Common Conveyor Belt Problems

To prevent this from happening, you need to keep a close eye on the precise workings of your conveyor belts. By carefully watching and checking up on your belts, you can catch many problems before they develop into larger issues that take time and money to fix.

No matter how careful you are, mistakes still happen, and parts and equipment eventually break down. When this inevitably happens, it’s important to know how to fix complications as they arise.

It’s crucial for you to understand how to complete conveyor belt maintenance as well as what some of the more common conveyor belt problems are and how to fix them. This information will help you keep your conveyor belts running smoothly and stop them from breaking down due to preventable issues.

Common Conveyor Belt Problems

While it is impossible to compile a list of every bad situation you will ever encounter with your conveyor belt, this is a list of some of the concerns you are most likely to face, as well as their probable consequences.

In addtion to learning more about the most common conveyor belt issues, learn:

1. Conveyor Belt Mistracking

This issue occurs when there is a conveyor belt tracking problem. Tracking is the process of managing and aligning the belt onto the correct path, and it’s critical to ensuring the smooth functioning and output of your system. Mistracking, then, is when something goes wrong along this track. In most cases, it means that the belt has slipped to one side or another, and the entire system has shifted out of alignment.

Mistracking leads to numerous negative consequences. It has the potential to throw the entire system off its specified course. But the consequences can also be less extreme than this. Mistracking might simply lead to uneven belt wear, which is the cause of a whole host of other problems in its own right.

If the belt slips entirely off the track, the whole system could begin malfunctioning and shut down. It’s best to keep an eye out for small signs of mistracking, even if they don’t seem to be causing much damage. By catching this problem early on, you can prevent it from worsening and creating a larger issue.

Conveyor Belt Tracking Troubleshooting

When your belt starts tracking from side to side and experiencing frayed edges, you need to do a little conveyor belt alignment troubleshooting. Conveyor tracking problems can originate from various parts of your system. As soon as your belt starts mistracking, take a look at these potential problems:

• Conveyor frame: If your conveyor frame is crooked or slanted, it could be misguiding your belt. Check your framework from all angles to ensure the frame is level and square.
• Snub rollers: These rollers create more tension in your belt and make contact with every pulley in the system. Tenison is crucial to tracking, so your snub rollers should align with your frame and apply enough tension to the belt.
• Belt cutting:Conveyor belts can be cut incorrectly during manufacturing, making them crooked. No matter how well the rest of your system runs, a crooked belt will cause tracking errors.
• Cleanliness: Buildup on the belt and pulleys can cause the belt to sway one way or another. Make sure all parts of your conveyor are clean to ensure a smooth run and prevent failure.
• False crowns: Conveyor belts move a variety of items, and sometimes the material can snag or get stuck on a pulley. You can find crowns on the center of your end pulleys that distribute force to each side of the belt and help it stay on track. If a piece of debris gets lodged in another pulley, it can create a fake crown and redistribute weight where you don’t need it. Check to see if your pulleys are clear of debris to avoid this.

2. Belt Slipping

Conveyor belts rely on a precise balance of tension to work correctly. If there is too much tension or too little, things begin to go awry, and the belt can slip. Specifically, if the head pulley breaks down or even becomes overly worn, there will no longer be enough tension to keep the belt from slipping around.

This loss of tension can result in unnecessary stretching and strain on the belt, as well as loud, grating and squealing noises and the aforementioned slipping. It will require time-consuming maintenance to fix such a problem as this. To avoid this situation, check all parts and pieces of the conveyor belt regularly to ensure that they aren’t experiencing any undue wear and tear.

Top Causes of Conveyor Belt Slippage

Since tension and balance play massive roles in belt operation and traction, there are a few common causes of belt slippage. Once you’re aware of the potential causes, you can keep an eye on problem areas to prevent slippage in the future. Common causes include:

• Overweight load.Your conveyor belt can only handle so much weight based on its pulleys and overall size. If you’ve tried to carry something that’s exceedingly heavy, your belt will typically slip off the pulleys instead of operating normally. Make sure the objects you’re using on your belt fit the belt’s weight range.
• Low temperatures.If you’re working in colder conditions than usual, it could affect the traction of your conveyor belt. Colder temperatures can reduce the grip between the belt and pulley, causing the belt to slip. If you regularly work in cold environments, choose a belt designed to withstand low temperatures.
• Poorly installed lagging. While incorrect belt tension results from a variety of problems, lagging typically fixes those issues. Lagging is applied to the pulleys to improve grip with the belt, but if this lagging is improperly installed, you may still experience slippage. If you’re not sure how to install pulley lagging yourself, consult a professional.
• Pulley problems. Pulleys are a common source of tension issues. Worn heads or pulleys with buildup can reduce the belt’s grip, as can a pulley that’s too smooth. The best way to prevent pulley problems is to actively check them for signs of wear.

