Our company spent five years researching and developing this rotary conveyor belt cleaning device in conjunction with the Department of Mineral Resources at Nottingham University.  The product won the DTI’s 1993 and 1994 SMART (“Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology”) with development being partially supported by the DTI.

           The Smart Brush’s basic principal of operation is very simple and relies upon the moving conveyor belt to drive an idler roller which then rotates a brush, opposite in direction to the conveyor belts’ travel.

           Of significant importance is the fact that the device is also fully automatic in adjustment—once set at the installation stage then no further adjustment is necessary during the brush element’s life.  I am pleased to report that through development and the introduction of the stainless steel bristles we have been able to extend brush life to over two years.

           It is well known that in manually adjusted systems a high percentage of brush premature failures can be accounted for by over adjustment or too high a contact pressure.  Maintenance staff often try to reduce the frequency of adjusting the equipment by setting contact pressure too high, this in turn leads to massive initial wear followed by a protracted period of ineffective cleaning and ultimately brush blockages.

           Historically, rotary brush systems have generally proved unreliable and have often failed due to brush clogging, so why are the brushes in our system not subjected to this problem?  Simply, because we have developed and patented the FIRST simple mechanism for automatic adjustment.  Self cleaning is not only a function of the brush design and speed, there is a more important factor, we have introduced automatic adjustment so the brush is always working, which in turn produces a constant specific frequency of vibration within the bristles.

           Stop the brush working, as often occurs with manually adjusted systems, i.e. when the brush is worn and this vibration effect is lost, this then presents a rotating brush cylinder which will very quickly become blocked.

           Brush life is a function of the conveyed material being cleaned, it’s water content and the conveyor belt’s speed.  Combine these variables with the brushes diameter, it’s design / construction and the type of bristle material i.e. stainless steel, plastic or mixes of both and brush life can be designed for a particular application.

           Examination of the force analysis shows that the contact pressure between Brush and conveyor belt also changes as a function of operating conditions.  This is important, since it is not now necessary to adjust contact pressure so severely in order to cater for occasional changes in wet and dry product condition.

           We are operating on conveyors with widths of up to 2140mm with maximum speeds of 7.4m/s and now have experience on a range of conveyors contaminated with products which include: Sand, cement, limestone, clinker, granite, animal feeds, coal, coke, ash, DSG, gypsum, salt, glass, frit, recycled metals, sinter and plastic granules.

           We can arrange site visits for interested parties to view the equipment operating at sites nation-wide.  Alternatively, we have a mobile demonstration test unit which can be viewed at any requested location.  The unit exhibits a mechanically jointed flat and chevron type conveyor belt which is capable of operating at variable speeds.  To simulate realistic test conditions the belt quality is poor, being worn and damaged, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of a SMART brush system even on badly grooved and scored surfaces.  We recommend that enquirers utilize the test unit to demonstrate the cleaning efficiency and effectiveness of the system on their chosen product.

           If after considering the information contained within, you have any questions or require more detailed information on SMART Conveyor Belt Cleaning Systems:

 

SMART Brush Company

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