INDUSTRIAL KILN & DRYER GROUP™
KILN & DRYER ROLLER ADJUSTMENTS
Without a real preventative maintenance program, your equipment may be just a step
away from catastrophic failure, costly repairs and replacements. John Ross, with
Industrial Kiln & Dryer Group™, has seen this scenario become reality many times while
on job sites. As OEM certified kiln and dryer maintenance instructor and kiln alignment
specialist, Ross spent over 29 years servicing rotary equipment (kilns, dryers & ball mills)
in the mining, cement, lime, chemical, fertilizer, food, and asphalt industries and has
authored and published several kiln maintenance articles.
Below, he discusses the principles of Kiln & Dryer Roller Adjustments and the importance
of a healthy preventative maintenance program.
Q & A
Q. What are the three main reasons for making roller adjustments on rotary
equipment?
J.R. Primarily, adjustments should be performed with the ultimate goal to control the
axial thrust of the unit, while relieving the thrust pressure on the individual rollers.
Another important reason for regular adjustments is to correct any alignment
imbalances, focusing on OEM‐specified positions for the rollers.
Thirdly, adjustments are conducted in case of mechanical problems with the unit. For
example, a unit with a hot or damaged bearing may have to be adjusted to compensate
for the problematic roller, relieving the thrust on the individual bearing. This, of course,
is an extreme measure, but unfortunately more common than it should be.
Compensating for one individual bearing can cause the others to absorb the load,
increasing wear and failure in other areas. When good preventative maintenance
programs are in place, we notice that such reactionary solutions aren’t necessary.
Q. What are the reasons that a unit will thrust excessively in one direction?
J.R. When we are referring to excessive thrust, it is because the unit is riding against one
thrust roller for extended periods of time. And the most common reason for this
condition is that the rotary unit has not been correctly adjusted and/or has not been
aligned correctly or frequently.
A few other reasons may come into play. The varying types of operational settings or
levels of moisture in the product will increase the weight and/or temperature, thus
adjustments that had been made previously under normal conditions may no longer
apply. In some kilns and dryers, sticky material can cause build ups on the inside of the
shell and cause high loads and temperature changes in the shell. Atmospheric
conditions such as dust, a dirty environment, rain or snow can cause the roller to bite,
adding more stress.
An important note to be made is that some of the operational and environmental
conditions aforementioned may be short lived. This is important to be aware of because
it is best to avoid making a change to the alignment of your unit simply because of
temporary factors. Making only necessary adjustments to the unit will ensure the
alignment remains stable and in the correct position.
Q. How long should the unit thrust in one direction before making roller adjustments?
J.R. It is very important to monitor the unit’s production and watch the unit for changes
in mechanical conditions. We usually ask the control room about the production rate of
the equipment, and whether it is at a normal pace. When production is normal and any
high thrusting is still present after two to three weeks, the first step is to eliminate
temporary factors that might be contributing to the extreme thrust. Once we know that
this is a long term issue that needs to be addressed, we begin changes to the alignment.
Q. What type of wear conditions will affect the thrust of the unit?
J.R. Most common wear conditions are concave and convex wear patterns where the
tire wears in a crowned type pattern and the roller wears in a dished‐out shape as the
tire sits down into it. This should be of concern because it means the tire has been
mechanically locked into place as it wears down into the rollers and can’t move very
well in one direction or another. This can also lead into further thrusting issues and
possibly bearing problems on individual rollers.
In order to minimize the additional thrust on any one roller and distribute the load to
the others, we have to skew the rollers intrinsic to the design of the unit. If you look at
the diagram below, you will notice where, in one case, we put pressure on the downhill
side of the rollers.
A common practice we see often is adjusting only one roller to try to drive the unit. This
happens mainly because it is the easiest to access, or may be the coolest roller in an
extremely hot environment. The result is having a single roller taking on the majority of
the unit’s thrust and, because of its negative long term effects, we do not recommend
this practice.
Another type of wear pattern that can occur over an extended period of time is conical
or tapered. This is a particularly concerning type of wear because it can cause the axis of
the tire to tilt and drive into the retaining blocks, leading to mechanical as well as thrust
problems.
Here are some more wear patterns you may encounter — diagonal marks are
indication of roller maladjustment; a band of pitting marks on one side of the unit can
mean there is too much pressure on that side; and flat spots are noticeable when other
problems arise with the unit, so make sure to look into all possible causes before making
the adjustment.
Q. Do excessive and lack of lubrication affect the thrust of the unit?
J.R. The answer is yes. This is such a big issue when it comes to the proper adjustment of
your unit, and too much or too little lubrication can equally affect the proper operation
of rotary equipment.
There are two different types of lubrication – oil and grease or dry graphite. While some
are still using oil and grease, it is not what we consider best practices for your facility.
This type of lubrication is usually applied in excess and can become extremely slick, with
little or no resistance for the roller adjustments. Excess lubrication will necessitate more
radical adjustments to achieve the desired adjustment of the rollers, while lack of
lubrication will accelerate wear conditions and create unstable thrust conditions.
The lubrication we highly recommend is a dry graphite, best used in block or powder
form. It is more uniform and the results are more predictable.
Q. What are some indicators that the rollers are mis‐adjusted?
J.R. There are three primary signs to look for: temperature, vibration and wear
patterns.
