Because unexpected downtime of a pneumatic conveying system can be costly to an operation, it’s essential to minimize the risk however possible. One of the chief ways you can do this is with regular preventive maintenance.
Here are three general tips you should keep in mind to help ensure that your pneumatic conveying system stays in top shape.
No matter what you’re conveying in your pneumatic system, it will eventually start to wear down somewhere. By staying on top of your preventative maintenance plans, you’ll be able to catch problems while they’re still small and avoid complete system breakdowns. Keep an eye out for the following:
If you see any of these warning signs, it's critical that you inspect your system to see where the problem lies and also reevaluate your overall preventative maintenance plan and see where you could improve it.
The manuals from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) are full of specific guidance on what preventive maintenance your particular system needs. They will recommend how often you should perform maintenance, what steps are involved in that maintenance, and what level of knowledge the employees performing the maintenance should have. For example, some maintenance steps can be achieved by operators, while others will require trained personnel or even require an outside field service technician.
Additionally, your manual will include a list of spare parts, including a list of consumable or worn parts that you should have on hand to keep up with maintenance. It may also include a list of parts whose lead times may be longer than usual, such as blowers, solenoid valves, and programmable logic controllers. If any of these parts go down, you’re looking at a total system failure that could lead to excessive downtime and financial loss. For this reason, it’s important to keep at least one or two of these parts in-house at all times.
Preventative maintenance is critical to keeping your operation running smoothly. But it can’t be performed just once in a while — it ought to be regularly scheduled because some parts and components must be inspected more frequently than others. Here are some recommendations on what you should check and when you should check it.
By keeping an eye out for trouble, referencing your OEM system manuals, and having preventative maintenance performed regularly on your pneumatic conveying system, you can help avoid costly breakdowns and downtime.
If you need parts to maintain your pneumatic conveying system, contact the professionals here at Progressive Products. We’ll never sell you anything you don’t need and have over 40 years of experience helping people like you maintain and get the most out of their pneumatic conveying systems.