All types of conveyor belts, including metal conveyor belts, have a limited lifespan due to their nature. They are comparable to car tires. By the end of its lifetime, a tire makes x number of trips on the road – just as a conveyor belt makes x number of trips in a transport system before it stops working. There is nothing that can prevent a conveyor belt from failing once it has "used up" its usual service life.
The fact is, however, that most conveyor belts do not even reach their actual mileage. And the reasons for this are not necessarily exceptionally high forces, inferior material or poor workmanship during manufacture.
Below we have them Top 12 most common reasons for premature failure listed. One or more of these points are often the cause of the shortened service life of conveyor belts. Keeping these points in mind can protect you from unnecessary downtime and resulting lost profits.
12. No Spare Belt – a spare belt should always be available close to the job site to be prepared for unexpected incidents. Not having a replacement available locally or making preparations for quick availability is definitely “wrong end” thrift.
11. Wrong direction installation – the end edges should point in the opposite direction of the belt's running direction. If the tape is installed "backwards", the end edges could act like hooks (eg on clothing) and cause accidents.
10. Belt top is down after installation - Flat-Flex straps have a smooth ("top") side and a "bottom" where the stitch knots form a straight line. The smooth side must be pointing "upwards" so that the belt runs properly. The pulleys cannot cog if the belt is in the wrong direction.
9. Using the wrong mesh specification for the current application – Products and processes change over the years. Originally designed conveyors and belts may no longer meet the process and/or carrying capacity requirements of the current application. The influence of product loading and conveyor speed on the service life should be checked continuously.
8. Drive pulleys misaligned – the teeth of the drive pulleys must be perfectly aligned so that they all really pull the belt evenly without overstressing individual belt sections. (Using a keyed drive shaft eliminates the need for manual alignment.)
7. Using the wrong drive pulleys – the use of commonly available spur gears and gears will cause the belt to jump or catch on the sheaves. Only the Flat-Flex sprockets available from us are designed for a perfect fit and precise running.
6. Radius of transfer rollers or deflection too small – this puts unnecessary strain on the mesh knots.
5. Worn or damaged drive elements - Worn sprockets and idler pulleys can cause the belt to skip, wander sideways, or slip in the belt path. All of these conditions cause either premature wear or hardening of individual wire rods, which in turn leads to breakage in the wire and potential production loss.
4. Insufficient clearances between mesh knots and sprockets, idler pulleys, grooved transfer rollers and/or slide rails - the mesh knots should never come into contact with other components of the system. A minimum distance of 5,0 - 6,5 mm is mandatory. There must also be adequate clearance between the bottom of the mesh knots and the bottom of punctures in the transfer rollers. If the mesh knots on the underside of the belt run even slightly over parts of the slide rails, this will cause failure due to wear and material fatigue.
3. Belt is too tight – Flat-Flex is designed for low tension. The belt should be tensioned just enough for the wire to be properly seated in the toothed washers. (Too much tension will tear the wire apart, causing failures.)
2. Damage to system and belt – Damage can and should be avoided by creating maintenance checklists and training maintenance personnel accordingly.
1. Improper and/or insufficient connection of the belt ("making it endless") - Connecting the belt cleanly and correctly is not only difficult, but also time-consuming. Belts are often hastily connected; often the connection is done “on the side”, which is then quickly followed by a failure. The unfortunate result is that almost 90% of breakages during production occur at the joints.