ContiTech’s Sicon Conveyor Belt System Recognizes Changes in Operating Conditions Early On
- Closed conveyor belt system for transporting sensitive goods
- Sensors detect temperature and pressure changes
- Inspection and maintenance simplified
Hanover, April 2017. Narrow installation spaces, flexible routes and large differences in height: It was for difficult operating conditions such as these that ContiTech developed the Sicon conveyor belt system. By equipping the system with sensor technology, the international industrial partner has brought it to a new level. It now recognizes critical temperature changes and load differences in operation and enables system operators to intervene promptly to avoid failures and increased wear. “With this new option, we are creating added value for our customers in terms of monitoring and servicing the conveyor system,” says Dr. Michael Hofmann, head of Industrial Belting Solutions at the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group. “The system recognizes problems at their source and therefore helps in anticipatory maintenance.”
Optimal protection even in small spaces
The Sicon conveyor belt system consists of two fabric-reinforced profiles, each with a steel cord vulcanized in as tensile member. As the profiles lie above one another during transport, the belt is closed to form a dust-tight pouch
The Sicon system’s conveyor belt consists of two fabric-reinforced profiles with a steel cord as tensile member. The profiles run over the roller sets and carry the conveyor belt. This creates a tear-drop-shaped pouch made of highly flexible rubber that is bound to the profiles through hot vulcanization. With the vertical arrangement of the roller sets, the profiles lie on top of each other during transport, so that the belt is enclosed dust-tight. Sicon opens only at the intake and discharge stations in which the roller sets are arranged next to each other.
The sensors are implanted in the belt, where they measure parameters such as temperature and pressure. Increased temperature could be caused by guide pulleys or drive rollers that have been set too tightly or are even jamming, for example. In the case of a cold start, the sensors deliver a message, on the basis of which belt infeed can be optimized. With pressure measurements in the profile and support frame, it is possible to determine the load, which also allows for checking loading status. This information is also useful for controlling the loading and unloading processes.
Advantages of the Sicon systems
The Sicon system is used in industries such as construction, energy, paper and mining. It can safely transport materials such as minerals, cement, diamond ore, fish food, biomass and fuels. It is especially good for short and mid-length routes up to 1.5 kilometers, narrow radii on the transport route and steep environments where inclines of up to 35° must be handled with particularly good energy efficiency. With its flexible line management and narrow curve radii with deflection of up to 180°, the Sicon conveyor belt is the ideal conveying tool in restricted spaces.
Another advantage is the belt’s self-cleaning properties: At the discharge station, the opened Sicon conveyor belt’s profiles are guided over two vertical discs. The slightly troughed conveyor belt flexes to loosen and remove remaining material. Depending on the material characteristics, particle sizes of up to 150 millimeters can be transported.
Wolfgang Reinert
Head of Media & Public Relations
ContiTech