By The conveyor belt is the most vital and expensive conveyor component. Therefore, the last thing you want in your factory is for the conveyor belt to incur regular damage.
Luckily, there are numerous ways you can preserve your conveyor belt’s longevity. Whether it’s with top class conveyor belt cleaners or some preventative measures, you can ensure your factory’s conveyor doesn’t incur costly damage over its lifetime.
Let’s take a look at how below:
- Having the right belt
Your conveying environment and belt material is integral to your conveyor belt’s longevity. The belt’s specification will wear quickly if it isn’t being used for the right application. There are various rubber conveyor belting grades, with each one having specific properties to ensure they last the test of time.
For example, Grade A rubber is resistant to abrasions, and this allows it to handle abrasive or rough material. If your conveying requires Grade A, but you have a general purpose rubber belt, you would find that the general purpose belt incurs more damage than a Grade A belt as this can handle the abrasive material.
Therefore, it’s important that before you even think about conveyor belt maintenance that you think about which belt is right for the job you are doing.
- Stopping mis-tracking in its tracks
Your conveyor belt is susceptible to mis-tracking. This can happen for numerous reasons, including material buildup and a worn conveyor pulley. When mis-tracking occurs, it is susceptible to additional wear and damage, and this is especially so along the belt’s edge where unwanted contact with other components may happen.
Having tracking rollers can be one of the best ways to prevent mis-tracking and the trouble that mis-tracking can cause.
There is a little effort that goes into keeping your conveyor belt clean and functioning. However, it’s not the most difficult job going around, and is simply part and parcel of ensuring the longevity of your belt, something that can otherwise be expensive to fix!
- Cleaning & maintaining your belt
Carryback is material that gets stuck on the conveyor belt’s underside. Carryback can cause increased surface wear if it then goes on to get stuck to other conveyor belt parts. If the carryback is allowed to thicken and exacerbate over time then the damage it causes can be much greater than if it was cleaned prior.
To prevent carryback growth or reduce its impact, it’s vital to continue to clean your belt and keep it as clean as possible throughout operation. You can use anything from spray bars, brush cleaners, v-plows or belt scrapers to ensure your conveyor belt remains clean throughout operation.
- Protecting your belt from impact
Large and heavy materials can have a detrimental impact on your conveyor belt. This is especially so at impact zones, where the most damage can occur to your conveyor belt. Your belt can incur tears or objects puncturing holes in the belt if the impact’s velocity is high enough.
Two top methods for absorbing impact focus is the installation of impact beds or impact idlers. These are vital when it comes to the transfer points and loading point.
Impact beds are designed to go in place of idlers when the velocity or impact force are particularly high. They fill the gap that comes with impact idler roller designs, thus making them more supportive to your belt and this, in turn, can increase the belt’s longevity.
