Baking & Snack - April 2024 - 74

CONVEYORS
Conveyors exposed to
extreme temperatures
could become less
flexible or experience
fatigue or deformation.
CBF Bakery Systems
debris and all those things that affect the operation, not
only in the system but also affects the life of the belt. You
need to make sure if the belt's going to expand say an inch,
you've got to have an inch and a half available so they will
ride through there and not bind up and get caught. "
High temperatures can induce structural damage
and material fatigue while the cold can cause materials
to become brittle and increase friction, said Frank
Achterberg, president, CBF Bakery Systems.
" Motors are susceptible to overheating or increased
friction in extreme temperatures, and low temperatures
can cause increased friction and viscosity in lubricants, "
he said. " Some solutions include selecting motors with a
broad temperature operating range, implementing cooling
systems and ensuring proper lubrication. Conveyor
belting faces issues such as loss of flexibility, fatigue
or deformation. "
Bryan Hobbs, director of factory service, Ashworth
Bros. Inc., said getting the proper lubrication is vital because
freezers see a lot of moisture buildup in bearings
where it becomes ice particles and can damage the rollers
in a bearing or damage gear boxes if it does.
" Oftentimes customers aren't aware when they buy
a bearing or a gear box from a local distributor, and it
comes equipped with a grease or oil that is general duty
oil, general duty application, and not necessarily for extreme
temperatures be it cold or warm, " he said. " It's important
to make sure you're buying the components with
the appropriate greases and oils. "
He said that the bearings are generally located outside
ovens, so they can be greased while the oven is being used.
" Likewise with freezers oftentimes the drive might
be located just outside the edge of a freezer in order to
maintain it, " Hobbs pointed out. " It reduces exposure to
the temperature cycles. "
Other equipment is specially designed to handle temperatures,
including nitrile seals in gear boxes that work
in extremely cold temperatures. He added that convey74
Baking & Snack April 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
Conveyors rolling into the future
Design improvements and the better use
of data are helping conveyors become
more advanced.
" The landscape of conveyor design
is witnessing a surge of novel innovations,
with a plethora of advancements
emerging in areas such as robotics and
the integration of electrical components
with pneumatics, showcasing remarkable
capabilities, " said John Diver, engineer,
Eaglestone Equipment. " Concurrently,
belting companies are introducing a
spectrum of new belt types and materials,
contributing to the dynamic evolution of
conveyor technology. "
Some advances are reducing extensive
maintenance, said Frank Achterberg,
president, CBF Bakery Systems.
" We believe the integration of data analytics
and real-time monitoring exemplifies
a significant stride toward predictive
maintenance, minimizing downtime and
optimizing overall efficiency, " he said.
Dan Regan, president, Custom Cut
Metals, said he's seeing more versatility in
bakery equipment these days.
" I think they're starting to run smaller
batches of products, and therefore in any
24-hour period, they might only need
to use that line for four hours for this
product, six hours for the next product, so
their lines are becoming more versatile to
be able to run more things, " he said. " But
then they also may need to run different
conveyors that are able to do that as well. "
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