October 30, 2019

The type of inspection and maintenance performed on conveyors varies depending on the design of the machine. Performing routine planned maintenance on your equipment will lower the amount of downtime significantly. Best Conveyor Maintenance PracticesHere are our top 7 best practices for maintaining a range of conveyors: Belt Condition –(Belt over roller, belt under roller, orings between rollers) Check for dry rot, damage to belt or lacing, and proper position. – Loose belts can slip when heavier product is flowing through. This can cause changes to timing and spacing.   *Tip from our Service Manager: Loosen the belt enough to be able to fold it over with your hands to get a better view of possible dry rot, damaged areas, etc.  Some wear is hidden on the underside of a belt. Chains – Lubricate chains, check tension, and check for excessive wear or rust. Sprockets – Check set screws and excessive wear on teeth or rust. Bearings – Check for excessive wear, or loose conditions.  Non-Sealed bearings need to stay properly greased. Pulleys – Check for proper alignment, excessive wear of shafts and integrity of lagging. Excessive wear of lagging can cause a belt to travel to one side and become damaged.  *Tip from our Service Manager: With the conveyor locked out – run your hand across the belt where the lagged pulley is and check for lumps, bumps or divots. Photo eyes – Clean photo eyes, properly align and check condition.  A misaligned photo eye will create a dead spot and stop the flow of cartons in this area.  A damaged or missing reflector will cause a photo eye to malfunction. Reducers – Unsealed reducers need their oil changed yearly, and the oil level checked regularly. The correct amount of clean oil will prevent the reducer from overheating and failing.  Examine seals for dirt or oil marks, this may be caused by situational overheating and should be noted for future replacement. System in Motion offers maintenance packages include our 20-point planned maintenance plan. (Click here for more information)  (Contact us today)

Carousels come in a variety of different models and sizes. To maximize efficiency for any carousel, proper and routine maintenance is key.   Best Carousel Maintenance PracticesHere are our top 9 best practices for maintaining a carousel: Proper Track Sizing – The length of the track needs to match the length of the chain of bins, or you may be at risk for a derailment.  *Tip from our Service Manager – To verify track sizing, run the carousel manually so that one castor is dead center of the nose end. Lock out the carouseland lay on the floor shining a bright light towards the leading side of the castor to verify the center of the castor is properly aligned with the center of the track. Chains – Lubricate chains check tension, and check for excessive wear or rust RPM readings – Ensure that RPM’s for motors match – Different RPM rating will create a push pull effect causing a mechanical failure. DC Motor Brushes– Severely worn brushes won’t make proper contact with the motor, causing the motor to operate erratically causing mechanical failure. Carousel Tracks – Grease carousel tracks.  An unlubricated track can cause damage to the motor and wear out tracks. Tracks need to stay properly greased. V-Belt Integrity – V-belts should run smoothly with proper tension and no cracks or dry rot. Loose belts can cause inconsistent RPM readings. Reducers – Unsealed reducers need their oil changed yearly, and the oil level checked regularly. The correct amount of clean oil will prevent the reducer from overheating and failing. Setscrews – Check for loose setscrews on bearings and sprockets to prevent these items from moving out of place. Link Assemblies – Check for bent or damaged links. Damaged or broken links creates the risk of a carousel derailing.  Tip from our Service Manager: Using a very bright light check where the links attach to verify that they are in good working order. System in Motion offers maintenance packages include our 20-point planned maintenance plan. (Click here for more information)  (Contact us today)