Recycling
Belt Maintenance

The Ultimate Checklist: Common Causes of Conveyor Belt Tracking Issues

Aligning and controlling a belt so it maintains its desired path is often difficult to do. Many factors influence the belt's ability to track correctly.

Common Causes of Conveyor Belt Tracking Issues

  • Pulleys, belts, or rollers contain material build-up
  • Un-level foundation
  • Damaged idler frames 
  • Improper belt storage which results in warping or bowing
  • Excessive tensioning of the belt
  • Pulleys out of alignment with the conveyor center line
  • Self-aligning idlers installed incorrectly or need to be replaced
  • Return idler spacing is too wide to track the belt
  • Uneven or misaligned pulleys
  • Uneven placement of load on the belt or the belt being loaded off center
  • Uneven skirting pressure
  • Worn pulley faces, pulley lagging unevenly worn, or pulley shaft locking elements worn
  • Return idlers improperly installed resulting in the belt not making proper contact with rollers
  • Offset trough idlers being used on reversing conveyors rather than in-line idlers being used
  • Out of round or seized rollers giving the belt contact forces asymmetric to the center line
  • Poor belt quality with the weave/fabric asymmetric to the center line
  • Trough idlers installed back to front with the lead roller not leading
  • Mechanical fasteners not installed square
  • Conveyor rollers of various diameters installed
  • Improper belt splicing
  • Transition idlers not installed or unevenly adjusted
  • Worn pulley faces

See our other posts for more information on properly tracking a conveyor belt:

  1.  4-step belt tracking process to properly align your belt
  2. How to properly track a bakery conveyor belt
  3. How to diagnose and fix common conveyor belt tracking issues
  4. Conveyor belt tracking tips








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