Did you know?
A stroboscope is a wonderful diagnostic
tool for belt drives.
With a stroboscope light you can:
Read the original belt’s number & manufacturer
without stopping the machine: Run the strobe at the belt’s
speed and the label and manufacturer will “stop”.
See if one in a series of belts are slipping: Shut down
the equipment, chalk or paint a mark across all belts, start
the equipment, calibrate the strobe to the running speed
of the sheave, a slipping belt will slow down and separate
from the others.
Check multi-belt drives for misalignment: If, the belts
from the example above, present a step type pattern, the
sheaves are misaligned. . The belt with the most load slips
the least.
Check if the belt is worn out (v-belts): Shine the strobe
at the sheaves. Check for shiny groove bottoms, which mean
that a belt, or the sheave is worn out and the belt is riding
on the bottom instead of on the walls.
The methods above require that you have “see though”
guards, an inspection lid or inspection hole(s). For greatest
visibility, the guard cover should be of expanded metal
painted matt black and the sheaves and inside of the cover
in two contrasting bright colors. With this configuration
the guard cover will become “invisible” in strobe
light. As always, please make sure you observe applicable
safety regulations &procedures and work safely.
Reliability and Maintenance Management Consulting
Copyright 2003 IDCON. INC, All Rights Reserved
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