1. 10 Tips for Establishing Energy Efficient and Sustainable Conveyors
The following is a list of energy and environmental recommendations from Nercon’s design and controls en-
gineers, as well as motor and belting experts from Nercon’s long-time supplier partners. These tips start with
the easiest to implement and finish with solutions that will provide the greatest return on investment.
Benefit from Webex conferencing and stream- A continuation of the modular conversation,
ing video transmissions to speed-up communications consider Armor Starts which offer a simple, cost-
and reduce business travel. Nercon provides Webex effective method for integrating combination start-
conferencing for our customers to collaborate and ers, variable frequency control, I/O and network ca-
review projects. We also provide internet video for pabilities on your “on-machine” architecture. Armor
product testing or equipment approvals. Another Starts are well suited for reconfigurable conveyors.
electronic service we offer is a Secure File Trans- The control panel doesn’t need to be restructured for
fer Protocol (SFTP). This secure shared file space additional power source controls. Armor Starts also
is available for customers to upload and download reduce and/or eliminate the need for terminal boxes.
their project files. Ask your customer service person Sensors are wired directly into drives, thereby reduc-
or sales representative to create a SFTP site on your ing wire usage and installation costs.
next project.
Select motors that are right for the conveyor
Use Nercon’s eco-friendly Superlife paint line, and designed to be run in your particular plant
which can be used as a primer and/or top coat. It environment. The motors should run at or near top ca-
is non-flammable, with low VOC (Volatile organic pacity at all times to maximize their efficiency and
compounds), and offers high corrosion resistance and output. If load weights vary, use two-speed motors or
long-term durability. Nercon’s use of water-based adjustable speed drives to enable motors to run near
paints decreased our annual VOC’s 54% since 1998. top capacity. They need to be sized for the proper
As an added benefit, we also are able to provide value “gear-in speeds” to insure they run the coolest and
pricing because of the large quantity we use. provide the maximum horsepower and torque output,
while extending the motor life.
Make use of Modular Conveyors when lay-
outs need to be adaptable to meet changing market de- Examine the life cycle energy cost of the mo-
mands. Nercon’s Modular Conveyors are engineered tors. According to the U.S. Department of Energy,
to be completely interchangeable which means that electric motor driven machinery uses 2/3 of all elec-
conveyor components can be reused and reconfigured tricity in industry nationwide. An efficiency analysis
resulting in fewer conveyors in the “conveyor bone provided by Baldor Electric Company, states that a
yard.” Another benefit of the Modular Conveyor Ex- typical 5 HP electrical motor with average efficiency
press line is that the conveyors are pre-engineered uses $3,923 in electricity per year, while the high-
and quickly assembled for fast delivery. est efficiency rated motor uses $3,622 in electricity
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2. Sustainable Conveyors ...
per year. That amounts to a direct savings of 8% in other components as well as causing crisis maintenance
energy consumed, on every motor on the system. A disruptions in production. A well maintained convey-
premium-efficiency 5 HP motor operating continuous- or system operates at the highest efficiency and helps
ly saves $300 per year on the electric bill; 100 premium- to assure that all components last as long as possible.
efficiency motors save $30,000 in one year. Upgrading to
premium-efficiency motors on new equipment will provide
return on investment in under a year. Kurz Electric Solu- Design the conveyor line with energy savings in
tions, Inc., did an installed base evaluation and conducted a mind. As previously mentioned, utilize high-efficiency
motor efficiency assessment and replacement program for motors. Turn your conveyor off when not in use, or utilize
a local food manufacturing plant, and with their decision to on-demand controls in your system. Some conveyor line
change over to all premium efficient motors, they had a re- layouts may only need a few more sensors to read up-
placement payback through both utility rebates and energy stream equipment, so that downstream conveyors can be
savings within a two year period. Check with your utility automatically shut off or paused when not needed. Cer-
companies to learn if they are offering rebates for energy tainly gravity chutes and straight running conveyors will
efficient changeovers, or for new installations. reduce the energy usage on the line. Also, reduce friction
where possible to increase efficiency of the entire line.
Research the properties of the conveyor belt.
The chain selection should accommodate the belt Authorize a line audit to assess maximum efficien-
speeds, characteristics of the products and operating cy and waste reduction. The first nine items on this list
environment (temperature, abrasiveness, etc.) to ensure cover general energy and sustainable guidelines for new
durability of the belt. Modular plastic belting allows the and existing conveyors, but when it comes to a specific
worn or damaged area to be quickly replaced with mini- application, sometimes it is necessary to take the next step
mal belting sections. The most common plastic belts are in conducting a line audit. With the push for consumer
made from polypropylene, polyethylene, or acetal ther- packaging companies to use less materials in their pack-
moplastics. Each of these belt types provide unique ben- aging, Nercon has years of experience in conveyor engi-
efits for different applications. When all considerations neering design for these package handling trends. Nercon
are equal however, acetal thermoplastics, are consider- has several levels of audits available which will identify
ably stronger than the other two, have a good balance of the production and energy limitations and opportunities
mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties, and have for maximizing the efficiency of your packaging lines. We
a much lower coefficient of friction. can provide line layout analysis, production and mainte-
nance studies, individual machine audits, data evaluation
of conveyor speeds and accumulation, evaluation of ma-
Follow a preventative maintenance plan. Reg- terial flow to the line, and proposals and budget estimates
ular maintenance for conveyors includes the re-lubri- for improvements. A well thought – out and perfectly ex-
cation of reducers and bearings, removing build-up of ecuted conveyor system design with appropriate controls
material around components and attention to belt wear. will deliver significant return-on-investment on not only
Preventive maintenance also includes the replacement of energy savings, but with maximum production efficiency
worn or damaged belting, tests of electrical components, and system pay back.
and replacement of wear items. Improperly maintained
systems may reduce the life cycle of belting, motors and
Nercon specializes in packaging line engineering and design, controls integration and conveyor manufac-
turing. Having a great depth of experience in food and consumer goods packaging industries, Nercon’s
engineers are proficient at designing highly automated and energy efficient conveyor packaging lines. For
more information, visit Nercon’s web site at www.nercon.com.
Nercon Eng. & Mfg., Inc. Copyright. All rights reserved. www.nercon.com p. 2