Engineering company SKF has announced the availability of a new SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit. According to SKF, this is an easy to use, rugged and handheld monitoring device for early detection of faults in conveyor belt idlers in mines. Conveyor idlers support the length of conveyor belts and are a common cause of belt damage and mine production downtime. The SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit will enable early detection of faulty idlers and prevent costly belt repairs, lost production and risk to workers.Equipped with acoustic enveloping technology, the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit distinguishes between the sounds of a good idler and a faulty one even in high ambient noise environments. The device detects faulty idlers earlier and more reliably and safer than if a manual operation was conducted by listening or observing for faulty idlers. It has a simple visual display, headphones and audible condition alarm. The unit’s ease of use gives even inexperienced workers the ability to detect faults with minimal training. The unit also allows for easy data download for subsequent review.

Robert Collyer, Principal Engineer at SKF commented, “Along with uncovering idler faults quickly and reliably, the SKF Idler Sound Monitor Kit provides maintenance workers with an objective tool for idler inspection that is safe to use. This is a significant improvement to the alternative of subjectively walking around and relying on the skill of the worker to listen and recognise faulty idlers.” The device can be operated with one hand and therefore enables the operator to maintain three-point contact as dictated by safety requirements. It can be also be integrated into an Operator Driven Reliability maintenance programme.