The Best Powerful Conveyors: V-Belt Live Roller Vs. Maintenance-friendly MDR

Let’s take a close look at 10 feet of V-Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor and make a list of general wear items and inspection points that need maintenance.

V-Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor:

• V-Belt
• (18) 2” pressure pulleys with bearings
• (8) 2” return pulleys
• (1) 8” drive pulley
• (1) 8” return pulley
• (1) drive shaft with a taper-lock sprocket or timing pulley
• (1) return shaft
• (1) gear reducer with a taper-lock sprocket or timing pulley
• 30” chain or timing pulley
• (1) 480VAC conventional motor
• (4) full size flange or pillow block bearings with locking collars
• (39) finger guards

To compare, here is the same list for MDR conveyor.

MDR Conveyor:

• (39) O-bands

No, I didn’t forget the rest of the list or accidentally delete it. This is the entire list. When we compare V-Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor with MDR Conveyor what we see is mind blowing. When we talk about maintenance cycles, most manufacturers of V-Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor recommend inspection every 200 hours. If you are running a 20 hour a day, 5 day a week operation that equals an inspection every 2 weeks. In addition, you have lubrication requirements, etc. that could be as frequent as every 500 hours or 90 days, whichever comes first. I could write another 3 pages on the actual cost this equates to, but we won’t go into that if we both can agree that the cost is substantial.

1 Drive (2 AMP each) @ 480VAC = 960 Watts/1,000 = .96 KW x 7,512 Annual Operating Hours = 7,211KW Hours x $0.10 = $721.00 Annual Energy Costs

2 Zones @ 24VDC = 72 Watts/1,000 = 0.072 KW x 7,512 Yearly Operating Hours =540KW Hours x $0.10 = $54.00 Annual Energy Costs

This is a $667 Annual Savings … A WHOPPING 93% Savings

As you can see, who wouldn’t be excited about a 93% savings on their energy costs?!

The safety aspect speaks for itself. If I was to hold up an O-band and a greasy size 50 drive chain, you would look at it and try not to laugh when I asked which one looked scarier and more dangerous. It would be the equivalent of asking you who you would rather sit down and eat a meal with, Michael Myers from the Halloween movies or Mister Rodgers. I also know that there are some people that could get hurt with a bag of cotton balls. However, if all safety protocols are followed such as lock-out tag-out, then most conveyor systems, including V-Belt Driven Live Roller, can be very safe.

The spectrum of possibilities for injury are so much wider for any conveyor that has a conventional drive system vs. MDR conveyor. With the MDR conveyor, we have removed all of the “scary” and potentially dangerous drive components as well as the risks that accompany them. This also piggy backs on the maintenance side because when we remove the “scary” components all the specific safety protocol goes away which saves companies time and money.

As technology has progressed and users have started seeing the benefits of MDR Conveyor over V-Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor, maintenance shops across the country have started downsizing. I really hope as technology continues to advance and the workload gets lighter for maintenance personnel, that some will take the time to visit “Ol’ Lonely” and Newton. They would probably be full of advice on how to occupy your time in a very quiet repair shop with nothing to do, and I think both could use some friends! They have been alone in that repair shop for 53 years now.