Light Belt Conveyor Installations Engineering Guidelines

11. Cylindrical-conical pulleys

For tracking of conveyor belts cylindrical-conical
formed (trapezoidal crowned) or simple
crowned pulleys are effective for use. As the
belt tries to run to the highest point of a pulley,
which is oriented at right-angles to the belt run,
it is constantly pulled towards the center of the
pulley by the conical ends.

Pulleys with this shape exert a self-centering effect to the belt, so that, even with changing run-
off tendencies during operation or with reversal running direction, the belt will be tracked
optimally without the need to adjust the axis.

In order to achieve an optimum belt tracking and this without experiencing any negative impact
on belt operation behavior or belt service life, the pulley shape, that is the ratio of the conical
parts to the cylindrical part and the conicity, should be done according our recommendations.

11.1 Cylindrical-conical form

Length of the cylindrical part bc :

bo
bo 2000 mm (80 in.): bc =
2

bo > 2000 mm (80 in.): bc = bo 1000 mm (40 in.)

Gradient h of the conical part

Gradient h = 2 ( 0.001 d + 0.075 ) [mm]

Diameter d [mm] 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 >500
(in.) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 >20
Gradient h [mm] 0.25 0.35 0.45 0.55 0.65 0.75 0.85 0.95 1.05 1.15 1.5
(in.) .010 .014 .018 .022 .026 .030 .034 .038 .042 .046 .060

Attention should also be paid to the following points:

An exaggerated slope may result in longitudinal

creasing and, in extreme cases, lead to belt
overlapping.

For thin, laterally flexible belts (e.g. FAB-3EB, ENI-5AQ etc.), it is advisable to reduce the
value of h to about 50% of the above listed values.

On belts with high transverse rigidity an

excessively high slope will result in the loss of the
tracking effect because the belt does not run close
enough to the conical side parts.

In the case of exaggerated slope, the belt is subjected to varying tension which has a
negative impact on belt life.

Edition: January 2008, replaces edition April 2003 28