Chambrelan's RA7 - Now Bi-directional

Bi-Directional Slides from Chambrelan

Another product launch from Europe's leading manufacturer of heavy duty slides and linear rail motion systems has just been announced:  Chambrelan's RA7 heavy duty steel slide has now been made available bi-directionally.

The RA7 is one of the most popular heavy duty slides in the French based companies extensive range of HD slides and with new product developments being launched at regular intervals Chambrelan's range is set to grow exponentially over forthcoming months.

Chambrelan's new sequentially operated slide has a clever, but simple mechanism which coordinates the travel of each of the beams in a set sequence.  The cycle has been designed to reduce 'ball cage creep' and lower the operational forces, whilst improving the ease of use when extending and retracting heavy loads.

Chambrelan's bi-directional slides are used extensively in the materials handling, manufacturing and high temp applications.

For a real time stock programme or view Chambrelan's range of heavy duty slides and linear rail motion systems please visit www.chambrelan.co.uk or alternatively contact us directly on 01746 783 972

Buy Cheap Slides, Buy Twice...

With a growing number of slide manufacturers on the market, some of whom are from China and Eastern Europe, we're seeing a large increase in cheaper, but less well made slides enter the market.

As tempting as it is to buy a more cost effective slides over and above a more expensive product, there's a reason why it's cheaper and only when things start going wrong do buying cheap, becomes a major problem.

Not only do cheaper slides use softer material, which can cause brinnelling, but cutting corners in the construction process can also mean the slide falls apart under normal shock and vibration.

In this particular incident, the enclosed slide had only been fitted into the vehicle for two weeks and in that time the central 'I' beam had broken free and the inner runner had severe brinnelling.  From a brigades point of view having a VOR (Vehicle of Road) is a worse case scenario and can cause life threatening delays.

What's surprising is that the slide in question is one of the leading brands of heavy duty slides on the market and the slide in question wasn't up for the job.

"Having cheaply made slides that break is one thing, but mis-selling heavy duty slides that simply cant do the job is entirely another," confirms one industry contact who wishes to remain nameless.

The moral of the message is, if you're looking at making savings, think about how you might pay in the long run.  More often than not, buying cheap means buying twice.

Chambrelan - Get 'em While They're Hot....

Burger vans and road side catering vehicles are some of the more every day applications and lack engineering sex appeal, but nevertheless it shows how independent people are using Chambrelan heavy duty slides across every day applications.

In this instance, Peter was having problems with his generator.  Since it was hard fixed to the vehicle wriggling it in and out by hand was time consuming and dangerous.  Originally he'd have to pull and wriggle the generator out by hand whenever there was a problem.  This is an easy enough job when there's two of you to do it, but Peter always found himself on his own when things went wrong and so he decided - in what we believe to be his infinite wisdom - to contact Chambrelan to see how their heavy duty slides could be used to help out.

Pete's van is a temple of culinary expertise and his customers come from far and wide to enjoy the best of british breakfasts, but the hot plates, refrigerators, ovens and tea makers all need power and when the source of that power goes wrong ease of access is of paramount importance.

Pete needed length and strength and subsequently with the help of the Chambrelan team he chose the RA5R - made from stainless steel section.  As one of Chambrelan's most tried and tested slides, this three beam nested slide has been designed to take incredible loads whilst delivering pay loads smoothly and securely.  Using a zinc plated finish this slide is incredibly durable and not only that, is easy to fit easy to maintain.

We caught up with Pete to find out how his experience was with Chambrelan - "I have to say," Peter confirmed, "i couldn't fault it.  Tony and the team were very helpful in identifying what i needed and i received the sides in a few days of ordering.  I'd definitely recommend Chambrelan to anyone who needs heavy duty slides or linear rail motion systems."  Peter Challis

For more information on Chambrelan's products - please click here

Improved RA5R Increases Load Capacity Across the Board

Chambrelan UK have recently announced a huge increase of load capacity on all their range of RA5 heavy duty slides.  The improvements come after an increase in deflection was added, adding extra load capacity across the RA5 model, including the lock in and lock out versions and the duel lock in lock out model.

