Troubleshooting and Emergency Handling Tips for Material Jamming and Stalling in Pelletizing Machine Gearboxes

1、 Emergency shutdown and safety confirmation

Immediate shutdown and power outage: Once abnormal jamming or vibration of the equipment is detected, the emergency stop button must be immediately pressed and the power must be cut off. It is strictly prohibited to forcefully start or attempt to pull the gear shaft with tools while in operation.

Confirm the fault location: Remove the coupling between the motor and the reducer, and observe whether the motor can operate normally. If the motor is normal but the input shaft of the reducer cannot rotate, it can be basically judged as internal locking or jamming of the reducer.

2、 Core cause investigation

1. Lubrication system malfunction (most common cause)

Oil shortage or blockage in the oil circuit: Check if the oil pressure, temperature, and flow rate of the gearbox are normal. Observe the position of the oil flow indicator float (unobstructed at the top and blocked at the bottom); Check if the oil suction filter mesh is blocked by impurities and clean or replace it if necessary.

Lubricating oil pump wear: Check whether the internal gears of the lubricating oil pump are severely worn, resulting in insufficient oil supply.

Exhaust hole blockage: If the air hole of the reducer is blocked, causing abnormal internal pressure, the filter needs to be removed for gas cleaning.

2. Material and mechanical jamming

Granulation chamber blockage: Check whether there are hard objects (such as metal sand and gravel) or "pot cake materials" formed by material compaction inside the ring mold. If the gap between the pressure roller and the ring mold is improper or the feeding is uneven, it is very easy to cause the material to be squeezed and stuck.

Damage to transmission components: Check whether the keys and couplings of the reducer are damaged, or whether the damaged area of the gear tooth surface exceeds 20%.

3. Abnormal operating load

Long term overload: Long term overload operation of equipment can cause the temperature of the reducer to be too high (exceeding 80 ℃ -100 ℃), leading to internal locking.

Low voltage: Insufficient power supply voltage can cause insufficient motor power, making it impossible to squeeze out the material from the compression chamber, resulting in material blockage and jamming.

3、 Emergency response and repair techniques

Cleaning the accumulated material in the cavity: After power off, manually turn the disc. If it cannot be turned, it indicates that there are hard objects or material lumps. Thoroughly clean the residual materials on the inner wall of the ring mold and between the pressure rollers, and only attempt to restart after they are thoroughly cleaned.

Adjust the gap between the mold rollers: If the gap is too large and causes the material layer to become too thick, slip, or jam, the machine needs to be stopped and the gap between the pressure rollers needs to be readjusted (usually adjusted to 0.05-0.3mm, in a "seemingly close but not close" state), or the severely worn pressure rollers and ring molds need to be replaced.

Replace damaged parts: If it is confirmed that the lubricating oil has deteriorated, the oil circuit is severely blocked, or the gears/bearings are damaged, new lubricating oil (such as CKC320 medium load industrial closed gear oil) must be replaced and the damaged parts inside the reducer must be repaired or replaced.