Employees are the first line of defense when it comes to minimizing maintenance problems, according to Cliff Holste at Supply Chain Digest. Are you adequately preparing them to fulfill that role? Are they trained, equipped, and encouraged to help you prevent issues with conveyors and other equipment? Past the jump, a couple of ways to help your line workers become more aware of ways to keep your systems running…

Don’t use conveyors in ways they weren’t intended

If you read the maintenance manual for any conveyor, it will spell out the ways that conveyor is supposed to be used – how much weight can be placed on it, what types of loads, loading on non-conveyable items. All of this can degrade a conveyor’s performance, reduce its operating life, or cause major operational interruptions.  Holste also mentions that pickers are often guilty of loading a pick belt with full cases. Often, these belts aren’t designed to be started when fully loaded.

Get line workers involved in maintenance

Your maintenance group, or a maintenance service can do an excellent job keeping conveyors running and in perfect shape, but the first line of defense are the warehouse workers, pickers, or packers who work the line every day.  If you make them part of the process, they can help you spot problems early, before the problems become a full scale shut-down.  Let them attend maintenance walk-throughs, inspections, etc. Another idea is to have your maintenance staff hold seminars about the use of your conveyors, how to spot problems, etc. This can help your line staff understand how to spot such issues as a frayed belt, loose roller, or separating belt lacing.  If your people understand how a conveyor is supposed to work optimally, they can help you prevent it from reaching a point where expensive repairs or downtime occur.

Credit: Supply Chain Digest

Electric motors are available to suit most conveying  applications.  Electric Motors have multiple variables to consider when making a selection. Understanding the terms used with electric motors is important to making a selection.

Basic Electric Motor Terms:

• Horsepower: Determined by the equipment requirements, total load, operating conditions, and speed.
• Voltage: The voltage of a motor is determined by the supply to which it is attached. The common voltages are 115, 200, 208, 230, 460, 575.
• Phase: The most common power supplies are either single- or three-phase.
• Common Motor Types: Totally Enclosed(TE), Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated(TENV), Energy Efficient (EE or XL), or Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled (TEFC).
• Cycles: 60 Hz (cycles per second) AC power is common throughout the US and 50 Hz is common in many foreign countries.

An example of the motor designation is: 1/2 HP- 230V- 3 Ph.60 Hz.  TEFC or  1/2HP/230V/3Ph/60 Hz. TEFC.

This is translated as 1/2 Horsepower, 230 Volts, 3 Phase, 60 Hertz, Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled.

Designating Horsepower

Horsepower ratings (as provided in our conveyor site) are calculated according to the standard speed listed for that conveyor. When increasing the speed, more horsepower may be needed. As a rule of thumb, it will take twice as much horsepower to move a given package at 130 FPM than at 65 FPM. The formula below may help to determine the approximate power requirements:

HORSEPOWER IN CATALOG CHART (based on 65 FPM)   X  YOUR DESIRED SPEED ( In FPM)

Example:
- Model TA, 11 ft long requires 1/2 Hp motor at 65 Feet per minute for a total load of 320 pounds.
- You desire your conveyor to operate at 90 Feet Per Minute.
- Calculate as follows: (1/2 X 90) / 65 = .69
- You should select the next highest horsepower or 3/4 Hp.

This formula may be used to give you a good estimate, but we can always help you designate the right motor. Ask us to do a complete horsepower calculation is you have any concerns. Some notes on speed & horsepower:

• The service life of a conveyor running at a higher speed may be shortened considerably.
• Most conveyors are not designed to run over 200 FPM. When they do, some parts may need to be balanced to prevent excessive vibration, and special bearings may be required.
• The type of belting used on a conveyor may also need to be considered.
• NOTE: Pallet handling conveyors generally operate at 30 FPM and 30 may be substituted in the denominator of the formula

Motor Types

• Totally Enclosed: A motor enclosure, which prevents free exchange of air between the inside and the outside of the enclosure but is not airtight. This is the standard motor on many conveyors..
• Totally Enclosed Fan-Cooled: Provides for exterior cooling by means of a fan integral with the motor, but external to the enclosed parts.
• Totally Enclosed Non-Ventilated: Has no provisions for external cooling of the enclosed parts. The motor is cooled by heat radiation from the exterior surfaces to the surrounding atmosphere.
• Energy Efficient: Energy efficiency motors are specially designed to be more effective at converting electrical input to mechanical output.

We met a lot of great people, saw some of the latest packaging and handling technologies, and were privileged to debut Hytrol’s innovative E24 conveyor, which can be seen in the foreground of this photo. It’s a revolutionary powered roller design that eliminates the limitations of conventional powered roller conveyor. It’s got about ten times the life of traditional MDR motors because the motors run only when needed. It also reduces the amount of heat in the process, and lowers maintenance dramatically. I’ll have more information, including video, product specs, and literature loaded soon. You can use 1-3/8″ rollers for the first time in a powered roller application.

We think this conveyor will be great in packaging lines, linking automation cells, machine feeding, in-motion weighing, assembly applications, food processing, and more.

Like I said – keep your eyes peeled, or subscribe to our Material Handling Tips & Info newsletter for updates.