MATERIALS HANDLING
NO JOKE: KNOCK-KNOCK ON CONVEYOR IDLERS
Cory Goldbeck reveals what can be done to tackle the serious issue of mistracking belts
fugitive material and safety hazards and achieve high system efficiency. Tere can be many consequences of a mistracking belt, but all result in higher costs and increased maintenance. Even a slight belt misalignment can lead to a variety of issues, from small annoyances to full- blown catastrophes. Te most obvious effects include spillage and dust that require personnel to
O 42
www.engineerlive.com
n any belt conveyor system that moves bulk materials, the belt must run straight and true to maximise its life, minimise
do clean-up, which is unproductive work that introduces risks from activities in close proximity to the moving conveyor. Spillage from non-centred cargo often gets into idlers and pulleys, reducing bearing life and causing them to seize, leading to friction damage on the belt and potentially starting a fire. A misaligned belt can also come in contact with the stringer, causing fraying, shredding or splice damage. Great lengths of valuable belting can be destroyed with surprising speed, and even the support structure itself can be damaged. A
compromised bracket or support can cause a catastrophic idler failure, which could damage other components of the system and require extensive downtime to repair. Further, there is potential for injury from a damaged belt or loose idler not to mention the increased exposure to injury from too frequent a need to clean. “I’ve been working around conveyors
for 20 years, and I’ve seen thousands of belts,” observes Martin Engineering process engineer Dan Marshall. “I’ve seen just about every problem that can
A wooden block used (unsuccessfully) to limit belt wander
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
