Conveyor Belt Maintenance – Keeping Your Conveyor Belt Solution in Top Shape

Conveyor belt systems have a natural life-cycle. Over the course of time, wear and tear will contribute to the belt deteriorating. Depending on how well you maintain your belting solution will determine the length, in which, your belt remains at a ‘performance’ standard.

The average life-cycle of a conveyor belt is between two to twelve years based on your maintenance. Naturally, we wish to have our conveyor systems last as long as possible; this ensures optimum efficiency and return on investment from your conveyor solution.

In order to achieve a longstanding conveyor system, there are conveyor belt maintenance requirements that you must undertake to ensure your belt lasts as long as possible.

Installing Your Conveyor System

Before installation a conveyor belt must be squared to ensure stress payloads are even throughout the conveyor belt. In the biscuit manufacturing trade, cotton conveyor belting is used and there is less of a requirement for squaring based on weight loads as the transferring of dough pieces through a conveyor system is relatively light loading.

The recommended squaring method for belting ends is the ‘centreline’ method. The centreline method requires measuring across the belt width on both belt ends at multiple points that are evenly spaced between each, before marking  the center of each point. Finally, a chalk piece is used to draw the centreline from which the square cutting can be executed.

If this is not executed correctly, stress loads will be uneven, which can damage the conveyor belt and ultimately, reduce the life-cycle of the belt, while also ‘failing’ on multiple occasions.

A conveyor belt needs to be squared correctly to make sure stress loads are equally distributed throughout. Unequally distributed loads will stress the belt unevenly which can result in a reduced life-span and an increased risk of downtime as a result of technical failures.

Once the belt has been squared, it must be placed with the correct tension so as to avoid slippage. Having the correct conveyor belt alignment is key. The belting must be centered to avoid any potential problems that could cause further issues with the belt installation.

Naturally, a belt will have a little left-to-right sway. However, the belt tracking must be adjusted to accommodate a sway bias to one side and balance the belt tracking out again.

This will contribute to the belt running smoothly and without noise. Should the belting not be running smoothly or silently, you should review the conveyor tracking immediately.

You should also ensure the belt sits on the support system to avoid what is referred to as the ‘push effect’. This ensures the return path is at an optimal level.

Finally, you must ensure the drive and support rollers are set correctly, otherwise the belt will not run straight and will roll.

You achieve this by ensuring that your conveyor belt supplier takes care of installing the belt system drive, idle and support roller to fit the requirements of the conveyor belt. By taking this responsibility on yourself, you risk losing the straight run of your belting, which causes a shorter belt lifespan over time.

Checking and Adjusting Your Conveyor Belt Tracking is Correct

As briefly discussed there are a few things you must consider during the installation stage of the conveyor system to ensure that the belt is tracking correctly. Failure to execute these procedures will result in incorrect conveyor tracking and will require further guidance on conveyor tracking to correct the conveyor system.

To ensure you’re tracking is correct, you should measure the belt tension – this will usually show a 1% elongation. To measure belt elongation, you should mark the edges of your belt and tension the take-up adjustment until the marks you have made on the edges align with your required belt tension.

Something to check for when making sure the belt tracking is correct is to keep an eye out for any debris from production. Older or used conveyors will naturally have debris from constant use. This includes belts used in industries like biscuit and cracker production.

You should also consider contamination – remember the material of a belt conveyor can be susceptible to the elements. It is therefore important to understand the environmental conditions for which your conveyor belt will operate.

Your conveyor manufacturer will know the direct sciences behind the conditions for each conveyor belting material. During the scoping phase of your build, you should liaise with the conveyor belt manufacturer regarding the belt requirements and conditions for which it is best to operate in.

Finally, the coefficient of friction must be checked and corrected to ensure that the conveyor tracking is correct. The coefficient of friction varies depending on the conveyor belt material used. To calculate the coefficient of friction is a complex mathematical calculation, using frictional force. To learn how to calculate the friction, use this method.

Correct Way to Perform a Conveyor System Inspection

The first thing you need to look at when performing a conveyor belt inspection is check that the frame is level. A high percentage of conveyor belts that aren’t performing to maximum efficiency are usually down to incorrect tracking as a result of the belt being out of kilter and not level.

If the bed isn’t square, the conveyor will lean to one side and slip. To rectify this, it’s a simple case of using a balanced level to check the frame is straight or ‘square’ and the pulleys are level. To measure levelness, you should measure from one corner to the opposite corner on each side of the conveyor. if these do not equal, the belt is not level and should be leveled. The conveyor belts usually come with ‘squaring rods’ provided by the manufacturers. Squaring rods are used to pull the belt frame into the correct alignment.

