Conveyors

About Conveyors and Conveyor Manufacturers Including: Belt Conveyors, Chain Conveyors, Conveyor Systems, Gravity Conveyors,  Overhead Conveyors, Roller Conveyors, Spiral Conveyors & Vertical Conveyors.

Conveyors are a type of material handling equipment which assist in moving products, packages, foods or equipment from one place inside a facility to another, or through various stages of automated manufacturing or finishing. Because conveyors move such a broad range of items, different conveyor configurations are available to meet the material handling needs of manufacturers and distributors everywhere. Belt conveyors are the most common, followed by chain conveyors, roller conveyors (or "skatewheel conveyors"), overhead conveyors (or "monorail conveyors"), vertical conveyors and conveyor systems which may use combinations of many different conveyor types. Most conveyors are motorized, but some conveyor types, such as roller and chute, are gravity conveyors. Pneumatic conveyors also assist in transporting materials, but these tubular air-powered conveyors specialize in bulk powder solid transportation, a different type of conveying. Manufacturers and package handlers in almost every industry make use of various types of conveyors or conveyor systems to transport parts, products and packages through various processing systems.

The most typical conveyor is the belt conveyor, which consists of a wide polymer or rubber belt wrapped around rollers which turn in the same direction, giving the belt and all objects on the belt linear movement. This same construction is used with chain conveyors, except that chains are wrapped around the wheels instead of a belt; chain conveyors may move products along one chain or multiple parallel chains. These are the most common conveyor types, being used for general product movement in food processing, packaging and parts manufacturing industries to transport items or to move unfinished products through various stages of processing. Chain conveyors are commonly used to move parts such as powdered metal parts through ovens for sintering or drying, or to move unfinished metal parts through parts washing processes.

Roller conveyors are commonly used in these industries as well, using individual rollers placed parallel to one another to provide movement. Vertical conveyors are configured with platforms, buckets, grippers or magnets around moving belts or chains, which lift items from one level to another; although not as common, vertical conveyors can be crucial in facilities where it is necessary to safely transport food items or parts vertically. Parts manufacturers frequently use overhead conveyors to transport parts and products across a facility and/or through processing systems such as spray paint booths, dryers or ovens. Conveyor systems combine many or all of these conveyor types to transport products across a facility or to move unfinished products through automated assembly lines or finishing processes. While most conveyors are powered by electric or pneumatic motors and drive systems, some conveyors are propelled by gravity; roller conveyors are often moved by the inertia of products or packages rolling over them, a design typically used in downward "spiral conveyors".

Conveyor and conveyor system manufacturers are creating innovative solutions to new manufacturing challenges every day. Modern conveyor systems are equipped not only to move parts across horizontal and vertical distances, but also to curve, divert, lift and sort products and packages as part of complete automated systems. These types of advanced conveying processes are done by brushes, magnets, automated levers, rails and even simple gravity. Packaging industries have designed conveyor systems pre-programmed to sort specific boxes into separate chutes, and automated food processing conveyors can handle and sort the most delicate fruits and vegetables using sensors and robotic handlers. When integrated with robotic processing, conveyors and conveyor systems become powerful processing tools.

Conveyor and Conveyor Manufacturers Images Provided by Dorner® Manufacturing Corp.

Conveyor and Conveyor Manufacturers Image Provided by Metzgar Conveyors

Conveyor System Types

• Accumulating conveyors allow for the collection of materials at a given point on the conveyor line, and are common in grouping and sorting operations.
  
• Automated conveyor systems perform conveying functions automatically, instead of through manual operation, saving time and reducing labor costs.
  
• Belt conveyors use a belt to transport materials through the conveying system. Belt conveyors are common in moving light to medium material loads.
  
• Chain conveyors use parallel horizontal chains to move materials through a conveyor system. Chain conveyors are useful when moving bulky materials, but they sometimes produce an inconsistent flow, need to be lubricated and can be loud.
  
• Chain roller conveyors are conveyors that have tread rollers attached to the sprockets, and are driven by a chain.
  
• Conveyor systems are a type of material handling equipment which assists in moving products from one place inside a facility to another and may involve one type of conveyor or a combination of many different conveyor types.
• Decline conveyors are conveyors that move at a downward angle.
  
• Gravity conveyors are conveyors in which objects are manually advanced by gravity, used in applications that require ease of rotation, transportation and accumulation of cartons, boxes and bags.
  
• Incline conveyors are conveyors that move at an upward angle.
  
• Overhead conveyors provide continuous movement of materials overhead, as opposed to standard floor conveying systems. Overhead conveyors save space and are common for moving materials around an industrial facility.
  
• Pallet conveyors consist of portable platforms called pallets that move parts to different locations between industrial operations.
  
• Reversible conveyors are conveyors capable of moving in both directions.
  
• Roller conveyors use round rotating parts called rollers to transport material through the conveying system. Roller conveyers are common in accumulating materials and in converging conveyor systems, in which separate conveyor lines join to form a single conveying line.
  
• Slat conveyors are conveyors that use steel or wooden slats mounted on roller chains to transport products.
  
• Vertical conveyors move materials up or down instead of traditional horizontal movement, and are common in applications with limited available space. Reciprocal vertical conveyors move materials up or down and return to the initial starting point; continuous vertical conveyors move materials to different levels without returning to the initial point.