The Ins and Outs of Slide and Tilt Systems

Slide and Tilt systems are used by the Fire industry and defence markets in vehicles to allow front line crews to access essential equipment.  The slide and tilt system allows quick and easy access and have been designed to be operated by gloved hands.  Since coming onto the market a few years ago slide and tilts have become standard kit - especially for the emergency services - but with more and more slide and tilts being designed and built, we thought we'd take a look at what's out there and run a comparison.

Essentially there are two main designs, ones that use a dual roller system and the ones that use re-circulating ball bearing carriers.

To be honest with you there's not much difference between the two in terms of operational design, but where each of the designs differ is the internal movement which extends the drawers out.

The first is a dual roller system that uses a set of rubber wheels to extend the drawer out.  The problem with this system is that if the drawer is heavily loaded, the wheels tend to 'drag' or 'buckle' with the weight, meaning users will have to use more pull to draw the system out.  This can become hazardous especially in an emergency situation when essential equipment is needed.  Having said that this system - because it's been around for so long - is used by most brigades.

However, that was before Chambrelan, the French based heavy duty slide manufacturer, launched their own slide and tilt system earlier this year.  Chambrelan's slide and tilt system - although very similar to the other systems on the market - is notably different due to one feature, the circulating ball bearing carrier.  This is one nifty piece of kit as the carrier spreads the load to the ball bearings ensuring that a smooth and easy pull out is possible even under the heaviest conditions.

Cost is also important and I understand that Chambrelan's heavy duty sliding system is a little more expensive, but as more and more brigades are finding out, buy it cheap often means buying it twice and it's these companies that are realising that delivery and quality are more important than saving a few quid up front.

Heavy Duty Slides - The Problems of Brinelling

A major problem for Fleet Managers, Engineers and operational teams when using heavy duty slides in their applications is when a material surface failure, caused by contact stress, exceeds the material limit.

On a practical level surface on surface wear causes permanent denting or 'brinelling' and this will cause operational failure.  In addition to the brinelling effect, heavy duty slides can also suffer from 'fretting' and 'false brinelling', which is caused the friction-wear of components caused by minute oscillation, which displaces the beam material and grease to block movement.  When this happens the speed of wear to key components accelerates.

The major factor causing brinelling is caused by shock and vibration and regular use in extreme conditions.  From a manufacturing point of view, brinelled slides are a major problem and the only preventative action is the quality of the heavy duty slide in the first place.  Buy cheap, buy twice, comes to mind, but there are many engineers and fleet managers who, having their budgets restricted, have chosen a cheaper alternative, much to their later disappointment.

There are a number of Heavy duty slide manufacturers out there, Accuride and Thomas Ragu, but having done extensive research we've found that Chambrelan's heavy duty slides are easy to fit, easy to maintain and due to their manufacturing techniques and materials used, reduce the the stress and shock that extensive hard use causes.

Chambrelan's steel slides use cold drawn steel section and come in a range of different lengths and strengths and have an extensive range.

However should you have already bought slides, then there are a couple of things you can do to minimise the risk.  Getting the right size and fitting it into the right space envelope is essential and also using the slide to it's full extension will improve the life cycle of the slide.

Looking for Heavy Duty Slides? Look No Further...

Chambrelan's heavy duty slides and linear rails are considered to be the most efficient and ruggedised telescopic slides used across a huge number of applications.

Made from a number of different materials including stainless steel slides, steel slides and aluminium slides.  Chambrelan has a massive range and strong reputation to deliver a better product.

Many of my mates who have looked at revamping their 4x4's for work purposes or because they want to fit their vehicles out have chosen Chambrelan's heavy duty slides to increase storage space.  One friend has even used them to kick out the sides of a horsebox to increase living space when they're eventing.

Favoured by the defence and fire markets for their reliability and strength, Chambrelan's heavy duty slides can take some serious weight whilst delivering unrivalled extension.  What's more they are exceptionally easy to fit and maintain and due to the quality of design and materials used Chambrelan's heavy duty sides are considered to be the best.

Whether you're using them for drawer slides or container slides or even heavier duty applications or just need the performance and precision of a strong slide then Chambrelan's the company that can deliver.

Chambrelan also run a blog, it's got loads of application stories and case studies and has some interesting stories on a brinelling and how to avoid it.

I'll be posting more stories on these fantastic slides and uploading shots from my mate's projects... in the meantime enjoy.

Heavy Duty Slides - Better Extension

Heavy Duty slides and sliding systems are perhaps some of the least interesting products to be fitted to vehicles, manufacturing lines, off shore rigs and the defence industry.  However, with a little imagination a pair of heavy duty slides can be used for a huge of applications including architectural, 4x4 retrofits, home DIY and