Company
Metropolitan Bread & Bun Bakery in the USA.
Application
In-line pressure board Transfer conveyor.
Challenge
This conveyor is a “Belt Killer” application because of the age of the equipment, directional changes, small pulleys and rolling nose bar.
Downtime
- The line consists of 9 belts on which ALL of their products, (30+ dough consistencies and shapes), travel across. The belts run 16-18 hours a day / 6 days a week. A breakdown during their production schedule has the potential of completely shutting the line down causing thousands of dollars of lost through-put.
- The average belt life of a properly installed 2 Ply Mono-filament urethane impression top belt is 8 to 10 months.
- Average Spiral Laced belt life is 4-6 weeks.
High maintenance costs
- 2 ply Impression-top urethane belts average install time – 3 to 4 hours.
- Spiral Laced spare belt is kept in stock just in case the endless belt tears unexpectedly.
- Because of the aged equipment, pulleys and take-up rollers need to be adjusted weekly to track the belt.
Safety concerns
- Fibers and plastic can contaminate the final product.
- Operator adjusting the belt with hands and or by using improper tools.
Solution:
Volta Homogenous Reinforced Flat Belt with ITO50 Textured Top & Endless Bias Splice.
Savings/Maintenance costs
- Belt was installed on May 20th / 2020 (Still Running) and hasn’t required replacement or use of a spare. (Even though the Volta belt is 30% more in price, cost of ownership was reduced by 70% during this current time frame).
- Maintenance spends far less time adjusting rollers weekly because the flexibility of the Butt weld LB material handles the reverse bends and nose bar more efficiently.
- Collateral savings: ITO-50 Belt surface reduced the use of flour required to handle the various dough consistencies.
Safety Concerns
- Since the belt tracks more effectively, edge fibers, when noticed, are easily removed with a Universal VAR heat iron.
- Butt weld is performing better than a finger splice reducing the possibility of pieces of belt breaking off into the product.
- Less operator involvement.
Client testimonials:
The belt has lasted two times as long as the standard belt without any additional installs, emergency use of the spare belt or regular maintenance adjustment attention.