Never track the conveyor solely from the steering end pulley, nor from any one side for that matter. This will cause further tracking and alignment issues for the belt; making life a lot harder to maintain or readjust the conveyor system. Any good conveyor solution will come with idlers that will sit underneath the system. Adjusting the rollers will improving belt tracking.

Performing Belt Failure Analysis

When performing a belt failure analysis in conveyor belt maintenance, there is no specific procedure as such to do so. However, there are analysis techniques that you can undertake through any process of your choice that constitutes being part of a belt failure analysis.

The first part of the of the analysis is undertaken as per the above process to identify and adjust conveyor system tracking as per your requirements.

Secondly, check if the belt has worn. You can find this information as a result of your conveyor belt system inspection. If the tracking is incorrect and the alignment is incorrect, then the chances the belt is wearing or worn are likely to be higher.

Thirdly, you must check for abrasions. A belt may catch on something, debris from other machinery or logistical operations within the factory may cause abrasion or a too heavy a load may cause a tear. While quality conveyor systems should be more averse to abrasion, circumstances may cause one nonetheless. Therefore, analyzing the belt for abrasions is an important facet for conveyor belt maintenance.

Find Conveyor Belts

What Are Transmission Belts?

Transmission belts are a continuous loop belt, set between two ‘pulleys’ to transmit power through the transmission belting into the machinery the belting is situated.

Transmission belting is used across an array of industries from automotive manufacturing and performance through to industrial belting production and manufacturing as well as a source of motion

Positive Drive vs Friction Drive Transmission

Fundamentally there are two forms of transmission belting for power transmission. These are either friction drive or positive drive. Friction drive belts utilize the friction between the belt and pulley to transmit power. The friction drive belting requires balanced tension to maintain the right levels of friction. These are traditionally flat belts.

Positive drive belts will rely on the engagement of what is referred to as ‘teeth’ on the belt within the grooves on the pulley(s). There is no slippage with this transmission belt unless the teeth between the grooves ‘jump’.

Different Types of Friction Drive Transmission Belting

Depending on the requirement for power transmission, the type of belt will be fundamental to either friction or positive drive belts.

Outside of plastic or rubber drive belts, woven transmission belting is used specifically for friction drive belts. The types of friction drive belts are typically drop stamp, flat nylon belts or hair belting.

Drop Stamp Belts

Used specifically in the forging industry, drop stamp belts (also referred to as ‘hammer belts’), are a type of heavy duty lifting transmission belt.

The belt drop hammer one is of many drop forging machine tools used within the industry. How the drop stamp belt is used, is by rollers that grip the belt connecting it to the ‘ram’. The rollers allow the belt to raise the hammer which causes the belt to slack. The next stage of the process is the pulling apart of the rollers which releases the belt – this allows the hammer to fall using gravitated force to hammer the metal sheet in place.

The drop stamp belt is made from polyester multi-filament and ply yarn, covered by play layers of cotton on both the top and bottom of they polyester core layer.

To increase durability, and avoidance of abrasion during lifting, the drop stamp belt is treated with a temperature resistant coating. By treating the media this way, this gives the drop stamp belt an increased friction property.

The key components of a drop stamp belt are:

Long Lifespan

Due to the multi-filament yarn, weave construction and temperature resistance coating, a drop stamp belt is extremely durable with high-levels of strength. This makes for a longer living belt solution perfect for the lifting and forging industries.

Special Impregnation

The temperature resistance impregnation of the polyester filament layer means that the drop stamp belt can perform in much tougher temperature than other transmission belting.

High Friction Coefficient

The frictional force  derived from the drop stamp belt is greater than that of say rubber or PVC transmission belts. This allows for no sticking and smoother transition between the rollers of the drop stamp machine.

Hair Belting

Unlike drop stamp belts, hair transmission belts are used within power transmission. Made from a combination of nylon and wool hair woven into the ‘wrap’ ply of the belt before cotton is added to the loom and is then treated with bitumen impregnated into the cotton for additional strength, power and a the prevention of fungus properties.

These transmission belts are woven using the traditional ‘warp and weft’ technique which ensures a robust and highly durable power transmission belt. Hair belting uses a ‘twisted cord’ edge to avoid any fraying from the belt which provides a longer lifespan to the belt.

