West River Conveyors & Machinery Co has added an alignment-free combination belt drive and take-up unit. This belt drive is a new, streamlined spin on the popular combination belt drive. The standard combination belt drive includes a shaft-mounted reducer, v-belts and sheaves and has been widely used by those interested in quick installation, movability, and short panels. The new alignment-free combination belt drive uses a rigid low speed and fluid coupling with a tunnel instead of traditional belts and sheaves. By eliminating the use of belts and sheaves, the need to align the drive is completely eradicated. Jason Coleman, Production Planner for West River Conveyors said “this type of combination drive is a bit wider than the traditional combination drive but customers love the easier maintenance.
“We decided to design and build one of these drives because one of our customers wanted a combination belt drive that would use the same components as the Dual 150HP and Dual 300HP belt drives that we have in their entire mine” said Joe Street, VP Sales for West River Conveyors. Many operations today are moving towards standardisation of their conveyor equipment. By doing so, the parts and components of all conveyor equipment throughout the mine are interchangeable, eliminating the need for excess spare units on the shelves.
Most customers today prefer the alignment-free design because rapid wear of components is eliminated, it uses commonly available parts and components, and is the most energy-efficient of all belt drive types. “It only makes sense that we would design and add an alignment-free version of the combination belt drive to our fleet because we feel that it will soon be in higher demand with the popularity of the alignment-free design, especially given the movability and ease of installation for this type of drive,” said Street.
The benefits of purchasing an alignment-free combination belt drive/take-up unit include:
•Quick installation
•Quick transport from one location to another as both drive and take-up unit are on one movable base
•Readily available, less expensive components