Flexible Conveyors
Flexible conveyors, also known as accordion conveyors, are material transport and handling devices, much like other industrial conveyors.
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Flexible Conveyor Advantages
There are many advantages to using flexible conveyors rather than traditional conveyors. As aforementioned, flexible conveyors are mobile, collapsible and expandable. Additionally, their compact nature maximizes floor space and allows them to be used in large and small areas. Often equipped with casters, they can be turned around obstacles and moved easily. Conveyors can also be raised and lowered at both ends in order to accommodate for height disparities in between loading and discharge positions. Furthermore, flexible conveyors may be used alone or in conjunction with others, to create a unique, customized system.
Design of Flexible Conveyors
The main feature that sets flexible conveyors apart from the others is the fact that flexible conveyors are portable and follow no set route. Flexible conveyors may be placed wherever they are needed at that time, and pointed in the direction most suitable for the setting. They expand and contract to fit into any warehouse. When they are not needed, they can be folded closed and conveniently stowed. Flexible conveyors can be bent and folded at will like this because of their frames, which are formed in a continuous, hinged, scissor-like arrangement.
Frames of flexible conveyors are mounted on lower sub-frames, equipped with casters that allow the whole assembly to be moved around with minimal effort. A flexible conveyor’s actual transport bed may feature several types of moving elements, such as rollers, casters, an electric motor, or, the conveyor may simply be compelled by nature. In this case, goods and materials slide down the conveyor by the force of gravity. Gravity-fed conveyors are quite economical. Conveyor wheels are often zinc-plated, and they range in number and dimension. Flexible conveyors also vary in their load capacity, overall widths and weights and the heights and lengths to which they can adjust.
Applications for Flexible Conveyors
Applications for which flexible conveyors are well-suited include: truck loading and unloading, distribution center use, packaging, portable assembly lines, shipping and receiving and marine loading and unloading. The industries in which flexible conveyors may be employed include: ready-made food, medical, material handling, pharmaceutical and general manufacturing.