Installation and Integration

Spiral Installation

Most Ryson Spirals are shipped in one piece pre-assembled and pre-tested, thereby drastically reducing the time and cost of installation. Certain spirals will for shipping purposes be delivered with some components detached. They include spirals equipped with extended in-feed and out-feed tangents or spirals with a diameter larger than 8 feet. Consult the manual supplied with your spiral for more information. All spirals are shipped in an A-frame equipped with casters. This facilitates easy unloading and transfer to the installation area. Two reinforced fork pockets are provided in the center tube at the bottom end of each spiral. These pockets are clearly marked and will safely facilitate horizontal forklift handling. The top end of the center tube is used for rigging when standing up the spirals.

Download the Ryson Spiral Installation Guide

Spirals shorter than 16 feet

Unloading Spiral

• Only use the two reinforced fork pockets provided in the bottom end of the center tube when unloading and transporting the spiral

Transporting Spiral

• Lift the pocket end of the spiral and move carefully while the transport frame (with casters) is supporting the opposite end.

Standing Up Spiral

• The top end of the center tube is used for rigging when standing up the spiral. Use only properly rated wire rope or chain slings. Use a forklift or boom truck. Use a second forklift to assist and to make sure the spiral clears the floor when lifting. Use only properly rated poly slings or straps.
• Caution: Check to make sure all slings and straps are properly secured before lifting.

Install Legs

• Remove transport legs and install the spiral support legs (bolts down)while the spiral is hanging. Remove transport frame when spiral is standing.

Spirals taller than 16 feet

Unloading Spiral

• Only use the two reinforced fork pockets provided in the bottom end of the center tube when unloading and transporting the spiral.

Transporting Spiral

• Lift the pocket end of the spiral and move carefully. A second forklift is required to maneuver and turn the spiral in tight area.

Standing Up Spiral

• The top end of the center tube is used for rigging when standing up the spiral. Use only properly rated wire rope or chain slings. Use a boom truck or crane. A crane is necessary for spirals above 24 feet. Use a second forklift to assist and to make sure the spiral clears the floor when lifting. Use only properly rated poly slings or straps.
• Caution: Check to make sure all slings and straps are properly secured before lifting.

Install Legs

• Remove transport legs and install the spiral support legs (bolts down) while the spiral is hanging. Remove transport frame when spiral is standing.

Conveyor Controls (section 4.1.1)

• The controls must be designed to prevent unintended accumulation and prevent product back-ups in the spiral.
• The controls should be set up in a cascading control method.
• The in feed conveyor should not start until the spiral is running at full speed.
• The spiral must stop anytime the out feed conveyor is full or stopped.
• We recommend the use of a photo-eye to detect when the out feed conveyor is full, thereby preventing loads from backing up into the spiral.
• We recommend a local, slow speed jog station, to facilitate easy maintenance

Conveyor Speeds (section 4.1.2)

• The speeds of the in-feed, spiral and out-feed conveyors must be matched. Max. speed 200 fpm.
• A speed differential between these conveyors will lead to premature wear of the friction inserts and the chain assembly.

A VFD is required (section 4.1.3)

• A VFD (variable frequency drive) is required for the proper operation of the spiral.
• The spiral controls must utilize an acceleration of a minimum 3-5 sec. Longer ramp-up may be needed for taller spirals and heavy loads.
• The spiral controls must utilize a deceleration of a minimum 3 sec.

Gap between Loads (section 4.1.4)

• There must be a gap between the loads when they enter the spiral.
• The minimum gap should be ¼ of the product length, but a larger gap may be required for spirals with heavy loads to prevent spiral overloading.
• The spiral cannot be used to pull a gap between loads.

