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Improving Belt Alignment and Reducing Wear with Overhauled Gravity Take Up System

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Fenner Conveyors has replaced a decades-old Gravity Take-Up (GTU) unit on a primary conveyor system at an Iron Ore Port Operation in the Pilbara.

The Challenge

The existing GTU was contributing to belt mistracking, resulting in over 262,131 tonnes of commodity spillage and subsequent maintenance costs and operational inefficiencies.

GTUs play a critical role in maintaining proper tension in conveyor belts. They apply consistent weight to ensure the belt remains taut across the system.

When a GTU is misaligned or incorrectly weighted, the belt can drift to one side, leading to uneven wear, potential damage to surrounding components, and increased risk of tearing.

This was the situation faced by the port operation and so Fenner Conveyors was engaged to provide a solution.

The Solution

We recommended a custom-engineered GTU system designed by the ACE engineering team. The unit was manufactured to suit the specific requirements of the site and conveyor system.

Following fabrication, the GTU was shipped from Queensland to site on schedule and within budget, with installation carried out safely and without incident.

Following installation of the new ACE-engineered GTU, site operators reported a notable improvement to belt tracking. While further improvements are possible through retrofitting other ageing components, the immediate impact of the upgraded GTU has been beneficial to tracking, reducing lost spillage and wear rates for the conveyor system.

This project was a major collaboration between ACE Engineering and Fenner in WA. It demonstrates the value in Fenner Conveyors’ end-to-end offering, where the expertise across its unique brand portfolio are combined to deliver highly engineered and innovative conveyor solutions.

By working with a single, reliable provider, with a diverse portfolio like Fenner Conveyors’ clients can optimise system performance and reduce total cost –of-ownership throughout the operational life of their conveyor assets.