Foam rollers

[tripleZ]

Here's a question for ya'all...I'm looking for a foam (EVA-ish mat'l) sleeve to slip fit a steel tube. I can manufacture the tube to fit, but I'm looking for something in the ballpark of a 3" O.D. with 0.25" wall thickness (24" or more long). I can probably live with a thicker or thinner wall, and a larger or smaller O.D. (How's that for flexibility?) The problem is that it must be fairly porous...like a large paint roller. I want to pump fluid through a ported metal core tube so that the fluid will fully wet the foam without dripping onto my conveyor belt. Have any of ya'all used a similar product, or found one anywhere? Every foam & roller supplier I've called hasn't been willing to touch this with a 10' cattle prod...probably because I don't require production quantities. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[omar12]

Hi,

Have you considered buying a sheet of foam and making your own sleeve? attach the foam to a plastic sleeve ( with perforations for adding your wetting agent)and then slide your assembly over your steel tube.

 

[tripleZ]

Yes, but that is a last resort if I can avoid it. Unless I can find a company that stocks these, I can go to Sears and buy multiple replacement sleeves for the automatic paint roller that they sell. The entire rod ass'y will have 3 gaps due to the shorter roll length, but as I will have them at the entry and exit ends of my furnace, I should be able to stagger the design to fully coat my parts. Having a non-seamed roll is also more optimal as the metal parts I'm coating have sharp edges. Thus they have a tendency to tear into gaps when you least desire it. Thanks for the tip though!

 

[YourBasicSolution]

tripleZ,
Here is a link to a product that I have used. It is a complete outfit but you may be able to find parts that will help you in your project. Or, if you are willing to pay the price the whole unit works very well for applying fluid while virtually eliminating waste.

http://www.unist.com/unist uni-roller_concept.htm

or this link will take you to the .pdf page that shows just the roller covers.

http://www.unist.com/ASSETS/PDF/Uni-Roller Brochure.pdf#page=15

Hope this helps.

 

[YourBasicSolution]

Sorry tripleZ,
I should have taken into consideration your requirement for 24" or more length on the roller. Here is a link to that concept. These are 3" dia. - .25" thick roller covers.

http://www.unist.com/ASSETS/PDF/Uni-Roller Brochure.pdf#page=12

 

[tripleZ]

Thanks for the tips so far. As there don't seem to be any turnkey solutions out there, we're making a custom deal with several Wagner power roller covers over an expandable shaft. The power roller covers unfortunately will be knap (sp?) so I'm probably going to have to change them more often. I can stagger the units at the front and back end of my belt furnace to account for the seams. I'm just finishing up the design for a mixing/pumping station as well. Thanks again to ya'all for your help.