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What is Conveyor System?

A conveyor system is one part of mechanical handling equipment that transports materials from one place to another.

Conveyors are a common sight at airports, scrapyards, and many other locations. They are useful wherever items need to be transported and fed from one place to another, making the process easier, faster, and more convenient. Industrial conveyors are similar to these but are designed to withstand large workloads, and extreme weather conditions, as well as moving in different directions and at odd angles.

If it were not for conveyors, materials would have to be fed manually which involves hiring labor and creates its own set of human resource challenges. Human labor is a lot less efficient and not very cost-effective in the long run. In order to overcome these and other challenges, commercial conveyors are used in a variety of industries like food, pharmaceuticals, warehouses, manufacturing, transportation as well as recycling.

What are the Different Types of Conveyors?

Conveyors come in various sizes and shapes. These variables change depending on the type of industry where they are used. Some of the common types include:

  • Chain Belt Conveyors
  • Steel Belt Conveyors
  • Slider Bed Conveyors
  • MRF Sorting Lines

Related Article: Different Types of Conveyor Belts

How Does a Conveyor Belt Work?

Conveyor belts are crucial to the effectiveness of many industrial processes, yet their operation may be summed up quickly. A conveyor belt is essentially a very wide belt that resembles a very large rubber band attached to rollers in the form of a loop coupled to motor-driven rotors. The conveyor belt, which is the loop in the design, is constructed from a variety of strong and long-lasting materials.

  • Pulley:

The part of the conveyor belt that moves around the drive shaft and allows the belt to move in one direction or another.

  • Roller:

These rollers support the weight of the product on the belt and allow it to move smoothly over them when they are not being used by a product or load. They can also be used for transferring power to other parts of the machine.

  • Drive Shaft:

The part of the conveyor belt that is connected to an engine or motor provides power to turn it into motion or keep it moving forward when needed.

Detailed Video on What is a Conveyor System and How It Works

What are the Benefits of Conveyors?

As mentioned above, conveyors are a huge enhancement over using human labor to perform the activity of feeding. Other than this, here are some more benefits of using a conveyor system:

  1. Conveyors designed with inclination allow materials, both big and small, to be moved from one elevation to another easily. This saves a lot of time.
  2. Conveyors offer unlimited opportunities to continuously load and unload items over a long period of time.
  3. Large factories will have requirements where materials need to be moved between multiple levels or floors. Conveyors can be designed to transport materials across levels, with almost no limitation on height.
  4. Conveyors with automated incline belts can automatically unload materials, eliminating manual unloading. This also means that no time is wasted in monitoring material unloads.
  5. Conveyors allow careful control of the speed at which materials are moved. That means there are fewer chances of something breaking and causing loss due to handling issues.
  6. Conveyors can move in both directions. This is very useful when materials need to be moved between opposite ends of a manufacturing unit during the manufacturing process.

What are The Uses of Conveyor Belts?

Bulk Materials

Conveyor belts are commonly used with bulk materials, including food items, grains, and other materials. There are many benefits to using a conveyor belt with bulk materials. Conveyor belts can help reduce the time it takes to move bulk materials from one location to another. They can also help reduce the manual labor required to move the materials. In addition, conveyor belts can help to protect the materials from damage during transport.

Ship Loading and Unloading

The conveyor belts are used for the purpose of loading and unloading goods from ships. These belts carry the goods to a particular place on shore, where they are stored in special warehouses. The belts are designed in such a way that they can carry heavy loads easily without causing any damage to them. It also helps in keeping track of the goods that are being loaded onto ships, so that there is no loss of any kind during transportation.

Line Automated Assembly

Conveyor systems used in assembly operations are made specifically to meet their needs. Belt conveying systems are being constantly developed to meet the many computerized innovations, and operational demands as more and more assembly operations use robotics and automated processes. Chain, slider, hinged, plastic belt, and pallet conveyors are among the different types of belt conveyors used in automated assembly lines. 

Luggage Transport

Luggage transport is an important use of a conveyor belt. The luggage can be loaded onto the conveyor belt from one side, and then unloaded on the other side. This is particularly useful for large bags, as it means that people do not have to carry them around with them wherever they go.

Parts Belt Conveyor

To transport hot, oily, and pressed parts from forging machines to hoppers, storage bins, and drums, parts belt conveyors are constructed with hinged steel belts. Due to their sturdiness, strength, and rigidity, piano hinges are frequently used. Due to the mass and density of the part loads, the belt must be constructed from materials that are resistant to shock and impact, and it must have sidewalls to stop part spillage.