In practical terms what this means is an increase in strength.  For example, take an RA5 at 550mm with a load capacity of 125kg per pair, after increasing the deflection, the load capacity for the same length came to 176kg per pair, a huge improvement.

More strength means customers can now carry heavier loads without having to upgrade to a more expensive slide, which improves the cost performance ratio and delivers more performance per pound.  Modifications and upgrades on Chambrelan's range of heavy duty slides and linear rail motion systems are ongoing, with new products and developments being launched all the time.  

Indeed, from the press release we've received we can see a number of exciting developments coming up over the next few months, so keep your eyes skinned for new products on 110% Extension.

To contact Chambrelan directly either visit their website www.chambrelan.co.uk or alternatively call the team on - 01746 783 972

Chambrelan Slides Extend Party Platform

We think you'll like this one.  Jon Chance is passionate about boats and boating, but after buying his Sealord 344 offshore cruiser, which he purchased to take him and his friends out for fishing trips down the south coast, he realised he didn't have enough to cast from the back of the boat.

The problem was how to extend the back of the boat into a party platform without incurring mooring costs, which are charged per metre.

That's when he called Chambrelan, the heavy duty slide specialists.  Selecting the right heavy duty slide from Chambrelan's range, with the right load capacity, wasn't going to be a problem.  Chambrelan are renowned for their huge range of telescopic slides, but Jon needed a specific type of high grade marine steel, which would not decompose or rust when subjected to prolonged salt sea conditions.

By working with Chambrelan's sales team Jon chose the ST508, a three beam stainless steel slide with over a metre extension and recirculating ball bearings that carries the heavy loads more smoothly and with less resistance than other slides on the market.

We caught up with Jon recently to find out what his experience was like and how the ST508's are doing.  "Chambrelan's customer service was fantastic," confirms Jon.  "They helped me identify the slides i needed and made sure we received them in good order."

Jon's expertise is in demand and although we don't have his contact details, i am sure he can be found by searching for his engineering expertise via search engines.

For more information on how Chambrelan can help with your heavy duty slide or linear rail enquiries, contact 01746 783 972

Chambrelan UK Set to launch Linear Motion Brand

There's a spring in Chambrelan UK's step this year as the company announces a new linear rail brand to complement their existing telescopic slide range.  Although the Chambrelan have been manufacturing linear rail motion systems now for over 50 years, it's the first time that the UK arm will launch a stand alone brand, allowing customers to buy directly from their new online store, which will be open in the next month.

We caught up with Jeremy Binnington, Director of Chambrelan UK, who has given us his appraisal of the new brand what the reasons for launching the new company.  "Having re-established ourselves in the  telescopic slide market, we realised we can deliver the same quality product and service to the linear rail market, which compliments our existing offer perfectly."

With new premises now open, Chambrelan UK now stock a range of linear rail for lighter, medium and heavy duty applications.

"We're currently stocking aluminium, steel and stainless steel products," confirms Jeremy, "and their relevant carriers.  By bringing them to the UK we will be able to service customer enquiries that much quicker and with a tight stock programme which will carry four lengths of rail we can improve delivery times dramatically.  In addition because the new site is fully operational, we'll be able to make bespoke items for more specialised requirements."

Although not up and running yet, the new website will feature an e-commerce shop, a case study page with testimonials and customer projects, product availability and full details and load capacities of each of our products.

"We'll be sending out a release with the launch date very soon," confirms Jeremy.

We'll look forward to it.

For more information on Chambrelan's linear rail or telescopic slides please visit.  www.chambrelan.co.uk

Amateur Astronomer Builds Observatory Using Chambrelan's Heavy Duty Slides

When Mike, a partner in an engineering firm and amateur astronomer, decided to build an observatory in his back garden using Chambrelan's heavy duty slides, we knew it was going to be a good story to follow up.  After four years of meticulous planning, the observatory is in the final build stage, with the sliding roof being the most essential aspect of the project.

