Screw Conveyors

About Screw Conveyors and Screw Conveyor Manufacturers Including: Auger Conveyor, Flexible Conveyors, Flexible Screw Conveyors, Screw Conveyor Systems & Spiral Conveyors.

Screw conveyors are conveyor systems that transport bulk materials from one location to another. Screw conveyors are also known as spiral conveyors, helix conveyors and centerless auger conveyors. In certain applications, screw conveyors may also prove advantageous in the breakdown and agitation of materials. Screw conveyor manufacturers produce conveyors that consist of a rotating, spiral screw within a trough. The rotation of the screw pushes the materials through the trough to the intended destination. The trough is easily emptied and cleaned because of a removable cap that covers the intake end of the conveyor.
 
Screw configuration makes screw conveyors useful in transferring powders, sludge, fuels, ash, feed, cement, ice and certain minerals. In some situations, screw conveyors will even outperform more standard types of conveyor systems. Because the screw will cut through materials during operation, sticky materials, materials that do not breakdown easily or those materials not intended to be broken down are not ideal for screw conveyor systems to process.
 
Screw conveyor manufacturers produce conveyors that are cost-effective and easy to install. They perform the task efficiently and are highly reliable. Screw conveyors can move virtually any kind of bulk material, both free-flowing and non-free-flowing materials and blends. Another advantage is that the only parts that make contact with the material being conveyed are the screw that is driven by an electric motor and the trough that surrounds it, making these conveyors compact and easy to maintain. Materials can usually be moved in any direction, providing variety and options for conveying materials.
 
The selection of screw conveyors depends upon the industrial application, material and material consistency as well as additional operations required of the screw conveyors system. Screw conveyors fabricated by screw conveyor manufacturers are found in numerous industrial applications in the agricultural, food and beverage processing, plastic, pharmaceutical, chemical, mining, oil and gas and construction industries. Because of their gentle handling and blending, screw conveyors can be used to transport a wide variety of materials in many different industries. Some examples of these products include carbon black, caffeine powder, gypsum, ferric sulfate, cocoa beans, flour, garlic powder, epsom salts, vitamins, fiberglass, whey and lead oxide. The possibilities are endless.

Screw Conveyors and Screw Conveyor Manufacturers Image Provided by Flexicon Corporation

Screw Conveyors and Screw Conveyor Manufacturers Image Provided by Aerocon

Types of Screw Conveyors

• Auger conveyors are a kind of screw conveyor that uses a spinning helix.
  
• Conveyors are used to efficiently transport products and materials from one place to another.
  
• Flexible conveyors are pliant screw conveyors that can bend in order to better fit a space.
  
• Flexible screw conveyors move solids and powders in all directions and contain a flexible screw capable of centering itself within the conveyor tube, which prevents scraping of the screw against the tube wall. Because the conveyor motor powers the screw directly, the need for extra components is eliminated, reducing upkeep and maintenance and increasing cost-effectiveness.
  
• Jacketed screw conveyors use substances such as water, oil and steam to provide heating or cooling to transported materials. These conveyors consist of an enclosure surrounding the conveyor trough.
  
• Portable screw conveyors can be transported from one location to another, which increases convenience and efficiency of the industrial application.
  
• Screw conveyor systems use large, rotating screws to move product from one place to another.
  
• Spiral conveyor is another name for a screw conveyor.
  
• Trough screw conveyors are common in the food processing industry, and contain an open channel duct through which the materials are conveyed. Trough configurations allow for easy cleaning, which reduces product contamination.
  
• Tubular screw conveyors protect against material contamination during conveyance, which remains advantageous in industrial applications involving sensitive materials. Tubular screw conveyors consist of an enclosed tube-shaped duct through which the materials are conveyed; unfortunately, tubular screw conveyor configuration may make cleaning difficult.

Screw Conveyors Terms

Conveyor Screw – The driving force of a screw conveyor, consisting of a spiral flight fused to a metal pipe that rotates within the conveyor trough.
 
Discharge End – The point of exit for conveyed materials.
 
Double Pitch Screw – Conveyor screw containing two flights.
 
Flight – The metal spiral ridges or threads on a screw.
 
Flow – A product’s direction of travel on a conveyor.
 
Frame – The structure that supports the various components of the conveyor.
 
Hanger – Screw conveyor mechanism that aids in the correct alignment of the conveyor screws.
 
Helicoid Flighting – Screw conveyor flight that consists of a continuous metal strip configured in a spiral shape.
 
Horsepower – A measure of the time rate of doing work.
 
Inlet Opening – The point of entry for conveyed materials.
 
Liner – A barrier placed between a conveyor screw and a screw conveyor component, such as a trough, to reduce friction between the screw and trough.
 
Long Pitch Screw – Conveyor screw in which the pitch is greater than the diameter of the screw.
 
Motor – The machine on the conveyor that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.
 
Multiple Ribbon Screw – Conveyor screw containing more than one ribbon flight along the length of the screw.
 
Paddle Screw – Conveyor screw containing blades attached at different angles, depending on the industrial application, used for mixing, blending or similar applications.
 
Pitch – Distance between conveyor screw flights.
 
Ribbon Screws – Conveyor screws that contain sectional flighting and are used to prevent sticky conveyor materials from accumulating inside screw conveyor pipes.
 
Sectional Flighting – A screw conveyor flight consisting of individual bends or sections, fused together into spiral form. Sectional flighting is created by inserting a ring in a hydraulic press, and is a durable, yet sometimes expensive, type of flighting useful in tough applications, such as those in the construction and mining industries.
 
Shaft – The portion of the screw that provides support onto the flight to which it is fused.
 
Short Pitch Screw – Conveyor screw in which the diameter is greater than the pitch. Short pitches are used on inclined screw conveyors with slopes measuring 20° or greater.
 
Total Load – The total amount of material being conveyed at any particular moment in time.
 
Trough – A duct inside of which the screw is inserted and through which the materials are conveyed.
 
Variable Pitch Screws – Conveyor screws in which the pitch increases along the length of the screw.