Chapter 5: Maintenance 23 of 41
5-2 Preventative and Corrective Maintenance
Monthly Maintenance Operations
Drive Belt Tension
NOTE: This operation should be carried out by an operator or mechanical
maintenance engineer.
For the granulator to function correctly, it is extremely important that the
drive belt is always tight. Correct tension reduces the load of the rotor
bearings and minimizes wear and stretching of the belt. To check and adjust
belt tension, use the following procedure:
1. Turn OFF the machine and lock out power by using the disconnect
switch, or remove the fuses from the electrical control panel.
2. Remove the belt guard by unscrewing the ten (10) screws that hold it
in place.
3. Open the front panel.
4. Remove the bin.
5. Open the rear panel.
6. Loosen the nuts that lock the motor base slide.
7. Loosen the tie rod.
8. Adjust the belt tension by turning the tie rods forward.
9. Turn the tie rod to bring the motor square to the belt axis.
10. After the adjustment is made, lock the nuts back in place and close
the rear panel, refitting the proper locking latch.
11. Reinsert the bin and close the front panel.
12. Refit the belt guard and unlock the power or replace the fuses in the
control panel.
Proper Belt Tension
Measure the belt span and divide by 64 to get the allowable belt deflection.
With a belt gauge, measure the force it takes to deflect the belt the amount
calculated.
NOTE: Check your belt gauge’s instructions for proper scale settings. Belt
tension gauges are available from the customer service department.
Compare the gauge reading the chart value for the belt cross-section used
(see table below.).