The Maintenance of Conveyors & Rollers

Knowing the when and how of maintenance for your company's conveyor rollers guarantees its ability to work long-haul shifts. Regular maintenance saves time, cash, and energy.  We take a quick look at the best approaches to conveyor rollers maintenance.

 

GUIDE TO MAINTAINING CONVEYOR ROLLERS

 

It’s imperative to understand that different conveyor rollers will show signs of wear and tear and demand maintenance over time. Plastic rollers, gravity rollers, rubber rollers, steel, and stainless-steel rollers all have maintenance needs.

 

Here are some rules to follow that will keep your conveyor rollers properly maintained:

 

 

CONVEYOR MAINTENANCE STEPS

 

1.  Regular lubrication of the pressure or drive screw and nut with oil. After extensive use, these parts should be sealed with oil.

 

2.  After using the conveyor system, oil the roller bearings and drive chain, routinely. It’s best practice to ensure that the concerned factory worker oils these parts of the roller, i.e. someone is always there to monitor the maintenance or oiling needs of the system.

 

 

                                             

 

                                                    

HOW TO CLEAN A CONVEYOR? 

 

The proper cleaning of conveyor rollers will ensure the long and useful life of the conveyor rollers.  It is made from different kinds of materials depending upon the type of product it is used for.

 

Here are the list of mistakes to be avoided while cleaning the conveyor rollers:   

 

1.  Clean your conveyor rollers regularly. Wipe down any debris or residue from its surface to keep it clean and hygienic, as well as to avoid any blockages in the systems. Every roller has specific steps of cleaning them, for example, stainless-steel rollers should be sprayed with water and washed using a detergent. While in the case of dry materials gathered over the belt, rotating bristles or vane brushes should be used, fairly four to five times higher than the belt speed. However, no training is required in order to clean rubber discs in spiral-type return rolls.

 

2.  One thing that needs to be kept in mind before cleaning the conveyor rollers is that the chemical products being used do not affect the composition or structure of the rollers.

 

3.  When a high number of surfaces are used with rollers, more careful and thorough cleaning is required. 

 

 

          

                                           

Just as maintenance fixes an issue, precautionary maintenance is additionally fundamental for conveyor systems possessors. This is a type of deterrent maintenance pointed toward discovering little issues before they grow into a major issue. It additionally ensures that your working environment is running viably.

 

 

PREVENTATIVE CONVEYOR MAINTENANCE          

 

1. Examine how the conveyor rollers are running and check in case they're adaptable, the surface is level, and if the drive chain or belt is worn.

 

2. Monitor how the rollers are continuing on the conveyor, they should all be moving along as planned and similarly. In case one is wobbling or not moving, that is an issue that should be checked out immediately. Actually, take a look at the roller direction and check whether you can fix the issue securely, or else contact a maintenance expert. 

 

3. Check the temperature of the greased-up part of the roller bearings in case the system has been running for too long. In case the system is exceptionally hot, turn it off, and wait for it to cool, and then check for any expected issues.

 

 

Timely maintenance is an appropriate way to outspread the life of a conveyor roller system. However, after extensive usage, conveyor rollers or parts will need replacing. 

 

With advancements in industrial technology, increasingly more roller conveyors are being demanded. In light of their straightforward design and advantageous use, roller conveyors are generally used across a variety of applications.

 

The following seven methods will help you in maintaining and lubricating conveyor rollers:

 

1.  The temperature of the roller bearings and shaft has to be maintained at an acceptable limit and to ensure the same, keep a regular check on the temperature of the roller bearing’s component.

 

2. Observe the movements of roller conveyors, stability of goods at the crotch area, the accuracy of products and transfer operations, and working of each cylinder.

 

3.  Check the neutrons do not collide and strike in the goods, besides the roller bearings are not disrupted.

 

4.  Use oil to lubricate the drive screw and nut, time and time again. Regularly used drive screws and nuts are sealed with oil.

