Belt Drift

Gary James
Director Minerva Engineers

Main Causes of Drift

Poorly designed or made take-ups. Poor Alignment of idlers & pulleys. Bent Belt & splices. Poor Loading (not covered here). Build up in pulleys & idlers (not covered here). There are other causes. Please consult references such as CEMA or equipment suppliers installation manuals
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Take-ups

Take-ups Cause Belt Drift

Unstable. Under square. Too flexible or sloppy gaps in guide system. Poorly aligned or not balanced. No adjustment of guide system.
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Common problems
Big gaps?

Are there any slots o is there other evidence that the designers/installers tried to get straight and vertical rails?

Under square Mass

Mass

Vertical Loop Take-up

Flexible guides & frame system

THE FIX
Align guide rails

Small gaps

Mass

Mass

System now oversquare

Pendulum effect gives stability.

Under Square Trolley Systems

Does the trolley have side guide wheels or are V wheels used with an inverted angle?

Single rope pull. (may also have a sheave)

Are there any slots or is there other evidence that the designers/installers tried to get straight and vertical rails?

Typical under-square trolley

Is the wheel riding up on an inverted V angle?

Does a two rope system help ? No!

Torque/couple Sheaves

Mass

Large angle of rotation & forces

Wheel up lift

Mass jams in tower Better to take loads out at ground level & not in the tower Double rope take-up tower
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THE FIX
Improve trolley stiffness

Align rails Make Over Square Reduced angle of rotation & side loads
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Idler Alignment

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TYPICAL IDLER ALIGNMENT

Not aligned, but the net effect typically gives reasonable tracking. Most of the time. More power required, more wear. Tracking changes with loading, weather or water sprays.
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THE REASON FOR BAD ALIGNMENT

Structure not straight or level. Equipment, idlers, pulleys etc have never been aligned. They need to be accurately surveyed. Twisted frames. Bad feet Hammers
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Twisted frames
The frames can be manufactured out of tolerance. If the sequence of welding is the same on each frame, there can be a common error. Common errors work together to cause large belt drifts.

Common twist

Carry Belt

Stringer Side view on conveyor

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Bad Feet
Slots encourage use of a hammer. The surveyed alignment is lost. The idler frames end up all over the place. Tracking can be erratic.

Idler frame

Idler Roll

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This is a better Approach.

Get the supplier to slot frame transverse as shown

Slotting both ways allows the frames to be aligned on bent support structures. The common support structural tolerances ( to Aust Standards) are poor if you consider the structure is part of a machine.

Frame

Slot stringer parallel to the conveyor

Roller

Use Prok Conveyliner to align or similar

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Pulleys
Use SG iron bearing housings, reduces risk of foot breakage if fully tensioning bolts on not flat support. Make site standard or label position & pulley with stainless information plate. Cast iron housings are ok provided the mount surface is flat.
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Pulleys ctd
If possible, mount bearings horizontal, allows simple alignment. Align with survey tools or similar Hold bearing housing down with fully tensioned minimum Grade 8.8 bolts, to prevent fatigue. Use hydraulic tensioner jack on bolts M30 and above.
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After Careful Alignment, Measure Actual Belt Movement

So, prove that all is correct by taking measurements when the belt is running.
Check by taking signature. Check for bent belt, splice or offset due to poor support alignment.

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The belt drift signature allows the root cause to be determined.

Measurement equipment. The two sensors eliminate errors due to changing belt width.

Offset is due to pulley or idler alignment, take-up alignment, structural support & feed error Plot of drift at a point over time

Mark the belt. After several rotations of the entire belt loop, repeat patterns will appear. This pattern is due to bent belting from factory or a bent belt splice. ( Ie belt not lined up properly when the belt segments

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Minerva Equipment.
(A video camera and ruler is an alternative)

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Last Resort
If all else fails, & you are under pressure to ensure flow.
Use a tracking device ESS, PROK etc etc, can even use active tracking. or Tilt sets forward 3 deg Max. ( Power & wear)

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