Did you know that contamination and low lubrication levels account for 80% of premature bearing failures?

As one of the most demanding industries for both clean and contaminated environments, the food and beverage industry offers a unique challenge due to the need to safely lubricate bearings in a contaminated environment. From conveyor belts, to electric motors, to pumps, there are a multitude of components with the potential to interrupt uptime and reduce productivity.

Conveyors, for example, are at the heart of every facility in the food and beverage industry. Products need to be moved throughout the production process and throughout the facility itself and it is essential that conveyors run for long predictable periods of time. When a conveyor goes down for either planned or unplanned maintenance, there is no time to waste. Productivity and profits are quickly compromised when raw materials or finished goods aren’t reaching their destinations.

WHERE CONVEYORS FAIL

A belt conveyor consists of a structural framework, an endless belt which is guided on idlers, a motor and gearbox, and various pulleys. Which of these is the primary point of failure? Pulley bearings and motor and gearbox bearings are generally the areas most susceptible to contamination and lubrication issues and subsequently are the most likely to experience premature failure.

REDUCE BEARING FAILURES

1. Molded oil bearings: Even in applications without direct hygiene requirements, molded oil bearings are a superior option for conveyor applications. They eliminate the need for re-lubrication, negate leakage risks and are appropriate for contaminated environments that may also encounter frequent washdowns.

2. Bearing specifications: Bearings made with stainless steel, for example, offer the best protection from corrosion, whether from washdowns, chemical contamination or product wear and tear. Contamination can result in peeling paint or general corrosion that will compromise bearing life and possibly lead to machinery damage.

3. Conveyor design: Investigate options that locate bearings outside of frames, and keep motors and gearheads outside of the frame or under the conveyor. This type of conveyor design makes lubricant contamination virtually impossible, and is a popular choice in food manufacturing applications.

4. Preventative maintenance: Ensure that staff are well versed in maintenance procedures and schedules for the bearings currently in use. Additionally, the proactive assessment of failed bearings upon replacement aids in the identification of potential problems before they result in machinery failure. Cracks, wear, fretting and flaking are all symptoms that can be identified on failed bearings and point to specific machinery defects or improper bearing selection or installation.

Getting the most out of your equipment ensures that your business runs smoothly and efficiently. When you think about keeping your equipment in the best possible condition with quality components and industry-specific solutions, Think NSK.

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Conveyor belts are used in a multitude of industries, mainly for horizontal transport but also for ascending and descending applications. Conveyor belts are used in industrial applications but also on large farms, in warehousing, from freight-handling, down to your local supermarket and in movement of bulk raw materials.

Assume you are buying a new conveyor, or you are replacing a worn or broken belt. How do you choose the right conveyor belt for your product? How do you get that product to do what you want, when you want, without damage to the belt or the product? It’s not as straightforward as you might think. Here are some basic points to consider, we will look at others in later articles.

You love your product and you want to get it to where you want it, normally as fast as possible, without damage and without losing it! Therefore the product itself has a huge impact on your conveyor belt choice.

Has the product got sharp edges? How heavy is it? How light is it even? Do you want the product to grip to the belt? Do you want the product to slide on the belt, or to put it another way the belt keeps going but the product stands still at a stop perhaps (this is called accumulation). How hot is the product? How cold is the product?

Belt materials will have minimum and maximum temperatures within which they will work, but outside of which they will perish in one form or another. Some belts are designed to grip the product, which is fine if you are going uphill or downhill, but what if you want to queue the products, or swipe them across the belt? A high grip belt will give you headaches if you want to slide the product as it’s amazing sometimes how much grip they have. Conversely, if you are conveying uphill, a slippy belt surface will result in the products perhaps sliding back down. Because of the multitude of uses, belts with many different surface characteristics are available and may be used for many different product characteristics.

Fortunately, most belt manufacturers issue very detailed data about conveyor belt materials. They want you to be happy but they also want to cover themselves and make it clear what their product will and won’t do. Make sure you use the manufacturers’ instructions when choosing your belt. If it’s a big expensive belt, get a salesman in. Belt prices can vary greatly so always get a second price. The right choice will mean you get many years of good service from your new belt. Make the wrong choice and you could be shelling out for a new one very soon.

In part 2 we can look at the characteristics of the conveyor machine itself and how that can affect your belt choice.

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Worn out rubber conveyor belts are a standard by product of many industries. Some of these industries include aggregation, mining, cement making manufacturing, distribution, and many more. The sheer weight and size of these rubber conveyor belts can cause them to become a large burden on facilities. Since standard tire recycling facilities cannot shred the belts due to their size and thickness, most facilities just find a place on property to throw them, or pay a service to haul them to the dump where they have to pay additional fees due to the increase cost of disposing of rubber products. There are alternatives however.

Some companies recycle these products for use in rubber mulch, rubber flooring, and conveyor refurbishment, or export to other countries. While the value of most used conveyor is not worth a substantial amount compared to the costs of moving it. You can in most cases at least get them to pick it up free of charge, if you have enough quantity to justify the trip and labor. That means you have your space back, have got rid of a liability, and you know the used belts are going to be used in an environmentally friendly way.

So how do you find a company that specializes in this niche market. It can be tough. It is normally much easier to find in areas heavy in mining and manufacturing, but if you look hard enough you may be able to find someone. One company I am aware is Overrocker/DC Global, LLC. They. They are one of the larger demographically spread companies. If they cannot help you, they should be able to find someone who can. To visit their website click below. They also deal with OTR, or Off the road rubber tires as well as mining tires.

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