MATERIALS HANDLING
Martin Engineering’s high-speed cradle helps reduce spillage
PUNISHING CARGO M
ined and quarried hard rock punishes conveyor belts and system components.
The demand on these systems can lead to premature equipment wear and excessive downtime. Owing to the varying needs of different applications, raw material is often transported and processed by the end customer. So, beyond the needs of mines and quarries, bulk handlers like ports, cement producers and power plants need heavy-duty conveyors to receive raw materials before loading them onto vessels or sending them to the crusher.
SUPPORTING THE BELT The force of loading can warp impact idler rollers and the bearings inside, but there are ways to avoid this. One is by restricting the drop height or slowing the descent of heavy bulk
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material from a direct impact on the conveyor belt. Operators have found that controlling material loading extends the life of the belt and the conveyor support structure. Another way to extend equipment life is to properly and completely support the belt in the loading zone using a cradle. To help in this respect, bulk
handling specialist Martin Engineering devised a heavy-duty impact cradle to support the belt and absorb the impact of loaded material in a consistently sealed environment. Impact cradles are specially designed with a top layer of slick ultra-high- molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW) molded to a base of impact- absorbing styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The belt slides across them easily with little friction while the bars give enough shock support that the belt is not damaged from precise hits on sharp edges. By eliminating the
Dave Mueller from Martin Engineering explains how the company has transformed the conveyance of raw materials
gaps between idlers, skirting creates a tight seal against bars, further reducing the amount of fugitive dust and spillage for more compliant and safer operations. Belt speeds above 650fpm (3.3mps)
can exceed the limits of impact cradles. For higher-speed conveyors, a specially designed heavy-duty high- speed cradle with four trac-mounted idlers closely spaced to eliminate belt sag can support material impact without excessive drag.
Innovative
upper connector brackets link idlers throughout the load zone, allowing them to work in tandem as a unified structure. The elastomer bar suspension is engineered to match the CEMA rating specific to the application by absorbing shocks from impact.
SEALING THE TRANSFER For extra heavy-duty applications,
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