 

5.   Clean the residues, layered around the surface of conveyor rollers, daily.

 

6. After using conveyor rollers, make sure to oil the bearings and drive chain, regularly. Machine operators must inspect oil leakage and irregular changes on lubrication points and identify the problem early.

 

7.  Check whether the conveyor roller is running smoothly, drive rollers connected to the drive are trustable, buttons and indicators of automatically running devices work normally.

 

                        

 

 

 

Types of Conveyor rollers & Recent Trends

Idler rollers, or typically referred to as conveyor rollers, are cylindrical-shaped bars that run along a conveyor belt. There are various kinds of idler rollers with varying functions.

Usually, idler rollers are within the supporting weight and impact of the materials being transported on the belt. They assist within the continuous, smooth movement of the material along the belt.

Idler rollers can also assist and self-align in maintaining the belt tracking, counting on the form and structure of the conveyor belt where the rollers are usually positioned within a metal frame and are referred to as idler set.

Types of Idler rollers & their application:

Troughing idler

Troughing idlers are found along the length of the conveyor. On any particular conveyor these idlers are identical, so are its bases. The troughing idlers comprise a center idler roll of an outlined dimension and 'wing' idlers on either side of the center roll. Unlike the center, horizontal roll, the wing idlers are cranked up to an angle referred to as the troughing angle. 

This troughing angle ensures that the carrying belt can maintain an equivalent cross-sectional area throughout the carrying strand so that the load-bearing capacity of a selected conveyor belt is the same along the conveyors' full length. In doing so, material loaded to the utmost capacity at the loading point won't fall off of the belt en-route.

Troughing idler manufactured types include :

Single Roll flat carrying idler, Picking idlers, Conveyors carrying roller with the frame, Tapered rollers, 3 rolls offset troughing idler, Rubber-coating idlers.

Transition idler

Transition idlers are found at either end of the conveyor, adjacent to the highest and tail pulleys. This idler sets consist of standard idler rolls but the bases into which these rolls are fitted, have a smaller troughing angle to the remainder of the troughing idlers on the conveyor.

The reason for this is often that the conveyor belt is flat because it passes over the pulleys, under high tension. After all, the belt changes its form to a full trough of say 35 degrees, the belt must be supported through this transition zone. If the belt is fed directly into a full trough from the tail pulley, the belt edges would be over-stressed, resulting in damage or an injury.

Transition idler roller manufactured types include:

Adjustable in-line transition idler, Guide rollers.

Training Idlers

Training idlers are used by power generating equipment manufacturers.

The purpose of Training idlers is to keep the belt running straight. This is termed “TRACKING”. If a conveyor belt is tracking properly it's staying within the correct track, if it doesn’t it'll be said that the belt is “Wandering” or “Mistracking”. The training idler corrects this by being pivoted in the center.

Training idlers manufactured types include:

3 Roll trough training idler, 2 roll v return training idler.

Self-Aligning idlers

Self-Aligning idlers are used by metallurgy conveyor machinery manufacturers that can help adjust the conveyor belt of its own within the right position so that it runs to one side during conveying operation in metallurgy thus re-aligns the belt in event of misalignment automatically.

Concave in its shape, the idler’s side guide rollers restrain the belt from running up and over the conveyor to minimize the damage on the belt and the side guide rollers are made with high-grade urethane that helps reduce the friction between the idler and the belt.

Self-align idlers manufactured types include :

Friction self-aligning idler, self-aligning rollers, self-centering conveyor idler roller.

Flat and V Return Idlers

Flat Return idlers are employed by conveyor equipment manufacturers for keeping conveyor belt centered, always reacting to beat spillage of materials conveyed and to help reduce belt edge damage. 

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V-Return idlers are used by underground mining equipment manufacturers to facilitate excessive force accommodation faced with high belt widths and heavy loads in the mining conveyor application where two separate tapered rolls are mounted onto the pivot mechanism which can be replaced individually at the time of wear and tear.

