Building Redundancy with Reconfigurable Modular Conveyors: Boost Efficiency and Slash Maintenance

Interchangeable modular systems dramatically transform engineering flexible production lines.

From the production floor to the packaging line, every plant relies on countless components working in harmony. While each facility faces unique challenges, common issues—especially conveyor failures—can halt entire operations.

Conveyors are the backbone of manufacturing, yet many companies treat them as simple, low‑impact equipment. Bill Padgett, vice‑president of manufacturing at Custom Bottle, notes, “You don’t think much of a simple conveyor unless it is costing you and creating inefficiencies by breaking down, not working correctly, or contaminating the product.”

When Padgett joined Custom Bottle—a leading extrusion blow‑molder based in Naugatuck, Conn. that supplies pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and personal‑care customers—his primary objective was to boost production efficiency with robotics and automation. However, meetings consistently highlighted conveyor problems: misaligned rollers, belts slipping off track, and fibers shedding onto product.

Standard conveyors demand constant maintenance: frequent belt alignment, routine replacements, and roller lubrication. As belts stretch, they become misaligned, rubbing against parts and releasing microscopic fibers. Padgett explains, “If the belt moves just a little, these fibers get onto the belt and onto your product or even into your resin stream, and neither one is good.”

Even with tight tensioning, small fibers can escape and stick to bottles due to static electricity, compromising printing quality and potentially contaminating the finished product. Such contamination can lead to an entire truckload being rejected.

Padgett believes consistent, profitable production starts with engineering right the first time. “If you don’t do it right, it costs you more to produce than you realize,” he says. The solution, he argues, is to engineer out foreseeable flaws and add redundancy wherever possible. “Manufacturers really sell machine time. If the machines aren’t running, they’re not making money.”

Exhausted by maintenance hours on old conveyors, Padgett turned to Dynamic Conveyor Corporation of Muskegon, Mich., a pioneer of maintenance‑free, reconfigurable DynaCon conveyors.

DynaCon’s proprietary “snap‑in‑place” modules—high‑impact, interchangeable plastic components—offer self‑aligning, slippage‑free belting that eliminates tracking issues. “With our old style conveyors, you would have to adjust the rollers to keep them on track. These DynaCons are self‑aligning and don’t go off track,” Padgett explains.

The transition to a fully DynaCon‑based system took roughly two years. Since then, Custom Bottle has cut conveyor maintenance time by 90 %. “Human error still occurs, and occasional jams can damage a belt segment, but you only replace a single component—half an hour and minimal cost,” he notes.

Under the old system, a single belt replacement cost between $600 and $700. Padgett cautions against buying a new conveyor for a $1,000 upfront savings, noting that maintenance costs would erode that investment within the first year.

The self‑aligning modular belting not only reduced maintenance by 95 % but also eliminated fiber contamination—an outcome that initially attracted Padgett to the system. He quickly realized the design’s capacity for redundancy and reconfigurability.

During automation upgrades, ergonomic changes required different conveyor lengths. Because every DynaCon module is interchangeable, Padgett simply added or removed sections instead of purchasing new equipment.

Reconfigurable DynaCon systems enable manufacturers to engineer redundant conveyors, reducing spare‑parts inventory by standardizing widths and drive motors across lines. “I don’t need many extra conveyors; one drive motor fits most of my lines, and if one fails, I can swap a component from another line,” Padgett says.

For a comprehensive list of items to consider when calculating total cost of ownership, visit www.dynamicconveyor.com/whydynacon. For more information about DynaCon conveyor solutions, contact Dynamic Conveyor Corporation at 5980 Grand Haven Road, Muskegon, MI 49441, or visit www.dynamicconveyor.com.