A tier one automotive supplier purchased a Beltless Magnetic Conveyor in 2003. It has conveyed approximately 11 million lbs. of scrap over its 19 years without a breakdown. The beltless magnetic conveyor replaced the steel hinge conveyor that was lasting 12 months because scrap would jam in the hinges of the belt and destroy Itself.
Now that these conveyors have so much time on them, MCS inspects these critical conveyors annually to determine how much wear, if any, document changes, and provide predictive maintenance. The goal is to prevent unexpected failures as much as mechanically possible.
It was recommended in May 2021 that one of the conveyors was showing significant wear in the track, and replacement was recommended. The client elected to wait. Inspected May 2022. The conveyor was found to have additional wear, and the client was advised failure was imminent, recommended spares and a replacement conveyor were quoted. Friday evening of the July 4th weekend, the customer calls the conveyor failed we do not how bad, and I forgot to order the parts. We were there three hours later. At 2 AM, parts are identified, calls are made to the shop, and parts are couriered to the job site. Thirty-eight hours later, the conveyor was put packed together. A new conveyor is on order.
Every mechanical piece of equipment can be defeated. Time, pressure, out of sight, out of mind. Rarely is there a catastrophic failure that didn’t start as a series of small losses. Because these conveyors have been so bulletproof for so long, it was assumed that it could take a little more.
