Page 12 - Industrial Technology magazine February 2021 issue

MACHINE BUILDING

UP AND RUNNING, FAST

CONVEYORS

WHEN A PART FAILS ON A PRODUCTION LINE, IT’S A RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK TO SOURCE THE PROBLEM
AND FIX IT BEFORE DOWNTIME STARTS EATING INTO YOU PROFIT. HERE, NEIL BALLINGER DESCRIBES
HOW TO DEAL WITH CONVEYOR MOTOR FAILURE EFFICIENTLY.
et’s entertain a hypothetical problem, where a and cleaning up the resulting mess only adds to the
conveyor motor fails. Depending on the product, a downtime. In either case, speed is key in all aspects: fast
failure like this can range from a minor fault acquisition of the replacement part, fast and safe factory
Lrequiring maintenance to the shutdown of an shutdowns, fast removal of the broken motor and
entire plant. By far the biggest factors influencing the size installation of the new one, and finally, a fast factory restart.
of the problem are the application and location of the A major sticking point here is the first step, acquisition.
motor. Conveyor motors often work in series with others, If the failed motor was part of a group in series, it’s likely
so in many cases it’s possible for the remaining motors to that the adjacent motors will be of the same model. It’s
power through and make up for the failing part. This can also entirely likely that these motors will have been
make the failure almost unnoticeable at a cursory glance, working in unison for many years, possibly even past the
and work may continue interrupted. point of obsolescence. In this situation, sourcing one be present. In our hypothetical scenario, it must be asked
There are still consequences, however. Running a replacement obsolete motor from original manufacturers – why did one motor from series failed before its peers? It
length of belt with fewer motors than designed may work can be impossible. Instead, working with a third party could be that the motor was exposed to more dust, or is
for a while, but the remaining motors will experience far obsolete and spare parts distributor like EU Automation positioned closer to a heat source than others.
more operational stress. When the additional friction of means a huge range of replacement motors can be There is a way for issues like these to be noticed sooner,
the failed motor is considered, the working life of the delivered quickly. though. Modern supervisory governing systems, when
remaining motors will be drastically reduced. So, you’ve experienced a conveyor motor failure, fully integrated with the equipment, will spot any signs of
Once the failed motor has been identified, it must be identified the problem, ordered a replacement motor, potential failure well in advance, meaning repairs and
replaced. If you’ve been lucky, this is the point where stopped production, installed the motor and restarted the maintenance can be planned for. Theoretically, sudden
production stops while the change is made. If you’re system. That’s the job done, right? Not quite. You’ve and surprising failures should be a thing of the past.
unlucky, the failure will have crashed the production line, solved the problem, but the underlying causes might still MORE INFORMATION: www.euautomation.com/uk

Conveyor system grows with your requirements

he new versatile and flexible flat top chain The system is extremely flexible and efficient with Versamove include primary and secondary-packaged
conveyor system Versaflex is a conveyor system chain widths of 44mm to 295mm and a large selection of products from, among others, the food, pharmaceutical,
that grows with your requirements. It features the drives, bends, cleats, side rails and other accessories. chemical or consumer goods industry. Also for the
Tmodular design users have come to expect with Gentle transport and exact positioning using workpiece transport of workpiece carriers in assembly lines e.g. of
the complete MK range. The standardised modules and carriers is also available as standard. Versaflex has been the automotive industry and for the linking of machines in
components make it simple and cost effective to integrate used very successfully by an mk subsidiary for many years the manufacturing industry.
the system into any production process, as well as to in various industries; it transports a wide variety of To ensure the precise positioning of products,
adapt and expand it. Moreover, it is compatible with products reliably to their destination. workpiece carriers can also be transported on the A08
systems that are currently available on the market. The system. The system is 85mm wide (chain width 83mm)
single-track design and curve radii starting at 150mm Quick configuration and commissioning and is designed for products weighing up to 10kg per
allow complex track designs within a three dimensional The many benefits of Versaflex include economical carrier. The carriers have a standard width of 150mm and
space. The chain runs on wear strips to ensure low wear realisation of complex track designs with simple and fast are guided by side rails and positioned exactly in three
and can be operated at speeds of up to 50m/min and configuration and commissioning. It is suitable for all levels in the locating stations. So the products are fixed,
system lengths up to 40m with just one drive. industries and is both user friendly and low maintenance. buffered and transported gently, safely and accurately. The
Versaflex can be quickly adapted to new production and workpiece carrier can be customised and equipped with
environmental conditions saving energy and space. individual fixtures. The locate station can be freely
Accessories, side rails and such like can be attached in the positioned without changing the side rails. A positional
slots on the conveyor frame profile. accuracy of ±0.1 mm can be achieved by lifting the
The conveyor chains are made from the material POM workpiece carrier off the conveyor chain.
and are available in a wide variety of designs for virtually The Versaflex workpiece carrier system enables simple
all applications – with an adhesive surface for inclines, and accurate positioning for automated processes with
with steel covering for sharp-edged parts or flocked for stability even for products with unfavourable geometry.
transporting very delicate items. In addition, a large Gentle product transport can also be achieved for sensitive
number of different cleats are available – rollers in a wide product surfaces. Versaflex workpiece carrier systems offer
range of dimensions for accumulating products, or flexible safe transport even with changes in position, higher
cleats for implementing clamping conveyors. Furthermore, machine autonomy and buffer function for cycle
chain links with embedded magnets can be used to decoupling in the manufacturing process.
transport magnetisable parts. Areas of application for MORE INFORMATION: www.mkprofiles.co.uk

12 INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • January/February 2021