"This is a guest post by Grant Smith for Kulhead.com"

When mass producing any type of product, it is essential that your system is working perfectly in order to ensure that your production line is efficient and cost effective. If the speed of the conveyer belt does not suit the type of work taking place it can slow the process down. The most cost effective way to overcome this issue is by using a variable speed drive to control the speed and energy used to power your production line.

How incorporating a Variable Speed Drive into your Production Line can be efficient and Cost Effective.

Conservation and Increased Production

Originally variable speed drives were developed to aid production by making sure that the correct speed was used in each stage of the production process.  Variable speed drives have played an essential role in increasing efficiency at the same time as reducing the total amount of energy required to complete each section of the work.  This has been achieved by being able to set the speed at which conveyer belts and other machinery need to work independently of each other.  According to Affinity Laws - reducing output by fifty percent can result in a power consumption drop of 12.5% of full power.

Mechanical Variable Speed Drives

There are many different types of variable speed drives available to regulate the speed of different equipment.  In the case of a conveyer belt a mechanical variable speed drive would be used to power the pulleys.  The uses of conveyor belt systems are actually quite varied and occur in all areas of our lives such as; supermarkets, ski lifts, air ports and factories.  Each system requires its own individual speed setting and has to be extremely reliable so that the health and safety of its users are not compromised.

A Brief History

Conveyor belts have been used since the 19th century due to a series of inventions by Thomas Robins, who wanted to develop an effective way of transporting coal, ore and other heavy duty materials.  By 1901 the steel conveyor belt had been developed closely followed by Sutcliffe’s adaption in 1905 to carry coal from mines – revolutionising mining.  Another famous development of the use of conveyor belts in a production line was by Henry Ford in Michigan in 1913 where he produced his first cars in this way. 

Technical Development

The invention of the variable speed drive has ensured that using conveyor belts on production lines has changed with the times and although materials and technology may have changed the overall principal has remained the same.


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