However this is no ordinary observatory.  Most observatories use two beams supported by a single column to roll back the roof, unfortunately this design has it's draw backs in that the observatory walls can restrict the horizontal view of the sky.  A vertical view is fine, but it means the astronomer must know what he wants to look at before pointing his telescope.

The other observatory design Mike looked at was the classic rotating domed roof, which he felt might be an eye sore in the back of his garden.  So Mike went back to the drawing board and created a design that would not restrict his view of the horizon, allowing him both a horizontal and vertical view of the stars.  By creating an aluminium roof fitted on heavy duty slides, which 'peeled' back the roof, the telescope could be positioned at any angle for greater visibility.

Unfortunately Mike had problems with buying telescopic slides.  The first company he bought them from took his money, but failed to deliver the slides and it was only after he'd gone through his insurance was he able to recoup the money.  However not to be put off, Mike decided to contact Chambrelan.  Having listened to the brief and having discussed Mike's designs the Chambrelan team suggested one of their heaviest duty slides, the E1902.

The E1902 is a three beam zinc plated, nested slide made from carbon steel and because of the design and the materials used, is an extremely heavy duty slide capable of carrying massive loads.  Mike needed a huge amount of extension and opted for a 2000mm with a load capacity of 250kg.

"The new Chambrelan heavy duty slides," confirms Mike, "are exquisite, they're fantastic, a lot more heavy duty than the slides i originally bought.  Wish i'd bought them in the first place."

Fore more information on how Chambrelan heavy duty slides can help transform your build visit www.chambrelan.com 

Quik Corp Adopts Chambrelan's Heavy Duty Slides Across Vehicle Build

Chambrelan's Heavy Duty Slides fully extended

Quik Corp Fire Engineering are specialist vehicle builders, designing and manufacturing a range of specialised fire and emergency equipment for the Australian and South East Asia Market.  By working With Queensland Rural Fire Service, the Australian Department of Defence, New South Wales National Parks, Forestry plantations and mining corporations they have built themselves a reputation for quality and delivery.

Heavy duty slides extend 'Jaws of Life' cutting equipment

So when Quik Corp were commissioned to build a remote fire application used as an airport fire appliance they knew they needed to pack a serious amount of kit into the vehicle.  Based on a 6000L MAN 6x4 chassis, the Remote Fire Appliance was expected to carry everything from heavy duty cutting equipment through to stretchers and essential recovering kit.

Chambrelan's unique Slide & Tilt System

The team of experts quickly decided that a range of heavy duty slides and Chambrelan's unique slide and tilt systems would be used across the build.  The sliding locker housing the stretcher needed to be operated from only side of the vehicle and be fully extended out via Chambrelan's heavy duty slides.  Other essential kit was stored in overhead slide and tilt lockers and was operated by Chambrelan's Slam lock with the Lock in Lock out option.  In addition further road crash rescue equipment mounted on Chambrelan's RA7R 450mm closed length extension which also includes Chambrelan's new slam lock.

Chambrelan's heavy duty slides, linear rails, slam locks and slide and tilt systems are now being used across a number of Quik Corp vehicle builds.

For more information on how any of Chambrelan's heavy duty slides can help develop your application drop us a line www.chambrelan.co.uk 

KME Kovatch Fire Apparatus Takes on Chambrelan Heavy Duty Slides

KME Kovatch incorporate Chamnbrelan Heavy Duty Slides 

Not a spring chicken this story, but nevertheless we hope those of you interested in heavy duty slides on fire trucks might get a little excited.  A while ago Chambrelan breached the US market in that they started supplying heavy duty slides and sliding systems to KME Kovatch, an American manufacturer of specialist vehicles and customised trucks.  For over 6 decades KME Kovatch have built a reputation for quality and reliable delivery and design and build their own chassis, as well as distributing a wide range of commercial chassis.

Smooth pull out / push in sliding system

So when KME started looking at new ways to store and hold essential fire equipment across a range of pumper tankers and airport crash rescue vehicles, they decided to fit Chambrelan's heavy duty RA7R and RA5R's.  

