Top technologies for conveyor maintenance

CONVEYOR SYSTEMS are complex mechanical assemblies with numerous moving parts that require regular maintenance. In the food industry alone, it’s been reported that manufacturers lose a staggering £180bn to downtime annually - that’s 490m per day and the equivalent of 20% 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%. 

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.

Currently, around 80% 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. 

Tom Cash is director of Foxmere

For more information: 

foxmere.com

Tel: +44 (0)1922 349 999