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Gluer

Sparlon Transmission Belts for the Corrugated Industry

There are two common constructions for transmission belting and Sparks offers a full line of each product measuring between 3-6mm in thickness. Understanding the features and benefits of each offering will increase your value to maintenance teams working with high-speed folder gluers.

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The All New Dura-Drive SPM 5.38” Synchronous Permanent Magnet Pulley

Sparks Belting recently launched the synchronous permanent magnet pulley in a larger size, the Dura-Drive SPM is now available in a 5.38” diameter. It is a compact and robust All-in-One drive component that can be used with all types of belt conveyor systems, including plastic modular belt systems. The Dura-Drive SPM is highly energy efficient, exceeding IE4 efficiency limits, and is designed to meet IE5 requirements. The Dura-Drive SPM delivers high torque and belt pull that remains constant over a wide range of operating speeds.

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Conveyor Belting

The Impact of Custom Conveyor Belting in the Corrugated Industry

As large rolls of paper produced on paper machines are initially put into production to turn them into corrugated boxes, they start out on the corrugator machine. This critical machine creates flutes in the paper and glues it to liners, one layer at a time. These layers are then stacked, cut, and then ultimately scored before transporting large bundles throughout the facility to various converting machines.

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Conveyor solution

Coping With Continuous Wash Down

A large food manufacturing company has been using a newly installed conveyor belt for pig intestines at its processing facility. The new belt includes key features, specifically the new system is equipped with synchronous drum motors. Regardless of the repetitive daily pressure cleaning with hot water, the conveyor has been running consistently for more than a year without downtime or maintenance.

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Spm Sprocket

Marel Relies on Synchronous Motorized Pulleys

The 6,300-employee-strong leading global provider of advanced processing systems and services to the poultry, meat, and fish industries, Marel, sees an increasing demand for more hygienic designs and thus wants to increase the use of motorized pulleys on the conveyors they supply to their food processing customers. The German company Momentum Technologies, with its US partner Sparks Belting, is one of the partners to support this design choice with their new oil-free synchronous motorized pulleys, which are the coolest and strongest currently available.

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Solarpower 2

Sparks Belting Goes Solar

Here comes the sun! Sparks Belting has teamed up with Solar Landscape to bring solar power to our facility in Fairfield, NJ. This not only makes us a greener organization but helps reduce our carbon footprint.

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Small Things Make a Big Impact

As the National Sales Manager of Sparks Belting, I can attest that Sparks Belting is committed to providing the highest form of a total customer experience within our industry. As our industry grows and evolves, suppliers within our industries will be facing new challenges and opportunities to improve cost savings, production output, and serviceability.

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Conveyor solutions

Sparks Belting Company Announces Acquisition of D&D Belt Service, LLC

Sparks Belting Company, a Grand Rapids based conveyor belt manufacturer and supplier, is pleased to announce the acquisition of D&D Belt Service, LLC. The Atlanta, Georgia, based company provides fabrication and installation services for heavy-duty rubber conveyor belting to the aggregate, recycling, paper/pulp, and lumber processing markets.

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Conveyor Belt Storage Thumb

How to Properly Store Your Conveyor Belts

It is not uncommon for companies to stock extra belts in their plant in case of belt failure. No replacement belt is closer than the one you keep in storage. It is very important that these extra belts are stored properly.

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Conveyor Belt Materials Thumb

The Purpose of Textiles in Conveyor Belting

Conveyor belts are the driving force in conveying operations. There are many different types and materials for the abundance of applications in the market. However, there are a few different textiles that serve an important purpose in conveyor belting.

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Solid V Guide

How V-Guide Strips Can Help with Belt Tracking

To assist with positive tracking, a guide strip(s) is often used on the pulley side of conveyor belts. V–guides are the most common shapes used. However, square and rectangular shapes are also available. In addition, Sparks has designed and developed round dot guides for traveling over very small pulleys.

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Conveyor

What Are Plies and Ply Adhesion on a Conveyor Belt?

Some conveyor belting is manufactured with one ply of fabric. This fabric layer can be coated with rubber, polymer, or elastomer. Yet, most conveyor belting is manufactured using two or more plies of fabric that are adhered to each other by using inner layers of rubber, polymer, or elastomer.

