Full-Motor Method PIW = 33,000 (1+Cw) HP S xW Where: PIW = lbs/in width (max operating tension) S = belt speed (ft/min) W = belt width (inches) HP = motor horsepower (nameplate) Cw = drive “wrap factor” (also called “K” factor”) Note: 33,000 is a constant for one strain of belt. 1 HP = 33,000 ft/lbs per min. NIBA -Minimum Pulley Diameters % Normal Belt Tension -110 lb Fabric Number of Plies 2 3 4 5 6 80-100% 24 30 36 42 48 60-80% 20 24 30 36 42 40-60% 14 18 24 30 36 Under 40% 12 16 20 24 30 Wrap Angle 180˚ 210˚ Automatic TU Bare 0.84 0.66 Lagged 0.5 0.38 Manual TU Bare 1.2 1 Lagged 0.8 0.7 OTHER BELT PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS Additional conveyor operation consider-ations include load zone characteristics and tracking influences. Training for both of these elements can be quite involved. Suffice it to know that the better the product is centred on the receiving belt, the better the chance of keeping the belt tracked. Further, if the product is oriented toward the direction of travel of the receiving belt, at min-imum impact, and at similar speed of belt travel, many belt wear issues are minimized. There can be many reasons for belt conveyors to mistrack – struc-tural damage, cambered belt, excessive carryback, over or under tensioned operation – just to name a few. Belts that are not tracking properly will have an adverse effect on performance. Maximizing conveyor performance can be achieved through an under-standing of the performance character-istics of the application. Although there are many reasons why conveyor belt performance may be less than optimal, the solutions are generally common sense once the groundwork is under-stood. There are also many dependable reference sources to further understand conveyor operations. Two of them would be the Conveyors Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA, www.cemanet.org) and the National Industrial Belting Association (NIBA, niba.org). • Michael Cremeens is the VP training and technical support at Shaw Almex Industries with 39 years of industry experience in a variety of roles ranging from field technician to rubber processing expert. Mike has authored numerous papers and speaks at many industry gatherings. Dick McConnell is the national account/ OEM manager at Flexco. His 30 years of troubleshooting conveyor performance in all manner of industries gives him the knowledge and expertise to understand the challenges of both small and large operations, and offer solutions. Our competitors say we’re old and slow to change. That our machines are ugly. That we’re not on the cutting edge. We say, “Yup.” “Old” means we’ve been around for over 100 years—and we’ll be here for 100 more. “Slow to change” means we don’t do fads. Oh, we’ll turn on a dime to make changes that our customers need. But fads? Nah. We’d rather protect your investment. “Not cutting edge” means we’re proven. We build what works and we stick with it. And “ugly”? Well. You don’t need to be pretty to make a damn good pellet mill. GLOBAL BIOMASS GROUP Your Partner in Productivity For the latest news, equipment and pellet profile features, visit www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca. CPM Biomass Group CPM/Europe BV 1-800-428-0846 www.cpm.net +31 75 65 12 611 www.cpmeurope.nl CPM BIOMASS • CANADIAN BIOMASS ORDER 828 • LINE 1 • INSERTION JAN/FEB Canadian BIOMASS 1/3 PAGE • 2 1/8X10 • DEADLINE 1/20/16 CREATIVE: BIO PRETTY PELLET CBM_CPMGlobal_future ADS.indd 5 2017-08-03 9:25 AM 23
Canadian Biomass September/October 2017: Page 23
