Efficient Plant Jan./Feb. 2021 - 14

feature | conveyor maintenance

Maintaining easily overlooked components, such
as scrapers, can prevent
extensive downtime and
expense. Proper scraper
maintenance has been
performed on the system
on the right.
Photo: Motion

14

EP2101fmotion.indd 14

there were no issues. They checked the main conveyor
components, and everything seemed fine. Some time
later a bearing failed on an idler because of buildup or
it had not been greased. This caused the belt to track
off the system. After hours of trying to track the belt,
it was determined to be faulty and a rush order placed
for a new belt.
When the belt arrived, it was only then that the
source problem, the bearing, was discovered, or they
ran into the same issue by trying to track the belt,
which could potentially cause a camber in the new
belt. As a result, a small component, that was not
easily seen, consumed hours of maintenance time and
the cost of a rush order.
Another example is from a facility that had recently
installed several types of scrapers. All of them had the
same issue. The scrapers were doing their job-reducing fines and material buildup on the underside of the
conveyor which, in turn, significantly reduced labor

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hours and cleanup. The customer was happy, and all
seemed right. But, like many components in a system,
the scrapers were not checked and maintained.
A period of time after the installation, a nail or
hard piece of material became lodged in a straight,
spring-actuated scraper, lifting the blade on half the
belt and causing a cut the length of the belt. This cut
took weeks to produce. It was so deep into the belt
that it caused the belt to split in half in some spots,
requiring expensive replacement.
On another system at the same location, a finger-style scraper was installed, resulting in a significant improvement in material drop. But no one
checked or adjusted the scraper for at least three
months. Because of this, material built up on the
scraper and hardened to the point that it was
damaging the scraper and digging into the belt.
In these scenarios, maintenance and cleaning crews
were cleaning all around these scrapers, but ignoring

JAN/FEB 2021

1/26/21 12:37 PM



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Efficient Plant Jan./Feb. 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Efficient Plant Jan./Feb. 2021

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Efficient Plant Jan./Feb. 2021 - Cover2
Efficient Plant Jan./Feb. 2021 - 1
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