Effect of belt transport speed and other factors on belt mistracking

Rubber rollers and conveyor belts transport flexible sheet-type media. With high-speed belt transporting systems such as mail sorters, demand for an increase in speed may cause the belt to come off. Therefore, we have examined the effects of belt transport speed and other factors that may cause belt mistracking for a basic belt conveyor system, consisting of one flat belt and two crown-face rollers. Experiments were conducted and we have formulated an experimental expression of the amount of belt mistracking using the roller misalignment parameters. As for transport speed, a speed increase did not enlarge belt mistracking. This tendency was explained by applying the cornering force of automotive engineering. In parallel, simulation was conducted using commercial motion system analysis software. The qualitative tendencies of the belt mistracking from simulation and experiment were in good agreement and factorial effects were clarified for ten parameters. Quantitatively, when axial load on rollers and other parameters were made equal, the belt mistracking according to simulation was generally in agreement with the experimental value.