Hair belting is used across all industries powering the drive shaft and is preferred to other belting due to the belts ability to bite on the pulley which avoids slippage and losses of power. In hotter climates, hair belting performs at a much higher capacity to its compatriot transmission belts.

Flat Nylon Belting

Flat transmission belts are a form of friction drive belt relying on the friction between the belt and pulley to transmit power across the machinery. These belts are particularly used in high performance areas with smaller pulleys in central areas.

The belt comes in both endless and connected forms depending on the requirements of the pulley and powers transmission required. Flat belts use tension to maintain the correct level of friction across the belting – this allows for a balanced friction coefficient and transmission of power from the drive shaft through to the pulley.

Flat belts are traditionally manufactured using nylon material for both short and high ratio drives; performing better when crowning one pulley that is larger than the other.

The flat transmission belt relies heavily on alignment and when aligned correctly, the belts lifespan increases ten fold. Due to the belting’s lack of grooves, energy loss and wear and tear is at a minimum.

Flat Belt Drive vs V-Belt Drive

Often, there is a common misconception between flat belt drives and v-belt drives. While both belts are used in friction transmission, ultimately, there are substantial differences in how the belts are executed and perform within the pulley.

[table id=1 /]

Woven Transmission Belts vs Other Transmission Belting

Across transmission belting there are multiple materials used in the execution of friction transmission. These range from woven materials such as nylon, cotton etc. and thermoplastic such as PVC, or rubber belting materials.

A true transmission belt manufacturer needs to understand the nuances and differences in performance between both positive drive and friction drive transmission belting while also understanding the material best suited to the machinery, drive solution and pulleys.

Find Transmission Belts

Conveyor Belt Maintenance – Keeping Your Conveyor Belt Solution in Top Shape

Conveyor belt systems have a natural life-cycle. Over the course of time, wear and tear will contribute to the belt deteriorating. Depending on how well you maintain your belting solution will determine the length, in which, your belt remains at a ‘performance’ standard.

The average life-cycle of a conveyor belt is between two to twelve years based on your maintenance. Naturally, we wish to have our conveyor systems last as long as possible; this ensures optimum efficiency and return on investment from your conveyor solution.

In order to achieve a longstanding conveyor system, there are conveyor belt maintenance requirements that you must undertake to ensure your belt lasts as long as possible.

Installing Your Conveyor System

Before installation a conveyor belt must be squared to ensure stress payloads are even throughout the conveyor belt. In the biscuit manufacturing trade, cotton conveyor belting is used and there is less of a requirement for squaring based on weight loads as the transferring of dough pieces through a conveyor system is relatively light loading.

The recommended squaring method for belting ends is the ‘centreline’ method. The centreline method requires measuring across the belt width on both belt ends at multiple points that are evenly spaced between each, before marking  the center of each point. Finally, a chalk piece is used to draw the centreline from which the square cutting can be executed.

If this is not executed correctly, stress loads will be uneven, which can damage the conveyor belt and ultimately, reduce the life-cycle of the belt, while also ‘failing’ on multiple occasions.

A conveyor belt needs to be squared correctly to make sure stress loads are equally distributed throughout. Unequally distributed loads will stress the belt unevenly which can result in a reduced life-span and an increased risk of downtime as a result of technical failures.

Once the belt has been squared, it must be placed with the correct tension so as to avoid slippage. Having the correct conveyor belt alignment is key. The belting must be centered to avoid any potential problems that could cause further issues with the belt installation.

Naturally, a belt will have a little left-to-right sway. However, the belt tracking must be adjusted to accommodate a sway bias to one side and balance the belt tracking out again.

This will contribute to the belt running smoothly and without noise. Should the belting not be running smoothly or silently, you should review the conveyor tracking immediately.

You should also ensure the belt sits on the support system to avoid what is referred to as the ‘push effect’. This ensures the return path is at an optimal level.

Finally, you must ensure the drive and support rollers are set correctly, otherwise the belt will not run straight and will roll.

You achieve this by ensuring that your conveyor belt supplier takes care of installing the belt system drive, idle and support roller to fit the requirements of the conveyor belt. By taking this responsibility on yourself, you risk losing the straight run of your belting, which causes a shorter belt lifespan over time.

Checking and Adjusting Your Conveyor Belt Tracking is Correct

As briefly discussed there are a few things you must consider during the installation stage of the conveyor system to ensure that the belt is tracking correctly. Failure to execute these procedures will result in incorrect conveyor tracking and will require further guidance on conveyor tracking to correct the conveyor system.