Lower stowage drawer carried on Chambrelan's heavy duty slides

Andrew Yenser, Rescue product manager for KME Kovatch, had this to say on the integration of Chambrelan's heavy duty slides onto their vehicles.  "We were looking for quality and strength; something that was easy to fit and easy to maintain.  That's when Chambrelan's RA5R and RA7R came to our attention.  Their reliability and strength means, as vehicle builders, we can offer additional components to our customers, which otherwise wouldn't have been possible before."

Chambrelan's heavy duty slides in action

As you can imagine importing products, in this instance heavy duty slides, have to face extensive safety tests before they can be incorporated into vehicles and a strict evaluation process for all new products need to be agreed before any supply agreement is reached.  The KME committee, made up of sales reps, purchasers and engineers, looked at things like the materials used, mechanics and engineering and of course a supply chain that isn't going to break.

In this respect Chambrelan had the right heavy duty slides and 50 years of experience in working alongside specialist vehicle builders, what's more as manufacturers they could guarantee supply.

For more information on how Chambrelan can help you with your stowage and heavy duty slides, click here.

Chambrelan Heavy Duty Slides: Better Protection

Due to the WEEE Directive of 2007 certain heavy metal finishes had to be removed from our heavy duty slides and linear rails, forcing the industry to change their protection.  Chambrelan now use a chrome free white zinc plate.

This plate is now provided as the standard Chambrelan finish across the whole range of products utilising carbon steel sections that are produced and refined on site at Chambrelan's Le Havre factory.  The benefits of this system include improved corrosion resistance, amounting to 480 hours of protection against the salt spray test (see pics) before appearance of white rust (more than 5% of surface), which means Chambrelan have more than doubled the amount of protection at no extra cost to the customer.  This treatment also improves the protection of the appearance of red rust, by roughly 12% – from 600 hours to 672.

The zin plating also adds structural strength to the slide, providing extra rigidity and making them more ruggedised than ever before.  As a company Chambrelan is dedicated to continually improving their range of products, whether it's introducing new slides or improving on their most popular designs and a huge amount of investment has been made in the drawing, refining, cleaning, annealing and machining of their slides, which all combine to improve the life expectancy of the slide, whilst maintaining a competitive price point.

For further information on any of Chambrelan products please visit www.chambrelan.com

Head Farrier Uses Heavy Duty Slides For Mobile Forge

As head Farrier for the Great British Endurance team and one of only three farriers chosen for the Beijing Olympics, Kelvin Lymer is the Christian Louboutin of horse shoes, the problem is, his customers are generally to be found wandering in the most inhospitable places and therefore he knew he needed to design and build a one piece mobile forge and workshop, operated by heavy duty slides, that could take him into the wilds.

Being a farrier means I need to be out and about," said Kelvin.  "It also means I need to carry a huge amount of kit around with me.  The only option was to carry this equipment in a vehicle strong enough to manage such heavy loads, whilst having the 'off-road' capabilities to access the most inhospitable terrain."

Having chosen a Landrover Discovery 4, a bruisingly big brute of a vehicle that sports a 3.0 litre, 255hp diesel engine with a four corner air suspension and Landrover's unique Terrain Response as standard, the next problem was the design of the stainless steel pod and the sliding movement to extend and retract it from the vehicle.

With the help of the boys from Stainless & Alloy products Limited, headed up by Jeremy Hughes-Hubbold, the pod needed to be capable of being slid from the back of the vehicle and then 'unfolded' to deliver a fully operational forge.  Space was always the biggest problem for the team, closely followed by the load capacity of the pod, but with over 30 years of experience in

"It was like," confirms Jeremy, "Squeezing 10 gallons of water into a single pint."

The pod, made of stainless steel is designed to house all the kit a farrier might need, including a forge, an anvil and grinding stones to name a few and to house it all in one, took a lot of trial and effort, but once designed, the next problem was to make the pod retractable.  That's when the team decided to contact Chambrelan UK, manufacturers and distributors of heavy duty slides and sliding systems.

