8 Basic Types of Belt Conveyor and Their Applicati
18th June 2019
1.Roller Bed Belt Conveyor
The surface of this type of conveyor belt is made up of rollers that are selected to match production requirements, such as the weight or required speed of the products that will move along the belt. Shorter belt conveyor that fall under this type can be made up of just two rollers. However, as the distance between the two ends of the belt increases, more will be needed for the belt to function.
A roller bed setup is suitable for when items are loaded onto the belt with gravity. This is because manual loading can cause mechanical shock and damage the rollers. Roller bed belt conveyor are also a good option for transporting items over long distances as they reduce friction, making it easier for products to move along the belt.
You can use these belt conveyor for packing, sorting, assembling, inspecting, and transporting items. Common applications of roller bed belt conveyor include postal sorting offices and airport baggage handling systems.
2.Flat Belt Conveyors
The flat belt conveyor belt is one of the most prevalent conveyor systems in use today. Flat belts are useful for internal conveyance, i.e. transporting items within a facility. This type of conveyor belt uses a series of powered pulleys to move a continuous flat belt, which can consist either of natural material or synthetic fabric (ex. polyester, nylon). Items are placed on top of the moving belt and carried from one end to the other.
Since its belts can be made of different kinds of materials, this type of conveyor belt is incredibly versatile. Optional features include center drives and nose bars depending on the requirements of a given application. Flat belt systems are often the conveyor of choice for industrial environments, wash down areas, and slow assembly lines. Fitted with the right belt, it can also convey small, soft, or irregularly shaped items without damaging them.
3.Modular Belt Conveyors
While flat belt conveyors use a single, continuous loop of material, modular conveyor belt systems use a single loop made of countless interlocked pieces, usually made of hard plastic. These segments can be removed and replaced individually, in contrast to having to discard the entire belt. They’re also easier to wash, as well as more resistant to sharp and abrasive materials. This makes modular belt conveyors simpler to maintain and repair than their flat belt counterparts.
Modular belt conveyors are well-suited to applications that involve travelling around corners. In fact, they can travel straight, go around a corner, and incline and decline using a single belt and the same motor all throughout. Technically, other types of conveyors can also accomplish this feat, but only with much customization and additional costs. Plastic modular belts also allow specific conveyor designs without compromising belt tracking. An example of this is a belt with greater width than length, which provides the support required to handle soft plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and shrink wrapped goods.
This type of conveyor belt can be used to carry food products because it is easy to clean. Spacing between plastic segments are adjustable for applications where fluid should be either drained or retained as it is carried on the conveyor. The segments’ plastic composition also makes this conveyor belt useful for metal detection.
4.Cleated Belt Conveyors
Cleated belt conveyors feature vertical cleats or barriers in their designs. These cleats can keep loose materials secure during inclines and declines, to provide consistent spacing between items, and more. Furthermore, cleats come in different shapes, each with its own application.
An offshoot of the cleated belt is the elevator belt. Designed with regularly spaced partitions or scoops, it is designed to carry loose materials up a steep incline.
5.Curved Belt Conveyors
This type of belt conveyor uses a curved frame to carry items around corners, make tight transfers, or maximize available floor space. These belts’ curves can go up to 180°. True curved conveyors which do not have any straight runs can only use flat belts, as modular plastic belts require straight runs before and after curves.
Curved belt conveyors are often used in bag handling systems to change items’ conveying direction.
6.Incline/Decline Belt Conveyors
Incline belt conveyors are handy for carrying products up or down. These systems can cross over with cleated belt conveyors to transport products to different elevations while keeping them from falling off the line.
Aside from transferring objects between floors, these belt conveyor are also suitable for boosting gravity flow systems.
7.Sanitary and Washdown Conveyors
If you’ve ever observed how donuts are manufactured in their shops, you might have seen this type of conveyor belt in action. Donut shops and other applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries often involve harsh washing and sterilization, in compliance with safety guidelines. Sanitary or washdown conveyors are specially designed to withstand the sanitary procedures for these applications. Conveyors under this type are usually fitted with flat wire belts, which are rugged and easy to clean.
These belt conveyor can carry objects with extreme temperatures straight out of furnaces or freezers. In addition, machines in the food industry in particular must survive running through glaze, breading, or hot oil. Because they can securely handle both wet and greasy items, larger washdown conveyors with flat wire belts are also suited for offloading break bulk goods, like oil drums and crates, from ships.
8.Specialty Belt Conveyor
There are several other kinds of conveyors tailored for different applications, although they are not as common as the previous types. Some of these are:
• Fiberglass belts for extreme temperatures
• Belts fitted with metal nubs to handle machines and their parts
• Narrow-width conveyors for small items
• Back-lit belts to aid with quality control
• Vacuum belts to keep small products on the line despite inclines and high speeds
• Magnetic belts to transport materials that contain iron
• Sandwich belt conveyors, using two face-to-face belts to securely carry items at steep inclines or even up a vertical run
This article comes from elixirphil edit released