To ensure you’re tracking is correct, you should measure the belt tension – this will usually show a 1% elongation. To measure belt elongation, you should mark the edges of your belt and tension the take-up adjustment until the marks you have made on the edges align with your required belt tension.

Something to check for when making sure the belt tracking is correct is to keep an eye out for any debris from production. Older or used conveyors will naturally have debris from constant use. This includes belts used in industries like biscuit and cracker production.

You should also consider contamination – remember the material of a belt conveyor can be susceptible to the elements. It is therefore important to understand the environmental conditions for which your conveyor belt will operate.

Your conveyor manufacturer will know the direct sciences behind the conditions for each conveyor belting material. During the scoping phase of your build, you should liaise with the conveyor belt manufacturer regarding the belt requirements and conditions for which it is best to operate in.

Finally, the coefficient of friction must be checked and corrected to ensure that the conveyor tracking is correct. The coefficient of friction varies depending on the conveyor belt material used. To calculate the coefficient of friction is a complex mathematical calculation, using frictional force. To learn how to calculate the friction, use this method.

Correct Way to Perform a Conveyor System Inspection

The first thing you need to look at when performing a conveyor belt inspection is check that the frame is level. A high percentage of conveyor belts that aren’t performing to maximum efficiency are usually down to incorrect tracking as a result of the belt being out of kilter and not level.

If the bed isn’t square, the conveyor will lean to one side and slip. To rectify this, it’s a simple case of using a balanced level to check the frame is straight or ‘square’ and the pulleys are level. To measure levelness, you should measure from one corner to the opposite corner on each side of the conveyor. if these do not equal, the belt is not level and should be leveled. The conveyor belts usually come with ‘squaring rods’ provided by the manufacturers. Squaring rods are used to pull the belt frame into the correct alignment.

Never track the conveyor solely from the steering end pulley, nor from any one side for that matter. This will cause further tracking and alignment issues for the belt; making life a lot harder to maintain or readjust the conveyor system. Any good conveyor solution will come with idlers that will sit underneath the system. Adjusting the rollers will improving belt tracking.

Performing Belt Failure Analysis

When performing a belt failure analysis in conveyor belt maintenance, there is no specific procedure as such to do so. However, there are analysis techniques that you can undertake through any process of your choice that constitutes being part of a belt failure analysis.

The first part of the of the analysis is undertaken as per the above process to identify and adjust conveyor system tracking as per your requirements.

Secondly, check if the belt has worn. You can find this information as a result of your conveyor belt system inspection. If the tracking is incorrect and the alignment is incorrect, then the chances the belt is wearing or worn are likely to be higher.

Thirdly, you must check for abrasions. A belt may catch on something, debris from other machinery or logistical operations within the factory may cause abrasion or a too heavy a load may cause a tear. While quality conveyor systems should be more averse to abrasion, circumstances may cause one nonetheless. Therefore, analyzing the belt for abrasions is an important facet for conveyor belt maintenance.

Find Conveyor Belts

What Are Transmission Belts?

Transmission belts are a continuous loop belt, set between two ‘pulleys’ to transmit power through the transmission belting into the machinery the belting is situated.

Transmission belting is used across an array of industries from automotive manufacturing and performance through to industrial belting production and manufacturing as well as a source of motion

Positive Drive vs Friction Drive Transmission

Fundamentally there are two forms of transmission belting for power transmission. These are either friction drive or positive drive. Friction drive belts utilize the friction between the belt and pulley to transmit power. The friction drive belting requires balanced tension to maintain the right levels of friction. These are traditionally flat belts.

Positive drive belts will rely on the engagement of what is referred to as ‘teeth’ on the belt within the grooves on the pulley(s). There is no slippage with this transmission belt unless the teeth between the grooves ‘jump’.

Different Types of Friction Drive Transmission Belting

Depending on the requirement for power transmission, the type of belt will be fundamental to either friction or positive drive belts.

Outside of plastic or rubber drive belts, woven transmission belting is used specifically for friction drive belts. The types of friction drive belts are typically drop stamp, flat nylon belts or hair belting.

Drop Stamp Belts

Used specifically in the forging industry, drop stamp belts (also referred to as ‘hammer belts’), are a type of heavy duty lifting transmission belt.

The belt drop hammer one is of many drop forging machine tools used within the industry. How the drop stamp belt is used, is by rollers that grip the belt connecting it to the ‘ram’. The rollers allow the belt to raise the hammer which causes the belt to slack. The next stage of the process is the pulling apart of the rollers which releases the belt – this allows the hammer to fall using gravitated force to hammer the metal sheet in place.

