect, you need to have a brush with bristles that have been specifically engineered for the job. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting time trying to get results it’s not physically (or scientifically) possible to achieve. You’ll also be wasting a lot of money, because the bristles will start falling out of your brushes, and you’ll have to replace them more often. 

 

This is a battle you can win easily when you have the right tools. Give us a call if you have questions about what bristle brush would work best in your machine so you don’t lose time and money with the Spaghetti Effect.