Needle thrust and tapered roller bearings are utilized in the V-return conveyor belt tracking idler for top speed operations and extended bearing life.

Return idlers manufactured types include: Rubber disc return idler, Single roll flat return idler, V return idlers.

Recent Trends

Compact footprints for new industrial conveyor designs

Over recent years there have been several developments in conveyor design that allow the conveyors to take up less space, and these developments will continue. Conveyors with drive drum motors are becoming more prevalent in today’s factories and the conveyor design is no longer limited to those with larger diameter drive drums. Today it is possible to drive a belt conveyor with a dc-powered drive drum motor that is less than two inches in diameter. These not only reduce the overall height and footprint of a conveyor but also improve mechanical and electrical efficiencies. 

Conveyors with defined yet flexible purposes

There are more and more requests for conveyors designed for a specific task, but at the same time, the conveyor also must be able to handle multiple products of various sizes. Specialized function conveyors are necessary because they’re unique in their defined purposes. Going forward, it will be more common to seek out conveyors outfitted with lightweight panels for vision applications, scales, and meters for weighing and measuring applications, or vacuums for precise or complex transporting applications. Adjustable-width conveyors are also beneficial to use because one conveyor for carrying parts of varying lengths and widths is more desirable over multiple conveyors or conveyors that need frequent complex changeovers.

Conveyors getting smarter

With all of the recent innovations in automation and robotics, it’s no surprise that conveyors are also getting smarter. Additionally the increased practicality and functionality of motors and controllers as mentioned earlier, the conveyors are also being outfitted with extra or increased technologies. The world still has a place for “dumb” conveyors that merely move products from A to B, however, there is increased demand for conveyors that can communicate or rather talk to the other machines and robots on the line. Developments in advancements, software, and hardware in computerization make it all possible. However, the technology isn’t only limited to items “added” to conveyors.

 

Bulk material Handling Market

The worldwide material handling equipment market size was US$ 26.62 billion out in 2018 and is required to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% till 2025. Factors that are expected to drive the growth of the bulk material handling market are:

• The rising demand for incorporation of automation and modernization in manufacturing processes

• Demand for transparency in the supply chain

• Expansion of the aviation industry and e-commerce industry, and

• Flexibility in warehouse operations

Material handling equipment is utilized in warehouses for dealing with the capacity and transportation of merchandise and items. It guarantees improved profitability by upgrading coordinations at warehouses and manufacturing plants. These items offer financial savvy, measure productivity, and an exact technique for the quick progress of goods over the warehouse and manufacturing plants, bringing about expanded interest. 

Material handling is a vital part of the manufacturing sector. Although it doesn't legitimately add to the creation of products, it prompts proficiency in handling, managing, storing, and transporting goods. These equipment compliment the productivity by guaranteeing a quick, smooth, and proficient flow of products along these lines, bringing about the increased demand for the equipment till 2025.

Growth in modern and infrastructural activities to satisfy the interest of the ever-developing populace is foreseen to look good for market growth. Manufacturing and different related industries relentlessly draw in colossal overseas capital, accordingly resulting in the rapid expansion of the manufacturing sector. Governments over the world are expanding their infrastructural improvements to build new airports, rail networks, seaports, and power plants, and upgrade the prevailing ones. 

The end-user segment has been segregated into aviation, chemical, food and beverages, automotive, semiconductor and electronics, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, and others. The e-commerce segment held the largest market share exceeding 15% in terms of revenue in 2018 and is anticipated to expand at the highest CAGR of over 8% over the forecast period. Meanwhile, the food and beverage segment is anticipated to register a CAGR of over 5% over the forecast period. Similarly, the aviation segment is anticipated to exceed USD 2 billion by 2018.

Check-in systems, baggage handling systems, and other automation solutions incorporated in airports are expected to spike the sales of bulk material handling systems globally.