When your conveyor belt constantly slips, it disrupts your daily operation and productivity. If you stay aware of the potential causes, you can prevent them before they happen. It’s helpful to regularly inspect your machine, especially the pulleys as they often contribute to belt slippage.

3. Seized Rollers

In most cases, conveyor belts are constructed from metallic materials such as steel. This construction is good because it means the parts are usually highly durable and long-lasting. However, it also means that when the rollers on the conveyor belt seize up, they have an unfortunate tendency to develop sharp edges.

These sharp edges, in turn, can have major repercussions throughout the conveyor system. They can cause the belt to mistrack unequally down the center line of the conveyor belt. This circumstance is an issue for several reasons. Firstly, it can pose a significant safety hazard to any workers in proximity to the conveyor belt. Secondly, it has the potential to damage goods and materials being transported along the conveyor belt, sometimes beyond repair.

If the problem is severe enough that the entire system malfunctions and shuts down, you will most likely be looking at a long shut-down period while the system is repaired. Check the rollers frequently to prevent this scenario.

4. Blockages

The primary purpose of any conveyor belt system is to transport items efficiently from one location to another, often through a complex conveyor system. It only makes sense, then, that when this efficient travel is disrupted, the entire system stops working.

It’s all too easy for a package to get caught. When this happens, the next item behind the first one gets caught, and the pileup simply builds from there. It can lead to the entire system becoming clogged and jammed.

While random occurrences are hard to predict and often impossible to prevent, you can do a great deal to stop preventable blockages. Check your conveyor belts carefully for any sharp edges, surfaces, corners or other spaces that might snag items as they go past. Remember that even if something looks like it’s not a big deal now, it’s always better to deal with it while it’s still small. Otherwise, it might soon become a much larger complication.

5. Material Carryback

While blockages are a result of packages getting caught on sharp edges and blocking the other products, material carryback involves a buildup of material on the belt itself. If you’re working with materials such as clays or mineral ores, they can leave small amounts of residue behind. While it may not seem like much, this material will increase and lead to accumulation underneath your belt, causing problems with your rollers and pulleys.

This carryback can also cause safety issues down the road because excessive material buildup can be a fire hazard, and certain materials can be dangerous if frequently inhaled. There’s also a profit loss associated with carryback. If you’re working with high-profile materials and losing a little bit of them every time they’re on the belt, you could lose a significant profit.

To reduce material carryback, you should install a cleaning system that will scrape your belt to ensure no material gets left behind.

6. Material Spillage

It’s fairly common for there to be some issues with material spillage at some point along a conveyor system. This term refers to any material that accidentally slides or spills off the belt, and it’s most common along transfer and load points. This occurrence isn’t necessarily due to any mechanical failures or problems with the belt, but it can still be an issue, as this spilled material can lead to blockages or buildups that will have a domino effect and cause other problems later on.

If you find that material spillage is a common factor on your conveyor belt, try installing impact beds, skirt clamps or a belt plough. These solutions will help reduce wasted material as well as time spent cleaning up, and they’ll decrease the possibility of breakdowns caused by blockages on the belt.

7. Belt Tears and Seam Rips

Depending on the product you’re moving, you might experience perforations or tears in your belt. Moving products such as sharp rocks or coal increases the chances of this occurrence. Even excessive friction from moving heavy packages can result in thin spots that eventually lead to tears. Seam rips also happen over time with stress and tension on the belt. Tears and rips can be hard to prevent with the nature of your operation, so this problem requires a good repair process.

A torn belt or ripped seam can cause problems with the function of your belt and hurt productivity. It’s important to either contact a professional or have a trained member of your team perform these repairs to reduce downtime.

How to Fix a Conveyor Belt Tear

There is a broad range of solutions for conveyor belt problems that you can consider to make repairs. These repairs depend on the belt’s material, your industry and how much space your operation has.

The three methods of conveyor belt seam repair are:

1. Vulcanization: This process uses pressure and heat to fix tears in your belt. It’s the most reliable repair method, and it applies to both thermoset rubber and thermoplastic belts.
2. Metal fasteners:This repair method is the most common do-it-yourself option because it’s quick and easy. By using metal fasteners, you can essentially stitch your belt together. While this is a quick fix, it’s not as reliable and will not last as long as vulcanization. Fasteners also pose a risk of falling off and joining your product line, so it’s particularly unsafe for the food industry. Use this method as a backup option or a temporary fix before vulcanization.
3. Cold curing:This method is also known as cold vulcanization, and it’s often used for gouges or scoring on your belt. It involves a cement made with a base compound and curing agent, and it’s applied like a paste. This repair type is typically used when an operation has space constraints and can’t accommodate regular vulcanization equipment.

How to Prevent Problems With Your Conveyor Belts

The best way to keep your conveyor system running smoothly is always to prevent problems before they happen. This plan requires constant vigilance, and it calls for you to regularly check your system for anything incurring excessive wear, or any elements slightly out of the ordinary.