Product Articles & Guides

Polyurethane (PU) is a synthetic polymer. All of the PU in our belts is thermoplastic, also called TPU, meaning that it can be melted and reshaped virtually indefinitely. PU is a resilient material, designed to last longer on belting than PVC or rubber. PU is much more resistant to abrasion…

Frayed edges can occur when you have unequal distribution of product being carried on your conveyor belt. The unequal distribution causes the belt to sway from side-to-side, prompting the belt edges to rub against the edge of the conveyor system. Belt fray can lead to loss production time, maintenance uptime,…

To maximize economical and efficient conveyor operations, lagging pulleys properly is a critical detail. What is lagging? Lagging is the process of applying a variety of elastomers to the surface of a conveyor pulley. Lagging is generally added to a pulley to increase the traction between the fabric of the…

The critical stacker belts on corrugators are large, expensive, and not easy to work with. A typical installation of a stacker belt will last several years, and great care is taken into consideration when Sparks Mol builds these belts.  Our segmented urethane v-guide has been battle-tested in some of the…

PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) belting offers excellent release and high temperature characteristics.  We offer solid PTFE belts as well as open mesh PTFE belts.  Open mesh PTFE belts are an excellent choice for shrink wrap machines or dryer belts.  Our PTFE belts are custom fabricated with edge reinforcements and a variety of…

Sidewall is corrugated to a specific pitch to provide the flexibility needed for the belt to wrap around pulleys. This reduces the minimum pulley requirement by factoring additional material to handle the stress as the belt bends and pulls the pitches taut at the top.   The synchronization of these…

When it comes to belt tracking, one of the most frustrating situations is when you’ve gone through all the troubleshooting steps and your conveyor belt still refuses to track. You’ve checked that the belt and conveyor structure are square. You cleaned the conveyor and removed debris. The belt still won’t…

A primary reason why a belt will not track is due to the squareness of the belt. Proper squareness will help distribute stress along the splice. To learn how to square a belt, read our article on squaring a belt. Next, check to make sure that the conveyor structure is…

A conveyor belt that is squared properly will have your operations running smoothly. A belt that is not squared correctly can lead to issues such as loss of production time. To ensure that a belt is cut square follow the guidelines below: Once you have verified that the diagonal, length…

Conveyor belts that do not track properly can cause premature wear and tear of a belt, and in some cases cause a production line to be down. Users must go through a series of troubleshooting steps to properly identify the reason a belt is mistracking.   Be on the lookout for…

Wicking is a common term in conveyor belting. You might hear that a belt has anti-wicking properties, but what does that mean? Wicking refers to the travel of liquid across the fibers of a fabric. This siphoning motion differentiates wicking from absorption. Most conveyor belts are made up of a…

Did you make dock shelter doors or high speed roll-up doors? Sparks Mol stocks and is able to fabricate this style of belting. We can also add clear vinyl windows for standard and low-temp applications. Contact us to learn more about our dock shelter doors. Advantages of dock shelters include:

Knowing how to properly measure a belt is critical. Failing to measure a belt properly can lead to loss of production time, material waste, and increase soft costs. Fortunately, measuring a belt is pretty easy and only requires three tools: Many belts can be measured while they are still on…

Sparks Mol’s LED printer uses a hybrid technology that combines UV and inkjet printing to provide vivid colors and details. Here are just a few of our printing solutions: We are able to print on belts that are up to sixty-two inches wide with hundreds of feet of continuous length….

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is a highly versatile synthetic organic compound. Additives, such as plasticizers and colorants, make the options for PVC virtually limitless. PVC is also widely available, making it an economic choice for conveyor belting. The additives that make PVC food grade increase the resilience against fats, oils and…