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Food Conveyor Belt Feature Image

6 Tips To Get The Most Out of Your Conveyor Belt

One of the best things you can do for your conveyor belt is to take proper care of it. Doing this will ensure a long life for your belt, lessening downtime and saving you money. Here are 6 simple tips for maintaining your conveyor belt to keep it in top shape.

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Oil Less Pulley Thumbnail

5 ways an Oilless Pulley Can Cut Costs & Increase Efficiency

For over 130 years, the induction motor has been the workhorse of the industry. However, the inefficiency of the induction motor and the increase in energy costs are increasing the cost of ownership at a rapid rate. Luckily, with new technology comes improved efficiencies, cost reduction, increased safety standards, and much more. The new Dura-Drive SPM oil-less motorized pulley from Sparks Belting offers all of the above. Here we list 5 ways the Dura-Drive SPM oil-less pulley can cut your costs and increase efficiency.

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Spm Thumbnail Image

The All New Dura-Drive SPM Synchronous Permanent Magnet Pulley

Sparks Belting recently launched the all-new synchronous permanent magnet pulley, the Dura-Drive SPM. It is a compact and robust All-in-One drive component that can be used with all types of belt conveyor systems, including plastic modular belt systems. The Dura-Drive SPM is highly energy efficient, exceeding IE4 efficiency limits, and is designed to meet IE5 requirements. The Dura-Drive SPM delivers high torque and belt pull that remains constant over a wide range of operating speeds.

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Cost Savings 2

Determining the True Cost of a Conveyor Belt

Collecting and earning documented cost savings from vendors is a reality in today’s competitive manufacturing environment. Buyers are often faced with the difficult task of saving a fixed percentage on their MRO spend year on year. Belting is an ideal product to save money on due to the wide variety of materials available, specialty fabrications, and how it interacts with your product and conveyors. Sparks is an industry-leading expert in providing cost savings to a wide variety of industries.

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Conveyor Belt Thumbnail

The Top 5 Conveyor Belts

​Like most products in the marketplace today, the list of available conveyor belts seems limitless. Although many applications require specialized belts to run properly on the conveyor, there are five belts that will handle most tasks. This do-it-yourself survival guide will point you in the right direction to select the best belt for your conveyor.

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Conveyor Information Blog Square

Selecting the Proper Conveyor Belt for Your Conveyor

There is a science behind selecting the correct conveyor belt for your conveyors. Conveyor belt specification is both a process of elimination and, at the same time, honing in on the critical and fixed variables associated with your conveyor. This guide will steer you on the right path to selecting a better conveyor belt for your conveyor.

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Crowned Pulleys

Crowned Pulleys — Which Option is Right for You?

The purpose of a crowned pulley (or tapered pulley) is to assist with belt tracking. In most operating conditions, a belt will follow the path of highest tension. So, it makes sense to have the diameter of the pulley larger in the center than at the edges.

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Belt Fasteners

How to Select the Proper Belt Fasteners and Reduce Failures

Conveyor belt fasteners are manufactured in two styles—hinged and solid plate. Hinged belt fasteners are applied as individual segments to a belt end and then connected with a hinge pin. Solid plate fasteners span opposing belt ends that have been butted together, forming a tight, sift-free splice.

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Conveyor Belt Tracking2

Remember CITA When Tracking Your Conveyor Belt

Training a conveyor belt to run centered on your conveyor requires patience and a strong understanding of how conveyors work. Following this 4-step conveyor belt tracking process will help reduce downtime, extend your belt life, and save money.

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Conveyor Repair Blog2

Conveyor Belt Tensioning 101

Properly tensioning a conveyor belt is a critical step in tracking conveyor belts. Getting the correct amount of tension reduces splice failures, excessive stretch, and wear on the side of your frame. Luckily, there is a simple procedure to achieve the proper tension on a belt.

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Belt Fasteners

Reduce Downtime with Better Belt Fasteners

Increased demands for less downtime put maintenance managers in a catch-22. Although maintenance teams are charged with finding new and better products for their plant, sometimes the risks don’t outweigh the potential rewards. Since they have a history of how their existing belts perform, managers can develop a plan to change them without disrupting production.

