Case Study: Reducing Vendor Costs
April 2, 2024
The Key to Seamless Operations for Distribution Centers
May 10, 2024
Written by Seth Stoner, Motion Conveyance Solutions
Familiar to many homes across the county, e-commerce is one of the fastest-growing marks for the belting industry. Large fulfillment centers supporting e-commerce require miles of conveyors.
Conveyor belts of all sizes are used throughout these facilities, with roller drive belts being one of the most important pieces. Located inside the conveyor and driving the rollers from underneath, these belts are often hard to see and inspect. They must be correctly installed and maintained for optimal reliability and service.
That's why a fulfillment center customer asked our team to review their roller drive application and the original OEM belts. Our discussions with key stakeholders identified the major pain points, such as tracking issues—the leading cause of belt failure.
Increased flexibility and grip, plus a more dependable splicing system, were the major asks. Our team developed the answer: RedDrive® 45 and 77.
These Motion-exclusive belts feature a cord design for better flexibility and a strength rating that supports the harshest roller drive application. The polyurethane material increases the grip needed for the application and the durability required for long life.
For a dependable splicing system, we partnered with Flexco to dramatically improve the OEM equipment, requiring a cycle time of 45–60 minutes. The Novitool® Aero® 325 press runs on 110 V power, weighs under 50 lbs and automates the recipe and pressure—all with an 18–22-minute cycle time.
Our team and Flexco also created the Novitool Pun M NDX™ belt cutter, allowing the belt to safely clamp to the cutting deck while the operator turns the handle to auto-index cut the belt end fingers. This design lowers preparation time by 80–90%, improves the belt finger cut quality, reduces operator error and operates considerably safer.
Many facilities with roller-driven conveying systems have benefitted from RedDrive’s lowered drive tension—typically reduced by 20–25%, but some cases have neared 50%. This lessens overall strain on all conveyor components and decreases energy consumption from the drive motors.
When downtime minutes count, our roller-driven conveyor belt delivers longer life and a dramatically improved splicing process. To learn more, visit https://motionind.biz/3Crkw4J.
Seth Stoner is Motion Conveyance Solutions' Director-CV Product Management. He has had many roles in his 27 years in the conveyor belting industry.
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