TL;DR
Vibration on a belt conveyor is almost always an unbalanced or dirty roller or pulley. Walk the conveyor slowly to locate the vibration source, then clean or replace the offending component.
What you might see
- whole conveyor frame shaking
- product bouncing or shifting during transport
- fasteners working loose repeatedly
- noise changes with belt speed
Likely causes
Material buildup on the drive or tail pulley creating dynamic imbalance
Damaged or out-of-round idler roller with a flat spot
Loose frame cross-member or leg fasteners allowing structural resonance
Belt splice creating a periodic bump at the belt frequency
Required tools
- Scraper and wire brush
- Vibration meter
- Torque wrench
- LOTO kit
- Replacement idler rollers (if needed)
Safety first
- Lock out the drive before cleaning pulleys or removing material buildup.
- Flying debris from a wire brush requires eye protection.
Procedure
- 1
Lock out the drive. Inspect the drive and tail pulleys for material buildup on the shell or lagging. Material buildup is the most common vibration source on aggregate and packaging conveyors.[1]
- 2
Clean all pulley shells and lagging surfaces. Use a scraper for dried-on material followed by a wire brush.
- 3
Spin each idler roller by hand. Identify any roller that has a flat spot or wobble. Replace damaged rollers.
- 4
Torque all frame cross-members and leg fasteners to the Hytrol installation specification.[1]
- 5
Restart the conveyor and measure vibration velocity at the mid-span frame with a vibration meter. Target below 4 mm/s RMS.
- 6
If vibration remains at a specific belt speed, check the belt splice for a raised edge or protruding fastener. Re-splice if the splice is creating a repeating impact.
Sources
Hytrol EZLogic Accumulation Conveyor Service Manual, Hytrol Conveyor Company
Hytrol EZLogic Conveyor IOM, pulley maintenance and frame fastener specifications (general)
View source
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