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Alum Extrusion

Consider Kevlar Belts for Your Most Demanding Applications

High temperatures and abrasive environments prove to be the most challenging applications for conveyor belt manufacturers. Oftentimes, the temperature exceeds the limits of traditional urethane or rubber belting. Kevlar belts continue to fill a specialized niche in the industry.

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Casestudypic

Lower Maintenance Costs and Increase Throughput with Cleated Conveyor Belts

Cleated conveyor belts are necessary in a variety of heavy-duty incline applications in order to move product efficiently throughout the manufacturing process. Historically, welded or glued cleats have been the weakest spot on a belt and often a frustrating source for failure. As the cleats begin to separate from the belt, product now cascades down the conveyor and before you know it, it’s time for a costly replacement.

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Bakery Food Grade Blog2

Truly Endless Woven Conveyor Belts for Oven Take Conveyors

Oven take-off conveyor belts are one of the most demanding applications in the cookie and cracker industry. When these belts fail, it shuts down the entire production line and costs a tremendous amount of money. Luckily there is a solution that can lead to substantial cost savings!

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Pillow Cleat Blog1

Food Conveyor Belt: Advantages of Using Pillow Cleat Conveyor Belts

Packaging fragile fruits and vegetables is a delicate process. As we all know, tomatoes, apples, and oranges bruise very easily. At the store, the cosmetic characteristics of all these products is critical because customers will not buy “ugly food”. Since many of these delicious products are round or odd-shaped, conveying them from bulk shipment bins to the finished package throughout your facility produces a unique challenge.

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Auto Stamping Blog2

How to Double the Life of an Automotive Stamping Conveyor Belt

Automotive stamping conveyors are some of the most demanding and abrasive conveyor belt applications in the industrial world. Belts must withstand sharp edges, oils, slicing, and cutting. It's common for parts to get caught between pulleys or stacking tables and create major damage as a result. Safety and ergonomic conditions also factor into the decision to create transfer points with an absolute minimum spacing.

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White Conveyor Blog

Are All White Food Grade Conveyor Belts the Same?

The short answer is a resounding, “No”. Lightweight food-grade conveyor belts are made with almost endless variations of key features which allow them to be custom fit to your unique application. The food in which they convey always plays a critical role in the proper selection of these belts. Some of the variables include:

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Track Conveyor Blog

Conveyor Belt Tracking Tips

A common challenge for plant maintenance is controlling and aligning a belt so it maintains its desired path. Many factors influence a belt's ability to track correctly.

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Food Grade Conveyor Blog

How to Select the Right Food Grade Conveyor Belt for Confections

Getting the right food grade conveyor belt for the right application is critical to producing high quality products.The confectionery industry requires the handling of various chocolates, sweets, candies and chewing gum, each requiring a conveyor belt with the right properties to handle their application.

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Conveyor Repair Blog2

4 Conveyor Belt Repair Practices to Get You Back Up and Running

Conveyor belts generally break in the middle of demanding production runs when downtime simply isn’t an option. Ordering a new replacement belt at this point is going to cost hours-if not days of additional downtime before you can begin to install it on your conveyor. Luckily, there are a few proven conveyor belt repair practices that will get you up and running faster.

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Dura Tech Spliced

A Faster and Easier Way to Repair a Broken Timing Belt

More and more, machine designers are using endless urethane timing belts in place of flat belts in their equipment design for the accurate movement of product. But, changing timing belts on many machines can be very time-consuming. Quite often, the design of these machines does not allow for the replacement of endless belts without significant disassembly of the machinery, causing considerable downtime and lost production.

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How To Track Blog2

How to Properly Track A Bakery Conveyor Belt

Keeping a bakery running efficiently can be complicated. One of the most frequent challenges plant maintenance technicians have to deal with is conveyor belt tracking. Aligning and controlling a belt so it maintains its desired path is often difficult to do. So many factors influence the belt's ability to track correctly. Here are a few areas to consider when attempting to troubleshoot a mistracking conveyor belt.

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