Conveyor Tensioning

& Tracking

Tools Needed:

Qty

Wrench 19mm

1

Tensioning

The conveyor may slightly stretch with continued use and will eventually need to be tensioned. This is most obvious if the conveyor starts slipping on the rollers.

When you tension the conveyor, focus on ten- sioning the adjustment bolts in even increments. Tensioning one side more than the other will cause tracking problems, which will require you to take additional steps to get the sander operating correctly.

To tension the conveyor:

1.Loosen the lock nut, shown in Figure 32, on both sides of the conveyor.

Adjustment

Bolt

Lock Nut

Figure 32. One side of conveyor tensioning & tracking controls (guard removed for clarity).

2.Use a magic marker, white out, or fingernail polish to mark the front of the conveyor ten- sioning bolt on both sides. This step will aid you in keeping track of the rotations as you turn the bolts, so they remain as even as pos- sible.

-32-

3.Turn both of the conveyor adjustment bolts clockwise one full turn at a time until the con- veyor belt no longer slips during operation.

—If the conveyor starts tracking to one side, immediately turn the drum sander OFF and perform the tracking instructions.

4.Tighten the lock nuts to lock the conveyor adjustment bolts in place.

Tracking

The conveyor must track straight. If the conveyor tracks to either side, then the tracking must be corrected or the conveyor will become damaged and have to be replaced.

Replacing a damaged conveyor is a big job. Always be careful to make sure that the belt does not travel too far to one side or the other.

Tracking the conveyor is a balancing process that takes patience and a small degree of trial-and- error. Usually you must over-tighten the loose side (the side the belt is tracking towards) to make the conveyor move to the middle of the rollers, then loosen that same side to make the conveyor stay in position. If you adjust the bolt too much either way, then you have to repeat the process until the conveyor rides in the middle and stays there dur- ing continuous operation.

To track the conveyor:

1.Turn the conveyor ON and watch it track.

2.Determine which side the conveyor is track- ing towards (the loose side) and tension the adjustment bolt on that side until the con- veyor tracks in the opposite direction.

Note: Tracking changes may take up to three minutes before they are noticeable.

3.When the conveyor is near the middle of the rollers or table, loosen the adjustment bolt until the conveyor stops moving and tracks straight.

—If the conveyor tracks too far to the other side, then adjust the bolt as necessary to bring it back and repeat Steps 2 & 3 until the tracking is correct.

G0449/G0450 37" Drum Sander

Page 34
Image 34
Grizzly G0450 instruction manual Conveyor Tensioning Tracking, To tension the conveyor, To track the conveyor