Conti's 'Load Sense' advances conveyor belt capabilities

NORTHEIM, Germany—Continental A.G. continues its push toward cloud-based monitoring and predictive maintenance of its conveyor belt systems, launching the new Conti Load Sense system.

According to Continental, the system uses 2D radar to measure material flow on the conveyor belt, offering a more efficient, reliable and safe transport of materials.

"This is what makes Continental so special and strong," Mario Branco, who is responsible for business development for off-highway applications at Continental, said in a statement. "The steady transfer of technology in other products and new areas is really unique and shows Continental's broad positioning."

The Conti Load Sense system has specific application in gravel extraction, one of the most important materials in construction (for concrete), and can boost the output of a quarry up to 100,000 tons per year, the technology company said.

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At a German company-owned gravel plant in Northeim, the extraction of material and loading of the belt maintain an important relationship. With Conti Load Sense, plant operators can use the "deep grab" even more efficiently, Continental said.

Headquartered in Hanover, Germany, Continental has developed other technological tools to address predictive maintenance in its conveyance systems, such as ground-based sensors, lasers and drones.

Conti Load Sense has been implemented in cars and industrial vehicles, and this launch represents the system's first use in the conveyor belt space, according to the company.

The radar and ultrasonic technologies in the Conti Load Sense system work together to scan the aggregate material from different angles, so that the material is loaded evenly—which, in turn, calculates the volume of material to be transported.

"The risk of spilling material is determined by monitoring the belt edge position in relation to the profile of the material," Patrick Raffler, responsible for digital solutions for the conveying industry at Continental, said in a statement. "The load center of gravity on the belt, as well as load distribution, is monitored 24/7 along the entire conveyor length."

Raffler added that data correlation is used to calculate volume flow, as well as monitor overrun and belt skew.

"Belt speed is measured to track belt and load position along the entire length of the conveyor," Raffler said.

Using this important information, quarry operators can increase productivity, according to Continental.

"The plants run more economically due to the automatic material detection, and the radar sensor reports deviations before losses occur, thus preventing follow-up costs," Raffler said, adding that Conti Load Sense is not as affected (as other monitoring systems) by adverse weather conditions or vibration.

According to Continental, the Conti Load System, in conjunction with other measurement sensors, also can measure bulk material volumes, durability and service life.