The drop stamp belt is made from polyester multi-filament and ply yarn, covered by play layers of cotton on both the top and bottom of they polyester core layer.

To increase durability, and avoidance of abrasion during lifting, the drop stamp belt is treated with a temperature resistant coating. By treating the media this way, this gives the drop stamp belt an increased friction property.

The key components of a drop stamp belt are:

Long Lifespan

Due to the multi-filament yarn, weave construction and temperature resistance coating, a drop stamp belt is extremely durable with high-levels of strength. This makes for a longer living belt solution perfect for the lifting and forging industries.

Special Impregnation

The temperature resistance impregnation of the polyester filament layer means that the drop stamp belt can perform in much tougher temperature than other transmission belting.

High Friction Coefficient

The frictional force  derived from the drop stamp belt is greater than that of say rubber or PVC transmission belts. This allows for no sticking and smoother transition between the rollers of the drop stamp machine.

Hair Belting

Unlike drop stamp belts, hair transmission belts are used within power transmission. Made from a combination of nylon and wool hair woven into the ‘wrap’ ply of the belt before cotton is added to the loom and is then treated with bitumen impregnated into the cotton for additional strength, power and a the prevention of fungus properties.

These transmission belts are woven using the traditional ‘warp and weft’ technique which ensures a robust and highly durable power transmission belt. Hair belting uses a ‘twisted cord’ edge to avoid any fraying from the belt which provides a longer lifespan to the belt.

Hair belting is used across all industries powering the drive shaft and is preferred to other belting due to the belts ability to bite on the pulley which avoids slippage and losses of power. In hotter climates, hair belting performs at a much higher capacity to its compatriot transmission belts.

Flat Nylon Belting

Flat transmission belts are a form of friction drive belt relying on the friction between the belt and pulley to transmit power across the machinery. These belts are particularly used in high performance areas with smaller pulleys in central areas.

The belt comes in both endless and connected forms depending on the requirements of the pulley and powers transmission required. Flat belts use tension to maintain the correct level of friction across the belting – this allows for a balanced friction coefficient and transmission of power from the drive shaft through to the pulley.

Flat belts are traditionally manufactured using nylon material for both short and high ratio drives; performing better when crowning one pulley that is larger than the other.

The flat transmission belt relies heavily on alignment and when aligned correctly, the belts lifespan increases ten fold. Due to the belting’s lack of grooves, energy loss and wear and tear is at a minimum.

Flat Belt Drive vs V-Belt Drive

Often, there is a common misconception between flat belt drives and v-belt drives. While both belts are used in friction transmission, ultimately, there are substantial differences in how the belts are executed and perform within the pulley.

[table id=1 /]

Woven Transmission Belts vs Other Transmission Belting

Across transmission belting there are multiple materials used in the execution of friction transmission. These range from woven materials such as nylon, cotton etc. and thermoplastic such as PVC, or rubber belting materials.

A true transmission belt manufacturer needs to understand the nuances and differences in performance between both positive drive and friction drive transmission belting while also understanding the material best suited to the machinery, drive solution and pulleys.

Find Transmission Belts

Conveyor Belt Maintenance – Keeping Your Conveyor Belt Solution in Top Shape

Conveyor belt systems have a natural life-cycle. Over the course of time, wear and tear will contribute to the belt deteriorating. Depending on how well you maintain your belting solution will determine the length, in which, your belt remains at a ‘performance’ standard.

The average life-cycle of a conveyor belt is between two to twelve years based on your maintenance. Naturally, we wish to have our conveyor systems last as long as possible; this ensures optimum efficiency and return on investment from your conveyor solution.

In order to achieve a longstanding conveyor system, there are conveyor belt maintenance requirements that you must undertake to ensure your belt lasts as long as possible.

Installing Your Conveyor System

Before installation a conveyor belt must be squared to ensure stress payloads are even throughout the conveyor belt. In the biscuit manufacturing trade, cotton conveyor belting is used and there is less of a requirement for squaring based on weight loads as the transferring of dough pieces through a conveyor system is relatively light loading.

The recommended squaring method for belting ends is the ‘centreline’ method. The centreline method requires measuring across the belt width on both belt ends at multiple points that are evenly spaced between each, before marking  the center of each point. Finally, a chalk piece is used to draw the centreline from which the square cutting can be executed.

If this is not executed correctly, stress loads will be uneven, which can damage the conveyor belt and ultimately, reduce the life-cycle of the belt, while also ‘failing’ on multiple occasions.

