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Proactive alert on a conveyor drive prevents unplanned downtime for a building materials manufacturer

By:

SKYLER

The Challenge

This belt-driven, variable-load conveyor drive feeds a critical process that any unplanned stop here halts upstream loading and starves downstream units. The result can cause shutdowns, lost production, and long restarts.

A belt-driven, variable-load conveyor drive motor in continuous service began to show rising overall velocity RMS. Scheduled route checks would likely miss the progression. The risk was elevated vibration leading to a misalignment-driven failure, looseness at the base, and a line-stopping interruption on a critical feed conveyor.

building-material-manufacturer

What We Detected

Vibration evidence

  • Overall Velocity RMS increase is observed on the trend.
  • In the velocity spectrum, compared to prior lower levels, a dominant 2× peak is present and 1× and 3× components have also increased.

Pattern

This signature points to misalignment in the coupling and/or pulley-belt system.

Consequence in the field

Accelerated bearing, belt and sheave wear, higher slip risk, and potential unplanned conveyor stop that can affect the whole operation.

Component:

Pump DE

Speed:

1380 RPM

Pattern:

Fundamental Speed (1x) with 2. and 3. harmonics

building-material-manufacturer_chart_1

Our Recommendations

  • 1
    Inspect:

    Inspect motor and base for mechanical looseness (bolts, nuts, cracks).
  • 2
    Clean:

    Cleaning any dust accumulation from inside surfaces of pulleys.

On-Site Findings

The end customer using Skyler scheduled a priority physical inspection of the asset in the same day following our recommendations. Once completed, the following conditions were documented:

Loose motor mount bolt was identified and properly torqued

Accumulated material on the drive pulley was cleaned

Before and after the actions were carried out.
Significant reduction in imbalance and looseness indications.

building-material-manufacturer_chart_2

The Result?

Outcome

Loose motor mount bolt was torqued and pulley cleaned, restoring alignment and stable operation. Immediate vibration levels dropped significantly post-intervention extending lifetime of the components.

Risk Avoided

A loose motor would have led to motor or belt failure, causing sudden conveyor stoppage and unplanned downtime that disrupts material flow and halts production without warning.

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