Conveyor Transitions (section 4.1.5)

• The loads must be powered in and out of the spiral.
• The use of gravity conveyors is not recommended as they do not assure a proper gap between loads.
• Loads must be positioned within the slat width prior to entering to the spiral
• Product should be properly turned prior to entering to the spiral
• The in-feed conveyor should be 1/8” to 1/4 higher than the spiral.
• The out-feed conveyor should be 1/8” to 1/4 lower than the spiral.
• The transition rollers on the Ryson Spiral are independently adjustable at the in-feed and out-feed.

Proximity Sensors (section 4.2.5)

• Two proximity sensors are utilized on the Ryson Spiral to monitor faults associated with a slack chain or a motor over-torque condition.
• These proximity sensors must be wired as inputs to the control PLC and programmed as fail-safe devices.
• Loss of a signal is a fault and the PLC program should immediately (no time delays) shut down the spiral.
• These faults also need to be programmed as latching manual reset faults which require an operator to reset the controls before the spiral can be re-started.
• Sensors must be hooked up according to the supplied vendor schematics as they can be damaged if hooked up improperly.
• The following are the Turck sensor schematics (below) which is the Ryson standard.

Motor Brakes (section 4.4)

• Most spiral applications do not require a brake. For taller spirals with heavy loads, a brake is used to prevent rollbacks and drifting when the spiral is stopped.
• The brake must be powered with a dedicated power source separate from the motor.
• The motor is powered by the VFD and the motor voltage is ramped-up at start-up, but is not sufficient to fully release the brake.
• The brake must be released (powered) before the motor is started and set (de-energized) after the motor has come to a complete stop.
• Brake coils from SEW Eurodrive are available in different voltages. Please consult the manual supplied with your spiral for the proper brake voltage.

Chain Tensioner adjustments (section 6.2)

• An automatic chain tensioning device has been provided to assure that the chain stays in tension at all times.
• Operation of the spiral with insufficient chain tension will cause the spiral to malfunction and have premature wear.
• The tensioner bar position must operate at an angle between 0º (horizontal) and 10º.
• The compressed spring should measure between 5 and 6-1/2 inches.
• The tensioner flag should operate between the green and red markers.
• The slack chain proximity sensor should be adjusted so that the spiral shuts down if the tensioning bar falls below 0º (approximately 2” from the top of the flag to the bottom of the proximity sensor face).

Air Cylinder chain tensioners (section 4.5)

• Air cylinders are used instead of the standard spring tensioning device on very tall spirals and with heavy loads or spirals supplied with the reversible option.
• All air cylinders will have a low air pressure switch, which is used to monitor the supply air and should be hooked up as a N.O. (normally open) device and programmed as fail-safe to shut down the spiral with a latching, manual reset fault.
• Non-reversible spirals will have one regulator which should be set to 10-15 PSI for proper tension.
• Reversible Spirals will have a 4-way solenoid valve (24V DC or 110v ac), a shuttle valve and two regulators. The forward (up) direction regulator is to be plumbed to the N.C. (normally closed) porting of the 4-way solenoid valve and the forward regulator set to 10-15 psi. The reverse (down) regulator is to be plumbed to the N.O. (normally open) port of the 4-way solenoid valve and the reverse regulator set to 15-20 psi.
• The reverse direction of the spiral should be at slow speed, not to exceed 60 fpm.

Motor Overload Adjustments (section 6.5)

• An overload protection device with a proximity sensor has been provided to stop the spiral in case of overloading or jamming of the spiral chain
• The drive motor is mounted on a torque arm bracket with a spring assembly. The spring applies a torque resistance which can be adjusted to the desired torque limit.
• The torque assembly will pivot when torque exceeds a pre-set limit set by the amount of spring compression.
• The torque resistance should be set for maximum protection without impeding regular operation.
• The proximity sensor can also be adjusted vertically and horizontally for more or less torque sensitivity.

This is an abbreviated list. Please refer to the maintenance manual for more details. The Ryson service department is always available to assist with installation and service questions. Feel free to call 757.898.1530 or e-mail service@ryson.com with questions.