The 2023 State of Conveying report compiled by Cablevey Conveyors, a global speciality conveyor manufacturer, states that 81 per cent of budgets dedicated to conveying equipment and maintenance are ‘significantly increasing’ this year. Here, Tom Cash, director of automation parts supplier, Foxmere, explains how the latest innovations in conveyor maintenance can help engineers to reduce the cost of planned and unplanned downtime.
Conveyor systems are complex mechanical assemblies with numerous moving parts that require regular maintenance, with common problems including belt slippage, motor burnout and seized rollers. In the food industry alone, it’s been reported that manufacturers lose a staggering £180 billion to downtime annually — that’s 490 million per day and the equivalent of 20 per cent of their working time. Therefore, all conveyor systems must have a robust maintenance strategy in place.
Cleaning challenges
Manual cleaning will always be necessary for some conveyors and applications — you just can’t escape it. In fact, the Food and Beverage Industry 2023 State of Conveying report revealed that the top conveyor challenge is cleaning and maintenance, which came in first by some margin at 53 per cent.
Conveyors use belts, chains or rollers to transport items, each with unique advantages and maintenance needs. Manual roller conveyors use gravity to move objects, while powered rollers handle higher payloads and operate quietly.
Maintaining roller conveyors involves keeping them clean and free from contaminants like glue and chemicals. Yet accumulated debris, particularly from environments like welding areas, can increase friction and cause rollers to jam.
In addition, rollers are equipped with clutches that control torque direction, and these clutches should be checked and replaced when they reach their maximum adjustment point.
Regular visual inspections of rollers are also recommended, with weekly checks for high-production environments and monthly or quarterly checks for lower production levels. Here, marks on rollers may indicate process issues rather than roller problems, such as issues with transfer pallets.
Although conveyor companies are now focusing on making the cleaning process more efficient, some suppliers have streamlined maintenance by reducing the tools required for disassembly.
For example, Dorner’s tip-up tail belt tensioning system allows for quick preparation of the conveyor for cleaning in a minute, and the entire conveyor can be disassembled in three minutes without tools. The optional belt lifter facilitates easy access to clean the underside of the belt and the conveyor frame.
The use of AI
At BMW Group’s plant in Regensburg, an advanced predictive maintenance system has been implemented to monitor and manage conveyor technology used in vehicle assembly.
This system uses AI to analyse data from existing conveyor components, allowing it to detect potential faults before they cause disruptions.
The system can identify irregularities that might indicate impending issues by continuously examining parameters, such as power consumption and conveyor movement.
Furthermore, the system operates without the need for additional sensors, relying instead on data from current conveyor controls and load carriers.
This data is transmitted to BMW Group’s predictive maintenance cloud platform, which is processed by advanced algorithms that detect anomalies. When a potential issue is identified, the maintenance control centre receives a notification, enabling rapid response to take affected vehicles out of production.
The system is also continuously improved through these practical insights, with the goal of refining algorithms and integrating recommendations into maintenance protocols.
Currently, around 80 per cent of the main assembly lines at Regensburg are monitored by this system and it is believed to prevent approximately 500 minutes of downtime annually. This success has led to its use in other BMW plants.
Time and money
Maintenance costs precious time and money, and as many of you will understand, unplanned maintenance costs even more. Therefore, it’s no surprise that, in the aforementioned survey, 69 per cent of respondents clean their conveying systems three or more times per week, with 38 per cent dedicating even more time to this task.
It’s crucial to establish a well-planned maintenance schedule and employ advanced technologies, such as those mentioned, to ensure the longevity of conveyor systems and reduce the cost of downtime.
Automation suppliers play a key role in supporting these strategies by providing the necessary parts and expertise to implement an effective maintenance approach.
With the right approach and resources, companies can reduce the likelihood of unplanned downtime as well as the duration of planned downtime — at a time when maintenance budgets are increasing.
Contact Foxmere today for a no-obligation quote on automation components in conveying systems, including new, replacement or obsolete parts.
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