Over time all operating conveyor belts stretch requiring adjustment to restore optimal tension. Failure to do so not only compromises handling efficiency but can also result in unplanned downtime and maintenance and therefore higher operating costs. This was the exact problem at British Gypsum in Barrow, England. It had become virtually impossible for the engineering team to adjust the conventional tensioners that the OEM had supplied with the conveyor system. Their design was wholly inadequate for the harsh operating environment in which they work.
“Incorrect tension and the need to stop/isolate to clean the tension arrangement was leading to reduced life and tracking problems,” explained Mine Manager David North. The mine
realised it needed to make changes and it was precision engineering component supplier, R. A. Rodriguez, which provided the solution.” The product comes from Bryant Products in Wisconsin, USA.
Mine output ranges from 700,000 t/y to 1 Mt/y and it is an environment in which components regularly become caked with dirt and gypsum dust. For the Bryant Telescoper®, recommended by R. A. Rodriguez, this isn’t a problem. Its threaded internal adjustment rod is totally enclosed and therefore protected against dust ingress, rust, corrosion and thread damage. The product also brings design as well as performance benefits.
The Telescoper uses standard pillow block bearings which are cheaper and easier to fit than take-up bearings, commonly used on conventional angle frame tensioners. It also requires a shorter conveyor bed – which saves material – and the four-bolt assembly makes the product quick and easy to fit or retrofit.
A wide range of designs and modifications are additionally available to tailor the product to the application including take-ups with a linear actuator, spring compression or quick release mechanism. Although primarily used as belt trainers and tensioners, Telescopers can also be adapted for other uses, such as levelling legs, or in any application where controlled linear movement is required.
“We now have two conveyors running with Bryant Telescopers. The first sets were installed in February this year and the second, just a month ago,” North confirmed. “It’s obviously early days but because we are now able to achieve good tensioning and tracking, I would expect to get a longer life with less downtime to clean from these conveyors.”
He concluded: “The picture we have taken of the Bryant Telescopers on our M1 conveyor shows they can get completely buried in gypsum dust which is almost impossible to regularly clean out as part of our ‘clean/lubricate/inspect’ regime because of the guarding and enclosed nature of the arrangement. In these conditions our old type of screw tensioner would have completely seized up.”
