Performax conveyor

[George Bokros]

I have been following this thread because I am having trouble getting my 16-32 to track. I do not know how old my belt is since I bought it used. I have a new belt from Klingspor but have not put it on yet. I will try what Robert said in his last post and see what results I get.

[Robert Edington]

My conveyor belt had never been changed. I was the original owner.
The slow speed of the conveyor makes the changes very slow. Then when you make fast corrections, and large corrections to the drift, you get ahead of the drift and end up fighting yourself.
My belt is tight and flat on one side and loose on the other, but, it is tracking now. It does not slip.
Make sure those brackets are loose. You should have some wavy washers, and regular washers under the cap head screws. I purchased new 1" bracket screws because the threads were shot on two of mine (Factory defect). Lowes had them in the specialty drawer. I think they were 1/4-20.
RP

[Scott Haddix]

I have encountered this identical issue with my Performax and a new belt as well. I am thrilled (and saddened both) to hear that its not just me who has struggled with a problem that seems to make no sense mechanically.

I'll be watching this thread with interest, in the hope that we can collectively figure out a good, long term solution to this, even if it means purchasing a new belt from a different vendor.

[Robert Edington]

https://youtu.be/bU4qCx53kwA
The "official" Je how to video They make it look very easy.
I think the main thing is to make sure the four bolts that fasten the brackets that hold the outfeed roller are loose and will move when you tighten or loosen the tracking bolt.
Then get a chair, sit down, and don't make any big adjustments. My belt is looser on one side, but it is tracking and it works fine.
RP

[Roger Chandler]

https://youtu.be/bU4qCx53kwA
The "official" Je how to video They make it look very easy.
I think the main thing is to make sure the four bolts that fasten the brackets that hold the outfeed roller are loose and will move when you tighten or loosen the tracking bolt.
Then get a chair, sit down, and don't make any big adjustments. My belt is looser on one side, but it is tracking and it works fine.
RP

I believe this means that the problem is with the belt and not the machine. I have a performax 16/32 as well, and it tracks perfectly for many years now. Aftermarket belts may not be cut exactly the same as the originals.

[Robert Edington]

Well, I thought that as well. But when I turned the belt around, it did the same thing in the same direction.
I have my machine running now. One side tight and the other loose. I ran six wooden rings through it yesterday. It tracked fine.
RP

[Roger Chandler]

Well, I thought that as well. But when I turned the belt around, it did the same thing in the same direction.
I have my machine running now. One side tight and the other loose. I ran six wooden rings through it yesterday. It tracked fine.
RP

You precisely make my my point....the fact it is loose on one side when turned either way tells me the cut and seam are likely off. Not something that can be seen off a machine, but reveaed when installed. Perhaps the pattern/template they used was not accurate, or the cutting machine was not dialed in correctly. There is enough adjustment built into the Performax 16/32 that a small amount of slack can be absorbed and still run true. If I were a betting man, my money would be on a belt that does not exactly match original specs.......I am willing to say I could be wrong here, but I don't think I am.

[Biff Phillips]

Here is the best way to do it.. I used this to get my Supermax conveyer belt perfect. It will take time. Get a notebook. Put the belt on and use a digital caliper to measure the length of each tensioning bolt. Write in notebook. Run the sander for awhile.. It will tend to wander to one side, probably after an hour or less of use. We will use "wandered to the left" for this example. Loosen the tension bolts, slide the conveyer belt back to the middle. In your notebook, record "Wandered to left".
Retension the bolts, use the digital caliper again. Make the left bolt slighty more tension (on the supermax, this means the distance the caliper reads is longer).

Over time, you will see that the belt takes longer and longer to drift. Eventually you will get it "Dead on".. It took me about 10 iterations. The tiniest of adjustments.. like 1/64 of an inch matter. You really have no prayer of getting this right without keeping a log of all the settings you have tried.

[John K Jordan]

https://youtu.be/bU4qCx53kwA
The "official" Je how to video They make it look very easy.

They do make it look easy.

Is it just me or does it look like when they are done the belt is not tracking correctly in the one second of video at 0:52? It looks like the edge is moving towards the camera. They don't show how long they actually had to fiddle with it if they actually got it to track correctly over hours of use.

BTW, my belt is also looser on the outside end than at the motor end.

JKJ

[mreza Salav]

When I changed my belt on my supermax I encountered the same problem. I don't recall 100% but I think it was the same supplier.T
These are 100% issues of the belts not being true/parallel. I called and explained that I know this and it's their fault but given that I wanted things get going and didn't have time to wait for another belt decided to fix it: you need to wrap some rolls of tape around one side (to make up for the error in the tape). I've got mine to the point that now tracks fine but of course one side is a little looser...