Industry: Food manufacturing

Product: Mini-cakes

Conveyor length: 72m

Belt type: Solid steel

Continuous Process Solutions was requested to attend for a routine service and to upgrade previously identified obsolete components. We were informed that the conveyor belt was out of position and asked to “clean” the guide rollers on the one side. We established that the control regulators had been altered out of machine tolerance, an attempt to improve the rate in which the tracking-tensioning system built up air pressure.

We identified that the customer’s ‘quick fix’ was the root cause of the problem. But what were the consequences for this quick fix?

Altering the flow regulators outside of our set tolerances had resulted in erratic conveyor belt position corrections causing violent movement, adding stress to not only the belt but also to the framework and additional equipment.

Unbeknown to the customer, those actions had caused the belt to collide with the internal guide rollers. Consequently, the customer was spending money treating cross-curvature sustained on the conveyor belt which was otherwise avoidable.

As conveyor system specialists, we were quickly able identify the root cause, thus saving the customer both time and money in the long term. We replaced the pneumatic pre–treatment block, removed the outdated, unsupported parts and commissioned a new soft/start dump valve. This means that sourcing replacement filter kits and parts will now be cheaper, having no long lead times.

Additionally, brand new particle filters were fitted to ensure that the pneumatic components are less vulnerable to pressure drops.

We also found oil and moisture contaminants in the electrical panel, so we tidied the panel. We stressed our findings, the causes for these issues and our recommendations, and a complete risk assessment was carried out and passed on to the customer.

The result of our service was a belt tracking system that exhausts and energises safely, in compliance with PUWER and the machinery directive, and a stable belt tracking system that will track the belt to tighter tolerances and avoid damaging the belt product surface.

If in doubt, leave it to the specialists. Endless repeatability is key in this game, so don’t get caught out.