Track Straight: The solution to Misaligned Conveyor Belts

As societies evolve, so do their industries, with mining among them. Technology and innovation ensures that as we develop, safer ways to increase productivity as well as efficiency are found. One such innovation is the conveyor belt. Bulk material handling conveyor belts are normally used in bulk holding industries. They handle volumes of bulky material in the mining industry such as ores, minerals, stone and coal.

Conveyor belts are also used in underground mining and should be fire resistant in the event that underground fires occur. On account of the harsh working conditions in the mines, a good conveyor belt needs to be resistant to cutting and abrasion as they will be handling thousands of tonnes per hour. Most minerals being mined through open cast mining as raw materials tend to be bulky and require conveyor belts to handle them. In mineral production, the primary stage involves a lot of impact. So, in order to prevent tearing or ripping from heavy impacts due to less resistant materials, conveyor belts of high resistance need to be used. Tripping mechanisms such as trip cords with safety start-stop buttons should also be installed along the conveyors’ sides to ensure they can be shut down immediately if a problem occurs.

However, for all the advantages conveyor belts possess, there exist disadvantages as well.

Irregularly loaded bulk materials can cause the conveyor belt to drift by deviating the runner and tensioners from the optimal alignment. This causes the conveyor belts’ edge to overshoot the support rolls which must remain parallel and level to prevent misalignment. A misaligned conveyor makes the belt difficult to track, making it stretch unevenly all the while posing a safety risk to the operators. Unevenly stretched belts will not be operating on optimal working conditions which result in unnecessary expenses incurred and unexpected expensive downtime.

To rectify the misalignment, a belt correction system is used.

Track Straight, an Australian belt correction system manufacturer, has designed a system that allows machine operators to manually adjust the tracking frame using a rotating hand wheel all while the conveyor is still in operation. This system which can also be retrofitted to existing track frames is designed in a way that prevents force being applied through the hand wheel from the tracking frame, keeping the operator from any harm. This eliminates live work risks. To stop overloading from occurring, a torque limiting device is used while a proximity switch monitors and logs adjustments.

With the added advantage of not having to stop operations to readjust the tracking frame, a lot of money is saved in terms of maintenance. Track Straight has also designed an automatic tool that is adapted to fit pre-existing tracking frames. This enables automatic or remote adjustments using belt drift sensors that detect the belt’s alignment positions and determines any necessary adjustments to the tracking frame.

Track Straight focuses on the safety of workers while keeping in mind increased demand for better productivity, which is a win from whatever way you decide to look at it.

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