In past blogs, we have touched on how convenient it is to bring your endless splicing in house. But did you know that you could increase your efficiency by bringing belt prep in house? Having the right press for your belt splicing is a critical element of decreasing downtime, but this can be taken a step further when you have the capability to punch your own fingers. Some companies purchase the belt with pre-cut fingers, which is a more expensive option and also limits the flexibility of spare belting since it has to be pre-punched in specific lengths.
In-house punching capabilities allow you to gain the advantage of ordering belting in bulk, which is a more of cost effective option than pre-punched and individual lengths of conveyor belt.
So how do you prepare belt ends for finger splicing? By using a tool specifically designed to make this process quick, easy, and portable. A tool designed specifically to effortlessly punch fingers into polyurethane and PVC conveyor belts for quick and easy installation of endless splices is a great option for limiting downtime in your facility.
Because of its easy set-up and manual operation, the Novitool® Pun M™ Mobile Finger Punch from Flexco is an ideal tool for punching at the conveyor system to achieve accurate splices quickly. The Pun M is manually operated and does not need electricity or air pressure. The punching force of 50kN (11,000 lbs.) is created by pulling the lever, and is easily done with one hand by the average person. 
to see how quickly and easily this can be done.
To see the value of in-house punching and splicing, let’s take a look at how it helped a large, global confectionery that found itself either calling their conveyor belt provider and waiting at least three hours for them to get to their site, or using their own tools to join their belts.
The downtime spent while waiting for the provider was detrimental to the confectionery’s bottom line, and the engineering group found the conventional presses to be heavy to move, with too many attachments. Every moment spent preparing the press for endless splicing and waiting through the lengthy cooking and cooling cycle was money lost.
The engineering team knew there had to be a better way. After researching their options, they organized a site demonstration conducted with four different shifts. The team operated both the Pun M Mobile Finger Punch and the Novitool® Aero® Splice Press and completed internal assessments to present to their engineering manager. The engineering manager was pleased with the findings and the confectionery purchased a Pun M 900 finger punch complete with 70x15 finger boards – both straight and bias – and an Aero 1500.
When the results were in, the decision was easy. Fingers were punched on the spot with the Pun M, with workers finding the tool easy to use. The Aero Press completed the joining of the belt in approximately half the time of the conventional press. This 50 percent time reduction meant the Maintenance Engineering team could complete their task and move on to another job quicker and without having to wait 3+ hours for an outside splicing crew to arrive. The team also appreciated the portability of both tools and their ability to provide quality, consistent punches and splices with every use.
This example is just one of the many reasons bringing endless belt prep and splicing in house is a good decisions. Our E-Book: In House Belt Splicing: Limiting Downtime in Your Food Processing Plant gives you a host of other reasons for letting your maintenance team take charge of your conveyor belts. 
to download it today!
Authored by: Michelle Graves, Product Manager
Graves manages the overall global business, market plans, technical support, and activities associated with the light-duty belting market for the Novitool® product line, including new product development, market analysis, and global strategy. Graves holds a bachelor’s degree from Albion College as well as a master’s degree from Grand Valley State University.