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Gravity Conveyor |
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| Wheel Conveyor, more commonly referred to as skate-wheel, is used primarily for portability and cost and is generally used for temporary lines and is available in steel or aluminum or a combination of the two. All-aluminum construction is light and portable but the more expensive. Steel, while being heavier will take more abuse. Standard widths (outside to outside of frame) are 12”, 15”, 18”, 21”, 24”, and 30” depending on the manufacturer chosen. Wheels are staggered for product stability, turn easy requiring less of a grade for motion, and on a curve, the package will maintain its orientation. |
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| Flexible Wheel Conveyor can have a compaction ratio of 3:1 or 4:1 depending on capacity requirements. Allows for maximum flexibility in the path and is ideal for trailer load/unload, temporary lines, or permanent lines requiring regular access through the conveyor path by mobile equipment or other heavy traffic. A flat bottom to product being conveyed is a requirement for successfully using this style of conveyor. |
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| Roller Conveyor is used for a variety of purposes including assembly lines, picking lanes, staging products, accumulating product at discharge end of process, etc. Common roller diameters are 1”, 1 3/8”, 1.9”, 2”, 2 ¼” 2 ½”, 3 ½”, and progress in diameter to suit any special application. Wall thickness (gauge) is matched to diameter, length, and weight requirement. For common package conveyor, the 1.9” x 16 gauge is widely used. Widths can be whatever is required (this measurement is referred to as “between frame”). Each manufacturer has its own standard “BF” though and any deviation may be priced higher. Most have settled on similar sizes so finding commonality is not hard. Curves can have straight rollers if product orientation is not important but a tapered roller is recommended to maintain orientation and facilitate flow. Frames are generally formed channel but structural is also readily available. In both instances, capacity is based on support spacing and roller capacity. This holds true for all types of conveyor. |
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Powered Roller Conveyor |
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| Line Shaft Conveyor is powered by a single drive shaft using a urethane twisted belt from the shaft to the roller.Plastic spools are mounted on the drive shaft with the belts reeved over similar to a pulley. This not only drives each roller but allows for low pressure accumulation of the product as the coupler will slip on the shaft allowing the roller to stop. Line shaft conveyors are modular, economical and easy to maintain. They are ideal for application having a smooth, flat bottom surface in a transport situation while offering accumulation where required. Rollers can be skewed to position the load and dwell points for work stations can be created by twisting the belts in an area, reversing the rotation to stop the product. A push to move the product downstream is all that’s required when the operator is ready. Curves can be powered by coupling to drive sections. |
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| Live Roller Conveyors are driven by flat belt, v-belt, or chain and typically used for transport or zone accumulation/indexing. Line shaft conveyor falls into this category but is addressed separately above. A flat belt conveyor will have a belt running under the conveying rollers forced against these rollers by snub rollers located beneath. Force can be increased or decreased by adjusting the snub rollers.V-Belt drives are basically the same in operation but a snub sheave bolted to the frame takes the place of the snub roller. This type of drive is commonly used in live roller curves. These conveyors generally are capable of carrying heavier loads than line shaft. |
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Chain drive roller conveyors are driven by chain and sprocket located at the end of the roller. They tend to be wider than the other types but are capable of transporting pallet loads or other heavy loads. Accumulation is required to provide for a surge in products between two points or to create a queue for batch processing. Zero pressure zone accumulating conveyors are available in flat belt drive and chain drive. They are designed with zones that activate by sensing upstream accumulation and activate through rocker arms or sensors to disengage the roller accumulation zone from the belt or chain. Unlike line shaft where the products accumulated against each other, there are unique zones for each item and it is ideal for fragile or uneven items. Product can be released at discharge end in a slug (all product downstream sent at once) or indexed (one at a time). Zone lengths should be established for the largest product size.
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| Powered Belt Conveyors are used for straight transport, elevation changes or for a product that needs to be controlled or has a surface unsuited to other forms of conveyance. There are two types of belt support; roller and bed or “slider bed”. With slider bed, the belt slides on metal and is used for lighter loads or where there is some impact loading. Roller beds are used primarily for heavier loads or longer sections where the cumulative load is greater. Incline or decline, the angle of transition and product will dictate design criteria. Belt design and material will be dependent on the application and environment. |
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| Hinged steel belt conveyors are used mainly in manufacturing environments for conveying chips, slugs or other metal waste from a process machine. They will stand up to sharp metal and machining coolant and the in-feed portion can be submersed in a quench tank with the use of rust inhibitors. Slat conveyors are used for heavy weights and where the need to control the product or irregular carrying surfaces are evident. |
| Special Application Conveyors cover a wide variety of operating requirements and environments. Food grade applications in a caustic wash-down area require stainless steel and/or plastic and aluminum will be acceptable in many instances. Floor to floor transport in less space may require a vertical reciprocating or vertical continuous conveyor. Special high angle parts conveyors for bowl feeders, wire mesh belt conveyors for hot parts, and special rubber belt curves are readily available to suit specific needs. Plastic chain belt conveyor is used in food grade applications and in transporting small parts as well as in some automation systems. |
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