Specialized belt cleaners from Martin Engineering

Challenging conveyor problems addressed by family of specialized secondary belt cleaners

MARTIN Engineering have developed a family of specialized conveyor belt secondary cleaners that offer an alternative to standard blade cleaners in addressing the challenging carryback, belt health, spillage and pulley/idler health problems faced by numerous industries.

‘Conveyor belts react to various substances in vastly different and sometimes unpredictable ways,’ said Dan Marshall, product engineer at Martin Engineering. ‘Inadequate cleaning of niche materials can lead to a host of issues over time.

‘Applying the proper cleaner to the job can prevent expensive equipment failures and downtime. There is no one-size-fits-all cleaner. Matching the proper design to the specific belt and material traits is the best way to protect the system and personnel.’

The only motorized cleaners in the new range, Martin brush cleaners, are specially designed for the removal of fines and residue from ribbed, flighted, grooved or chevron conveyor belts.

Available in two polypropylene bristle configurations, the straight-line strip brush and the swirl-pattern spiral brush are rotated rapidly against the belt path by an energy-efficient 230/460V, three-phase, 60Hz motor.

Both brush systems are designed for temperatures from –29° to 82°C, with the strip brush accommodating belt widths from 450mm to 1,400mm using a 1hp motor, and the spiral brush cleaning belt widths from 450mm to 1,800mm using a 2hp motor.

Martin Engineering also supply a brush cleaner for the European market, with bristle patterns for high and low moisture content materials.

For operators who choose not to use electricity to control the carryback and build-up from chevron ribbed or cleated conveyor belts, the Martin chevron cleaner removes material using shock-absorbing torsion arms with elastomer blades composed of fourteen 12mm wide ‘fingers’.

These fingers allow the cleaner to accommodate the very specific geometry of chevrons. Able to handle belt speeds up to 2.5m/s and belt widths from 400mm to 2,400mm, the telescoping arms of the chevron cleaner eliminate the need to cut the mainframe during installation.

The Martin H2O cleaner is a system that incorporates a water spray for extra cleaning and dust suppression, and then uses a soft urethane blade to squeegee moisture from the grooves and indentations in the belt cover.

With blade lengths from 400mm to 2,200mm, the unit can be fitted with between two and 11 spray nozzles, delivering between 0.34 and 4.14 bar of pressure. The blades are engineered to handle belt speeds of up to 3.8m/s and temperatures from –34° to 82.2°C. In addition, the blades feature a no-tool quick release system for easy replacement by a single worker.

For niche operators working with super-heated materials such as slag, hot clinker, asphalt and brick, the Martin high-temperature cleaner is designed and built to withstand some of the most punishing conveyed materials.

The system can withstand temperatures up to 315°C using overlapping tungsten or stainless steel blades mounted on coil spring arms that wrap around a steel frame. Equipped with a Martin twist tensioner to provide a tight fit for effective cleaning, this specialized system helps avoid thermal adherence of hot material to the belt.

‘Though these systems are specialized, they can work in tandem with other standard belt cleaners or with each other,’ said Dan Marshall. ‘We have taken every detail into account and carried out extensive testing and monitoring to assure quality and proper functionality.’