Where are Conveyors Used?

Conveyors are used in almost every industry where materials need to be moved including bottling plants, recycling centers, plastic making factories, and so on. They can be used in every industry which has some kind of process requiring the movement of items and materials at regular intervals in a cyclical fashion.

The primary advantage of conveyor systems is that they automate a lot of human tasks that are associated with the manufacturing and transportation of materials. This includes tasks like feeding, moving, loading and unloading materials. If your company or factory has any of these requirements, an industrial conveyor is definitely something you should invest in.

How to Select the Right Conveyor For Your Business?

Product Requirements

In order to choose the right conveyor system for your facility, you need to know what kind of product you will be moving and how much weight it will be carrying. If you have heavy products that need to be moved quickly, you should invest in a high-speed belt system with multiple lanes and large hoppers. However, if your products are lighter and don’t need to travel as fast, then it might make more sense for you to invest in a slower belt system with fewer lanes but larger capacity chutes.

Safety

Safety is the first factor that you should consider when you buy a conveyor. Conveyors carry soft materials that are not all harmful, but they also carry heavy items that can be detrimental. These kinds of hazards make safety an important factor for your employees who operate the conveyor belt and work around it. Your conveyor system should also have an automatic shutdown system which is triggered, as well as indicators that set off visual and audial alarms, in case something goes wrong. Also, following some safety practices will help reduce conveyor belts related safety risks.

Ease of Maintenance

A conveyor has almost as many moving parts as the materials that it carries. The conveyor also tends to move the materials in a different direction, across different levels, so there are lots of chances and room for things to break down. If your conveyor system fails, then it will probably make your whole company grind to a halt.

This makes it all the more important for you to conduct timely maintenance and repairs. But make sure that every single component that goes into the upkeep of your conveyor is certified by corresponding regulatory companies. Your conveyor should be able to run for long periods of time without requiring any constant attention or supervision.

Energy Consumption

The two main costs associated with all types of machinery are their energy consumption and maintenance. If you have already understood the maintenance part, then it is best to find a conveyor that is more energy efficient as well. Ask your supplier or manufacturer about energy consumption for a specified duration, such as “per hour consumption.”

Modularity

Modularity is another factor you should consider when shopping for a conveyor. It allows you to reconfigure your conveyor according to your needs since the operating conditions and the amount of space in your office may change in the future. Having modularity with your conveyor is helpful as it allows you to modify it as well as additional parts to it.

How to Track a Conveyor Belt?

Conveyor Belt Tracking

The most challenging aspect of installing and maintaining material handling systems is correctly tracking a conveyor belt, but this is also one of the most important tasks. If the belt isn’t properly aligned and then controlled, it won’t follow the intended path, which could disrupt or delay the operation. 

The 3-Step Process for Conveyor Belt Tracking

As discussed above, snub rollers or idlers should be used for steering the belt. Make small adjustments and keep testing the result, starting with the idlers closest to the end of the conveyor and working your way toward the centre.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Loosen the Idlers: Loosen the roller by locating the set of bolts that’s closest to the tail pulley and loosening them. This step needs to be performed while the conveyor is running.
  2. Adjust the Bolts: Gently tap the bolts using a rubber mallet, in the direction toward which you want to steer the belt for instance, if you want the conveyor to move to the left. Re-tighten the bolts once the snub roller moves into the correct position, and the belt will track towards the centre within 7-10 revolutions.
  3. Repeat Steps 1 & 2: Continue adjusting the snub rollers until the centres of the belt and end pulley are within a quarter inch of each other. With longer belts, you may need to adjust more snub rollers.

Other Ways to Keep Your Conveyor Belts Running Smoothly:

  • Keep Your Belt, Rollers, and Pulleys Clean
  • Check Your Bearings
  • Check Your Pulley Alignment and Wea
  • Inspect for Belt Slippage
  • Ensure that the Conveyor Motor and Drive Fit Your Application
  • Replace Worn Out Parts and Keep the Spare Parts Hand
  • Keep Your Motor Clean
  • Set Your Conveyor to Pull Rather a Than Push
  • Implement a Regular Maintenance Program

Get in touch with our conveyor belt experts at Compactor Management Company for further assistance in choosing the right conveyor belt for your company today!

Video credit: Design World