IPCO, one of the world’s leading suppliers of steel belts for industrial processing, has announced the development of an easy-to-install tracking system that significantly improves the performance of solid and perforated steel bake oven belts. Launched as the Compact Belt Tracker (CBT) 2G, this new system uses an optical sensor for faster, more precise belt tracking.
IPCO installed the world’s first continuous bake oven belt 100 years ago this year, and has remained an innovative partner to the bakery industry ever since. Recent developments have seen the introduction of the Shotpeener Pro, a belt flattening tool capable of restoring deformed belts that might previously have been beyond repair, and a high-power laser cleaning service that significantly reduces cleaning times on bake oven belts.
The new CBT 2G is the latest addition to a comprehensive range of conveyor components that includes rolling supports, sliding supports (e.g. skid bars and graphite stations), frames, end stations, pulleys, cleaning devices and more.
For a belt to track properly, the line and all the parts that touch the belt (i.e. belt supports, rollers and the like) must be straight and level with gravity and each other. They must also be in good working order and not worn down. When these requirements are fulfilled – in other words with perfect, stable conditions and fine adjustment of the drums – a properly designed conveyor will track straight and true without the need for a tracking system.
However, as Andreas Nordstrand, Manager Special Engineering and order-to-delivery, Belts at IPCO explains, such conditions are rare in a working environment. “Temperature changes alone will cause the belt to track one way or the other – so steel bake oven belts require some form of tracking.”
IPCO’s Compact Belt Tracking (CBT) system is designed for easy installation and servicing, and can be floor-mounted or fitted directly to a frame structure. This makes it an excellent retrofit solution when active tracking is required on an existing conveyor and a rebuild is not practical or desirable. Previous CBT models used a physical belt edge detector but the newly introduced 2G employs an optical sensor instead, eliminating any contact with the belt edge and enabling increased tracking speed and precision.
The optical sensor continuously monitors the position of the belt edge. Any deviation immediately triggers a corrective action in the CBT 2G unit to restore smooth, straight running. The tracking effect is achieved by tilting rollers that cause the belt to move laterally in the appropriate direction. An intuitive user interface enables quick and easy setting of tracking parameters.
Available in four sizes to fit bake oven belt widths of 800, 100, 1200 and 1500 mm, the CBT 2G is supplied as a complete package consisting of the electronic system control panel, an optical belt edge sensor, drum speed sensor and associated magnets, and the mechanical CBT 2G unit itself.
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Editor, International Bakery
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