With ongoing hiring issues, manufacturers are turning to robots for help. And metal belts are integral to the functioning of these robots.
Written by Denis Gagnon, BA, MBA
CEO of Belt Technologies, Inc., in Agawam, Massachusetts
When compared to belts made of other materials, metal conveyor belts offer multiple distinct advantages—including superior precision control, hygienic properties and customization options, among others. A producer of health and personal care products recently experienced these advantages firsthand in their printing process. They were disappointed with the inaccurate and inconsistent results from their traditional embossing and silicone printing processes and sought a steadier, more reliable and cost-effective solution. This led them to Belt Technologies.
Our team solved the customer’s problem by creating a customized printing process with increased precision and adhesion. Not only did this allow the client to open production in new markets, but we created a partnership that is set to last for years to come.
The Process and the Problem
The customer’s process consisted of pushing silicone through a grown nickel screen to create printed patterns such as chevrons and waves. The old method also included a traditional embossing process that utilized a complex, loom-woven belt made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers.
Unfortunately, the screens had thin walls with sharp burrs around the perforation pattern, which both affected the silicone print medium and negatively impacted the final product’s print quality and adhesion. The screens typically lasted less than two months, resulting in costly turnover, and their embossing process resulted in a weakened end product. The customer wanted a new solution that used a thicker, more robust material and offered cost- saving benefits.
The Improvement
The customer reached out to Belt to find out how we could improve their current printing process and eliminate the need for embossing. In response, we created an entirely new custom steel belt design that was the perfect fit to solve the issues with bonding and print clarity.
“We have a wide range of stock products, but creating custom solutions is really what we are passionate about,” said Brian Harbison, managing director of Belt Technologies. “For this project, we knew our PureSteel® material would make the process more precise and the pattern clearer. We were able to double the cylinder thickness and create more height, which allowed for the intricate patterns to be created by thousands of perforated holes.”
In addition to the increased thickness and more accurate patterns, we were able to add a Teflon coating to both sides of the cylinder to help ensure the silicone does not stick to the cylinder. The process presented some challenges, but our team was determined to create a custom solution that worked.
“Turning a flat piece of metal into a perfect disk is a difficult task,” continued Harbison. “We tried numerous weld configurations before we developed the flattest weld with the help of specialist tooling, and it works extremely well.”
The Results
With double the thickness, an anti-stick coating and a more accurate hole pattern, our silicone solution eliminated the customer’s need to emboss products, improving their process while making it more cost effective. This has allowed them to open up production in new markets. And that was just the beginning—we continue to work with this customer to develop solutions for other production challenges. Our goal is to help them radically change the way their process operates so they can achieve larger production matches, shorter printing times and reduced costs.
A Closer Look at the Benefits of Stainless Steel
Manufacturing and material-handling equipment designed for the medical and pharmaceutical industries must be heavily regulated to ensure safety. This means any automated conveyor system used in these operations must be completely sanitary, easy to clean and resistant to corrosion. PureSteel® conveyors from Belt Technologies met these hygienic requirements, while offering the necessary precision and customization for their application.
Hygiene
Although widely used, polymer, plastic and metal mesh conveyors may actually increase the risk of product contamination during production. This is because stainless steel has a smooth impermeable surface that offers no opportunity for the invasion of microbes or bacteria. The complete lack of gaps, recesses and crevices also makes it much easier to clean than traditional materials. Stainless steel is also resistant to corrosion, meaning it can be sanitized by high-pressure steam, high-pressure wash or chemical cleaning.
In addition, our PureSteel® products do not require dust-generating lubricant that could introduce foreign substances into cleanroom environments or damage intricate machinery.
Precision
Metal belts from Belt Technologies offer unlimited travel lengths and are available in a variety of alloys. When compared with other power transmission or motion control components (linear actuators, lead screws, chains), metal belts provide improved strength-to-weight ratio, durability and precise positioning. Additionally, metal belts can be constructed in a multilayer configuration, consisting of several bands ranging in thickness from 0.003 to 0.005 inches (0.076 to 0.127 mm). This provides the combined strength of all layers while retaining the reduced bending stress of each individual layer, increasing the modulus of elasticity and helping to resist backlash. As a result, the belt is stronger without sacrificing precision or flexibility.
Customization
The perforations in our belt’s pitch profiles are created by mechanical and laser cutting, die-and-cut presses and rotary-pinned perforation rollers. While custom pitch profiles vary by manufacturer, our team can create perforations in stainless steel belts as thin as 0.002 inches (0.05 mm), as narrow as 0.040 inches (1 mm) and as wide as 35 inches (900 mm). Other customization options include a large array of metal alloys, belt width and thickness combinations, perforation patterns, coatings and attachments.