Chambrelan advised the only slide capable of carrying these extreme loads was the E1700 slide, a zinc coated, three beam nested slide, which uses reinforced ball bearings to deliver a soft and smooth sliding 100% extension.  Easy to fit and easy to maintain, the E1700 is one of the preferred heavy duty slides used by the defence and emergency services and therefore has a good track record and pedigree.

Suffice to say the project was an enormous success and Kelvin is now designing and building these pods for other farriers.

For more information on a full range of Chambrelan's heavy duty slides and linear rails please visit www.chambrelan.co.uk 

SEM Fire and Rescue Uses Chambrelan's Heavy Duty Slides

SEM Fire and Rescue - sporting Chambrelan's heavy duty slides

SEM Fire and Rescue, the specialist vehicle builders based in Australia, recently won a contract from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) to build a Technical Rescue Vehicle (Hino FM 2630) for front line fire and rescue alerts, which could also include water rescue, control and a range of fire and rescue operations including forest fire, house fire and commercial properties in and around Australia.  Complete with Chambrelan's heavy duty sliding systems, this build was something that took our breath away when we first saw the designs, but when we saw the photographs, we were blown away.

Heavy duty slides carrying tool boards and kit drawers

You see, this is no ordinary rescue vehicle and has been designed as a transportable pod or module, which is dismounted from the chassis and thereby be operated as a stand alone unit, encompassing all the necessary equipment relevant for that particular operation.

By using a massive hino A09C-TT turbo charged intercooled 6 cylinder diesel engine, the pod is lifted and dismounted using the multi-lift LHS 250, which has enormous lifting capabilities up to 17,000kg.  The module itself has been designed to carry a series of storage compartments, work benches and sliding generator as well as a series of slide and tilt pull out drawer systems, that deliver essential kit to the operator, quickly and easily.

A range of Chambrelan's heavy duty slides have been integrated into the build and were chosen for their high strength and extension, as well as being easy to fit and easy to maintain.

Work benches and tool drawers extending out

We caught up with Jeremy Binnington, Director of Chambrelan UK, to find out a little more about the build as well as finding out how growth in the South East Asian market is faring.

"It's going well, as you know we've been stocking Australia quietly now for about a year and in that time we've come across some very interesting applications."

By doubling their commitment to the Australian market Chambrelan continues to lead the way in the development of sliding systems for heavy duty applications in the mining, fire and emergency and defence markets.

For more information on these or other Chambrelan heavy duty slides and linear rails, please visit www.chambrelan.co.uk 

Chambrelan Heavy Duty Slides Used Down Under

Multi-drive technology, the leading Australia manufacturer of multi-drive vehicles, has recently announced a collaboration with Chambrelan UK.  The order, which comes from Rio Tinto, one of the largest mining companies in the world.  Commissioned to carry out rail maintenance on a 400 kilometre line in one of the most extreme desert climates in the world, namely the Pilbara Region of North Western Australia, these vehicles needed to carry enough equipment to manage the long haul.

Using a seriously beefed up Land Cruiser - the MDT 5750kg GVM Model with 2500kg load capacity, boasts another drive axle and uses a torque management power divider, making it able to tackle the most extreme conditions without any wind-ups or spinning of axles, even when it's carrying 2.5tons.

In addition the vehicles will be carrying specialised lightweight custom built trailers, which have been tailor made to store the right equipment.  Using Chambrelan heavy duty slides and linear rails these trailers are packed with tool boards, storage draws and compartments each carrying vital engineering equipment.

For more information on how Chambrelan products can help you, please contact Bruce Elliott from Integrated Equipment on +61 (0) 353 673 513 or visit www.integratedequipment.co.au.

For UK based enquiries you can contact Chambrelan directly by visiting www.chambrelan.co.uk

Champion's Use Chambrelan Heavy Duty Slides

When two professional carriage racers contacted Chambrelan UK for a set of heavy duty slides to extend their horse-box, with the aim of increasing their living space, we were all ears.

