Case study: How a folding rail belt solution saved $12,000

Folding rail belt damage caused costly downtime

At this Corrugated Box plant, two common problems created issues with the folding rail belts: Mechanical lace pull out and a lack of grip on the belt. The abrasive environment, in addition to factors such as speed, pulley diameter and lacing size, caused the metal lace to wear down quickly. This necessitated weekly belt replacements, leading to increase labor spending and costly downtime. The folding rail belt also experienced chronic board skewing due to lack of grip on the belt. When the product slides and skews, the box won’t be folded in the proper spot, creating a quality assurance problem for the facility.

MIR’s solution and facility savings

To address these costly and efficiency-reducing issues, MIR’s conveyor belting experts proposed Spiral Tech belting with custom perforation. This belt spec zips together — eliminating the need for metal lacing altogether. The belt also boasts a high-grip cover that will address the chronic board skewing and ensure improved product orientation during processing. These fixes, combined with the overall improved throughput and decreased downtime, led to $12,000 in savings for the Corrugated Box facility.

Conveyor belting problems causing frequent replacements, mis-tracking or product damage are costly to your facility. Consider a belting audit with an experienced conveyor belting expert and stay ahead of conveyor belting issues. Sign up for the MIR Belting Audit™.