Carryback can build up on conveyor systems and quickly add up, wasting product and cutting into profits. Here is what causes carryback and how to prevent it.
What Is Carryback?
Carryback refers to the small amount of product that builds up on the conveyor system. Instead of falling off the conveyor at the drop-off point, the underside of the conveyor carries it back to the chute. It then builds up on the return rollers, snub pulleys, and bend pulleys.
Carryback Causes and Problems
Carryback occurs naturally on almost every conveyor belt unless the business owner takes steps to prevent it. Unfortunately, gravity is the primary cause of the product sticking to the conveyor.
Carryback might not seem like such a big deal at first, but it can severely impact the safety of your employees and your company’s profits. Don’t be hoodwinked into treating it as an insignificant issue.
Over time, the material being carried back along the conveyor will flake off and pile up on the floor beneath it. This excess material causes a messy workplace, safety hazards, and fugitive dust. All these hazards can affect your employees’ health.
Depending on the cost of the material you’re moving, the damage to your profits due to carryback can become tremendous quickly. If left unresolved, carryback can be responsible for the waste of up to three percent of the total bulk material your company produces. It’s easy to see how this can become expensive to repair!
How To Prevent It
Prevent carryback by installing the proper guards on your conveyor system. For example, a belt cleaning system featuring a belt scraper can help remove excess material from the conveyor belt. The primary belt scraper can prevent up to 70 percent of carryback! When combined with a secondary belt cleaner, this number can increase to 90 percent.
Using a differently shaped conveyor belt can also help prevent carryback. For example, a trough belt conveyor helps keep the product where it is meant to be with its uniquely shaped belt.
Now that you know what causes carryback and how to prevent it, expect your business’s profits and safety standards to increase!