A conveyor belt needs to be squared correctly to make sure stress loads are equally distributed throughout. Unequally distributed loads will stress the belt unevenly which can result in a reduced life-span and an increased risk of downtime as a result of technical failures.

Once the belt has been squared, it must be placed with the correct tension so as to avoid slippage. Having the correct conveyor belt alignment is key. The belting must be centered to avoid any potential problems that could cause further issues with the belt installation.

Naturally, a belt will have a little left-to-right sway. However, the belt tracking must be adjusted to accommodate a sway bias to one side and balance the belt tracking out again.

This will contribute to the belt running smoothly and without noise. Should the belting not be running smoothly or silently, you should review the conveyor tracking immediately.

You should also ensure the belt sits on the support system to avoid what is referred to as the ‘push effect’. This ensures the return path is at an optimal level.

Finally, you must ensure the drive and support rollers are set correctly, otherwise the belt will not run straight and will roll.

You achieve this by ensuring that your conveyor belt supplier takes care of installing the belt system drive, idle and support roller to fit the requirements of the conveyor belt. By taking this responsibility on yourself, you risk losing the straight run of your belting, which causes a shorter belt lifespan over time.

Checking and Adjusting Your Conveyor Belt Tracking is Correct

As briefly discussed there are a few things you must consider during the installation stage of the conveyor system to ensure that the belt is tracking correctly. Failure to execute these procedures will result in incorrect conveyor tracking and will require further guidance on conveyor tracking to correct the conveyor system.

To ensure you’re tracking is correct, you should measure the belt tension – this will usually show a 1% elongation. To measure belt elongation, you should mark the edges of your belt and tension the take-up adjustment until the marks you have made on the edges align with your required belt tension.

Something to check for when making sure the belt tracking is correct is to keep an eye out for any debris from production. Older or used conveyors will naturally have debris from constant use. This includes belts used in industries like biscuit and cracker production.

You should also consider contamination – remember the material of a belt conveyor can be susceptible to the elements. It is therefore important to understand the environmental conditions for which your conveyor belt will operate.

Your conveyor manufacturer will know the direct sciences behind the conditions for each conveyor belting material. During the scoping phase of your build, you should liaise with the conveyor belt manufacturer regarding the belt requirements and conditions for which it is best to operate in.

Finally, the coefficient of friction must be checked and corrected to ensure that the conveyor tracking is correct. The coefficient of friction varies depending on the conveyor belt material used. To calculate the coefficient of friction is a complex mathematical calculation, using frictional force. To learn how to calculate the friction, use this method.

Correct Way to Perform a Conveyor System Inspection

The first thing you need to look at when performing a conveyor belt inspection is check that the frame is level. A high percentage of conveyor belts that aren’t performing to maximum efficiency are usually down to incorrect tracking as a result of the belt being out of kilter and not level.

If the bed isn’t square, the conveyor will lean to one side and slip. To rectify this, it’s a simple case of using a balanced level to check the frame is straight or ‘square’ and the pulleys are level. To measure levelness, you should measure from one corner to the opposite corner on each side of the conveyor. if these do not equal, the belt is not level and should be leveled. The conveyor belts usually come with ‘squaring rods’ provided by the manufacturers. Squaring rods are used to pull the belt frame into the correct alignment.

Never track the conveyor solely from the steering end pulley, nor from any one side for that matter. This will cause further tracking and alignment issues for the belt; making life a lot harder to maintain or readjust the conveyor system. Any good conveyor solution will come with idlers that will sit underneath the system. Adjusting the rollers will improving belt tracking.

Performing Belt Failure Analysis

When performing a belt failure analysis in conveyor belt maintenance, there is no specific procedure as such to do so. However, there are analysis techniques that you can undertake through any process of your choice that constitutes being part of a belt failure analysis.

The first part of the of the analysis is undertaken as per the above process to identify and adjust conveyor system tracking as per your requirements.

Secondly, check if the belt has worn. You can find this information as a result of your conveyor belt system inspection. If the tracking is incorrect and the alignment is incorrect, then the chances the belt is wearing or worn are likely to be higher.

Thirdly, you must check for abrasions. A belt may catch on something, debris from other machinery or logistical operations within the factory may cause abrasion or a too heavy a load may cause a tear. While quality conveyor systems should be more averse to abrasion, circumstances may cause one nonetheless. Therefore, analyzing the belt for abrasions is an important facet for conveyor belt maintenance.

Find Conveyor Belts