SAFETY BELT

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 9th Year

Issue

Issue No.

5

Date Released

Jan 1956

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1ALARM
2. 2EMERGENCY WINDER
3. 3SAFETY BELT
4. 4JAZZ

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 4

Summary

BFI synopsis: the manufacture of a P.V.C. conveyor belt at Northampton
NCB Commentary - Underground conveyor fires in British Mines are rapidly becoming things of the past.
Since the disastrous Creswell fire, Coal Industry Scientists have been working at top speed to produce a truly non-inflammable belting.
This Northamptonshire factory is one of several turning out plastic coated belting to re-equip the Nation’s collieries.
This white resin is the basic raw material and, by a prophetic coincidence, it is itself a by-product of coal. Mixed with a liquid plasticiser the white powder becomes a doughy looking plastic. This is P.V.C. in the making. Rolled and re-rolled under heat and pressure in successive machines, it eventually emerges in the form of a thin but tough plastic sheeting.
A check by Micrometer makes sure that its thickness falls between permitted limits.
This pliable sheeting is enormously tough and resilient and will be the outer coating of a finished conveyor belt. The foundation of the belt is treated canvas.
First the canvas is impregnated with liquid plastic material. Now rolls of canvas and rolls of P.V.C. sheeting are sandwiched together into one strip which rolls off the machine 24 hours a day at the rate of 180 ft. a minute.
Rough edges are trimmed off the belting to bring it down to one of the required sizes, and then in 300 ft. rolls the belting goes on to its final process - the sealing of the edges to protect them from wear and damage.

Researcher Comments

This story had the provisional title, ‘Conveyor Belting’.

Keywords

Industry and manufacture; Mining

Locations

England; Nottingham

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
The National Archives COAL 32   /3 Scripts for Mining Review, 1949-1956

Credits:

Production Co.

Documentary Technicians Alliance

Sponsor

National Coal Board