A misaligned conveyor belt is an avoidable mistake that wastes both time and money. Voith’s new BeltGenius ALignment EXpert (ALEX) system can ensure that the conveyor belts are fitted properly. Voith’s engineers mount ALEX’s 3D sensors to the belt, which pick up any misaligned idlers, garlands or specified idler tracks. ALEX then produces a report that makes specific recommendations on how to fix any pieces on the conveyor belt that are out of place, avoiding belt skewing or damage, material spillage and unexpected downtime. “We developed the BeltGenius line of products in conjunction with a mining company in Germany. This was developed not in a laboratory, but in real-life scenarios at an operating mine,” said Kyle Kluttz, Voith’s vice-president of new business sales. “So in that sense the prototyping was proven through real application.” Voith said using ALEX can lead to a 20 per cent increase in the life of idlers as well as potential energy efficiency gains of more than 10 per cent due to friction losses.