Plant Shipping Industry: Conveyer Belts Application

Conveyor systems have been in use as an essential part of material handling process for a substantial number of years. In the course of shipping plant machineries, conveyor belts are used in order to lessen the amount of workload involved in transporting the plant-machinery from one destination to another. Initially, the industry adopted the use of conveyor belts made of either leather or canvas, which travelled over a flat wooden piece. Thus, it provided incentives to the early engineers who considered conveyors as an economical and effective methodology used to haul large commodities from one location to another (Engineered Systems.Com, 2009).

However, with the continuous efforts made in order to produce efficient forms of conveyor systems, the system engineers embarked on using rubber as a replacement for both canvas and leather. This is because rubber possesses a high tensile strength. Furthermore, they can be used in a vast range of applications within the industry. They can also be designed differently and are economical. Notwithstanding, the conveyor belts made of rubber are resistant to both heat and oil and hence are used in plant shipping industries given the fact that they can accommodate a speed not exceeding 30meter/second. A plant shipping industry which desires to embrace the use of conveyor belts has to meet the following qualifications.

First, the industry which purports to adopt the tool should engage in heavy-weight activities. This means that the plant-machinery to be shipped should be made of materials which carry a vast amount of weight which cannot allow mere human effort to move the plant-machinery from one location to another: the possibility of human force to lift the equipment should be minimal (Daifuku Webb.Com, 2011).

Second, the adoption of the conveyor belt should be economical and sustainable. This reflects the costs to be incurred while using the conveyor belts over human workforce. It should be noted that the use of rubber conveyor systems should be cheaper as compared to the costs which are to be incurred in case of human labor.

Third, the industry is qualified for adoption of conveyor belts whenever it is ascertained that there is an extensive piece of space necessary for fixation of the belts. Enough space is needed for the implementation process in order to avoid possible cases of accidents and inefficiency of the system as a whole (Engineered Systems.Com, 2009).

Current Research: Major Breakthrough on Conveyor Belts Applications

In the course of conveyor belt advent, they were considered to be primitive in nature. This is attributable to the fact that they were made of either leather or canvas which had a belt travelling over a flat wooden piece of beddings. However, in the 20^th century they started to be used for offloading wooden gravels from rail networks. Later, they gained entrance into activities of overhead trolling, which ensured efficient movement of manufactured plants from one location to another although at a shorter distance.

It should be noted that Hymle Goddard of Logan Company became the first company to attain patents for a roller conveyor in 1908. However, the conveyor-belt manufacturing business seemed not to be working in the course of that period. Notwithstanding, automotive forms of productions were in dire need of the powered and free-conveyor lines hence paving the way for adoption of the tool, especially in factories which handled mass-production activities. A major breakthrough was witnessed in the early 1920’s whereby conveyor systems were built in order to carry commodities over long distances (FPO.Com, 2004).

The advancements made in the manufacture of conveyor belts and their relevance in the day-to-day operational activities of a company led to the underground belts, which were used in conveyance of coal over a distance of approximately 8 kilometers. This conveyor belt was made of distinct layers of cotton as well as rubber linings. Despite of its inefficiencies in the conveyance of goods, they were preferred to rail cars in the course mining.

Nowadays, advanced research has been conducted to manufacture longer belts with the world’s longest belt being used in the phosphate mines in the western part of the Sahara. This conveyor belt is 60 miles long. Furthermore, modernized conveyor belts are made from a vast number of synthetic polymers as well as fabrics which are tailored to meet the exact needs of a purchaser. Unlike in the past when the uses of conveyor belts was limited to certain industries, nowadays the use of this tool has been broadened in order to cater for industries which are concerned with handling, storage and dispensation activities in the course of their operations(Engineered Systems.Com, 2009).

Another significant breakthrough made in the course of manufacturing conveyor belts is the adoption of precision bearings as well as silent rollers which are used in order to prevent premature wear and tear. It should be noted that the wearing of the old conveyor belts encouraged noise pollution. Consequently, there have been efficient advancements which were made to aid easier conveyor maintenance as well as system control mechanisms.

Unlike in the past when maintenance process was considered to be challenging due to permanent configuration as well as fixation, nowadays the conveyors belts are developed perfectly to allow easier maintenance practice. This is made possible by the adoption of an internal-powered rollers as well as motorized pulleys which eliminate vast maintenance costs. There are also computer-controlled conveyors which have simplified the application of tools hence increasing the efficiency of a tool as a whole (Engineered Systems.Com, 2009).