An increase in the temperature in the bearing taking the load is a very strong indicator
of excessive thrust and wear. Unusual vibration signals the bearings are overloading.
Thirdly, we look for specific wear patterns. The unit might present concave or convex
patterns; spalls or metal flaking where the tires are thrusting too hard; diagonal marks
showing a excessively skewed roller; or even flat spots, indicating the gear is bottoming
in the pinion. Any of these signs point to undesirable mechanical conditions and
adjustments will need to be made.
Q. How does misalignment of rollers affect drive amperages?
J.R. When the unit is misaligned, it is working much harder to complete the production
process. With this extra load, drive motor amperage will automatically spike. Therefore,
maintaining and adjusting the equipment timely and correctly will also give you a drop
in drive amperage and a twofold benefit: less wear and less cost.
Q. What is the best way to adjust rollers to not have alignment issues?
J.R. The best way to adjust your unit’s rollers falls within the best practices of alignment
procedures outlined in your OEM specifications. The key adjustment advice we can offer
is to always balance the load between all rollers versus one particular roller. It is a
common practice as well to adjust the height of the gear from bottoming in the pinion
by moving the rollers in on the drive pier. This will eventually cause a misalignment of
the unit that can contribute to wear conditions.
Q. How often should rollers be returned to neutral position?
J.R. We recommend units go back to neutral positioning at least once a year. Industrial
Kiln & Dryer Group™ provides a great alignment tool for quick operations: the T‐Trac™ ‐
TRUNNION TIRE ROTARY ALIGNMENT CORRECTION SYSTEM. Find out more at
http://www.industrialkiln.com/images/TTRAC.pdf
The reason behind neutral positioning is to avoid alignment issues: even if rollers may
appear to be tracking pretty well, they can be skewed in different directions. Excessive
skew on individual rollers will cause wear patterns to develop and will increase the
power consumption to operate the unit. So, from time to time, it helps to regain a
neutral alignment and start over.
Q. Is it necessary to resurface the tires and rollers so roller adjustments can be made
more efficiently?
J.R. The key word here is “necessary.” While this practice is common, we believe it is
overused across industries. One should rarely have to resurface because it involves
continuously removing material and in many cases does not correct the underlying
problem. Excessive resurfacing of the tires and rollers is an indication of more serious
mechanical problems that are affecting the reliability of the unit. Eventually
components such as rollers and tires will need to be replaced because of the material
removal and the “root” cause of the wear problems was never addressed.
Instead, with correct roller adjustment, and scheduled alignment surveys, this practice
can be avoided. IKD specialists recommend keeping up with the roller’s OEM‐designed
hertz pressure in order for the unit to run efficiently. When contact between the tire
and rollers is at less than 80%, the hertz pressure at the contact point will increase
exponentially and accelerated wear will occur.
Q. Is it possible to move the tires off retaining/stop blocks by adjusting the rollers?
J.R. This is another practice that we notice plant personnel attempting in the field and
we do not recommend it. When wear is causing extreme thrust between the tire and
the stop blocks that hold it in place, many will pigeon toe the rollers in to compensate
for the wear. This not only doesn’t correct the issue, but adds to the thrust and
increases the wear rate significantly. Some will also compensate by adding a greater
amount of skew, so much so, that bearings will over‐heat and/or fail and we start seeing
excessive wear patterns.
The only real solution to excessive tire thrust is to correct the wear condition and align
the unit correctly. This can be a matter of simply removing conical wear patterns or can
be as extensive as re‐setting or replacing the structural steel bases under the rollers.
Q. When replacing a roller, is it a good idea to adjust it for contact?
J.R. At IKD, we advise to correct the alignment issues first, before adjusting for contact.
It is not uncommon for the structural steel bases that support the rollers to settle or
become twisted over time. In order to provide correct alignment of the rollers it may be
necessary to shim under pillow‐block style bearings or correct the base slope issues.
This will insure the rollers are aligned properly and that loads are distributed
proportionally.
Q. Should we train all of our maintenance people to adjust rollers?
J.R. Too many people having access to adjusting rollers has historically been a major
problem with maintaining correct roller alignment. It is extremely difficult to keep
reliable records when too many hands get involved and misalignment will occur as a
result. It is best to have only a few key maintenance personnel who have access to
making the actual moves on the rollers.
Q. How important is it to keep a logbook for documenting the roller adjustments?
J.R. This is very important as it allows for continuity of information and record keeping
of what has been adjusted and under what conditions. To minimize errors, provide
continuity and have a planned approach to maintaining desired alignment, kiln users can
avoid costly repairs, minimize downtime and reduce energy costs. This can make it
possible to save tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary maintenance expense over
an extended period of time. It all starts with knowing the equipment and establishing
trends that enable predictive maintenance possible.
INDUSTRIAL KILN & DRYER GROUP™ VISION STATEMENT
We will be a solution provider that adds measurable value to our customer’s operation. To enable
us to accomplish this, Industrial Kiln & Dryer Group will become the leading parts provider to all
markets served, while growing our service capability to cover all processing equipment markets in
North America. While driving toward these goals, we will develop and leverage a zero incident
safety culture and an expanding learning environment that will result in sustainable growth for our
company.