But before we did anything we had to find out what carriage racing was all about.  There are two things one immediately realises about carriage racing, firstly its fast and secondly it's furious.  Pulled by two horses on what can only be described as a two wheeled cart called a 'sulky' they tear round race tracks all over the UK.

That's about it.

As British Champions of the sport Sue Denney realised that her horsebox was too small for long weeks and sometime months competing and realised they wanted to 'kick' their horsebox out to increase their living space inside the vehicle.  Having a larger horsebox for living quarters as well as mobile stable, required re-hauling the entire frame to add an extra large single cab, designed to contain the bathroom.  This was achieved by extending the sides of the pod by hydraulics, which once extended added an additional 9 square metres of space.  The problem the team had was finding a set of heavy duty slides capable of taking the weight and delivering the extension they needed, repeatedly.

Chambrelan's RA7 heavy duty slide was the only product on the market that could carry the weight and offer the extension they needed whilst being operated by the hydraulic pump.  Chambrelan's RA7 has a triple bar design, meaning it's highly durable and easily operated regardless the working conditions.

These environments and the loads involved meant the slides needed to be easily fitted and easily maintained and for this reason Chambrelan's RA7 heavy duty slide was perfect for the job.

To see a very short clip of how the horsebox pod kicks out, check out the video below or click her to view

Museum in Wellington Use Chambrelan's Heavy Duty Slides

How would you go about displaying a range of ancient fabrics and cloaks in a museum?  Well one company, Anderson Design, were posed with that very question when they were asked to design and build an artefacts case for the Roturua Museum of Art and History in Wellington New Zealand.

Anderson Design originally chose to use a pair of heavy duty slides (we cannot name the manufacturer for obvious reasons) for the build and everything was going swimmingly, with the artefact case being fitted at the museum and everyone was happy.

It's only when things start going well, that they start to go badly!

It was soon found that the case was requiring far too much force to open and close the sliding draws.  The heavy duty slides were grinding and locking up and there was a fear that school children and elderly people might have problems opening the draws mounted on heavy duty slides.

After an emergency internet search Anderson came across Chambrelan's range of heavy duty slides and linear rail motion systems.  Within 24 hours of Anderson sourcing the product from Chambrelan's heavy duty slide supplier in Australia - Integrated Emergency Equipment - the problem was identified and within 7 days of placing their order a new pair of Chambrelan RA7 heavy duty slides were sent to the Anderson Team.

Chambrelan's RA7 heavy duty slide is one of the best heavy duty slides in the market, with unrivalled strength, smooth operation, length and protection Anderson Design realised they were going to need a massive 1500mm extension capable of carrying 95 kilos.  Still uncertain that Chambrelan's heavy duty slides could take the extreme weight of the draw and glass; the team of designers and engineers took it upon themselves to give it a test and climbing on to the draws they jumped upon down until they were satisfied Chambrelan's RA7 heavy duty slides were strong enough.

After testing the pull-out load, using a spring balance, the Anderson team we pleased that the traction load had been reduced from 17.5 kilos using the old heavy duty slides, down to a very easy 5.5 kilos using Chambrelan's heavy duty slides.

Check out Chambrelan's bog for more information on this story or alternatively go to their website for a full list of heavy duty slides and linear rails

Chambrelan's Heavy Duty Carrier for Their Slide and Tilt System

Chambrelan's carrier

In our last issue of 100% Extension - that razor blade blog covering all things heavy duty slide related - we discussed what's available in terms of new Slide and Tilt systems currently on the market.  Well, it seems we touched a nerve because not longing after posting, Chambrelan's marketing team dropped me a line and with an image of one of their carriers.  Thanks Chambrelan's marketing team!!

As you can see this is a uniquely designed product in that the carrier sits on re-circulating ball bearings, which spread the load more effectively and allows easy operation even when carrying extreme weights.

For more information on Chambrelan's heavy duty slides and linear rails visit their website:  www.chambrelan.co.uk

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.