conveyor
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What is a conveyor?
A conveyor is a mechanical apparatus designed for moving articles or bulk material from one place to another, often using an endless moving belt or a chain of receptacles. They are used in industrial applications, large farms, warehousing, freight-handling, and movement of raw materials. Conveyors can be short or integrated systems stretching for miles. Examples include gravity-roller, belt, floor, and en masse conveyors. Some conveyors can transport 2,000 to 5,000 tons per hour.
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What are conveyors used for?
Conveyors are mechanical devices used to move materials in various settings, mainly in industrial applications, but also in large farms, warehouses, and freight handling facilities. They can range from a few inches to miles in length.
Different types of conveyors serve specific purposes:
* Gravity-roller: move objects manually or via gravity
* Belt: transport light or heavy loads on a continuous loop
* Floor: drag carts carrying large products or materials for assembly
* Slat: carry items with sharp edges or heavy weights that could damage belts
* Flight: push bulk materials like sawdust and gravel along a trough
* Apron: transport bulk materials without containers on a leak-proof surface
* Vibrating: move objects or bulk materials through vibration
* Trolley: overhead rails carry containers coupled together
* En masse: move bulk materials, preventing leakage or explosion
* Bucket: use buckets attached to chains or belts to carry bulk material
* Screw: move fine bulk material like seed and coal with a revolving shaft
* Pneumatic: use air pressure or vacuum to move bulk material in tubes or ducts
* Tow: handle dollies, trucks, and cars, moving them from one point to another
* Mobile: adaptable for portable use
* Air-float: platforms with air jets for levitation, easily moved in any direction
* Package conveyor: move packages from one area to another usually on an endless belt2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does a basic conveyor move objects from one place to another?
Conveyors are mechanical devices that provide mechanized movement of material. A basic gravity-roller conveyor consists of a series of parallel rollers fastened to a metal frame. The frame can be inclined slightly for gravity flow, but objects and packages may also be rolled along manually. Belt conveyors consist of a fabric, rubber, plastic, leather, or metal belt that forms a continuous loop. The belt is supported either on rollers, for heavy loads, or on a metal slider pan when the load is light enough to prevent frictional drag on the belt. Electric motors provide the power to drive the belt.
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What are some common types of conveyors?
Conveyors are mechanical devices that move materials in industrial applications, farms, warehouses, and freight handling facilities.
Common types include:
* Belt conveyors use fabric, rubber, plastic, leather, or metal belts, powered by a motor-operated roll.
* Slat conveyors utilize endless chains with spaced slats for items that could damage belts.
* Screw conveyors consist of revolving shafts with spiral flighting inside a casing, typically moving fine bulk material in one direction.
* Bucket conveyors use buckets attached to chains or belts for moving bulk materials vertically or inclined.
* Pneumatic conveyors employ air pressure or vacuum to transport bulk materials through tubes or ducts.3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do conveyors help in factories and warehouses?
Conveyors are mechanical devices used in factories and warehouses to provide mechanized movement of materials. They come in various types, including gravity-roller, belt, floor, and slat conveyors, each designed for specific applications and loads.
Conveyors facilitate the efficient transport of materials, reducing manual labor and increasing productivity. In coal mining, for example, conveyors transport coal from mines to barge-loading stations or nearby power plants, traversing difficult terrain with ease. Their ability to continuously transport materials with capacities ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 tons per hour makes them invaluable in various industries.
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conveyor, any of various devices that provide mechanized movement of material, as in a factory; they are used principally in industrial applications but also on large farms, in warehousing and freight-handling, and in movement of raw materials. Conveyors may be only a few inches in length, or they may be integrated systems several miles long.
Gravity-roller conveyors consist of a series of parallel rollers fastened to a metal frame supported at intervals. The frame can be inclined slightly for gravity flow, but objects and packages may also be rolled along manually. Gravity-wheel conveyors are similar but consist of skate wheels instead of rollers and are usually used for lighter loads. Live-roller conveyors are gravity-roller conveyors that are power driven by means of a belt snubbed against the underpart of the rolls or by a chain driving sprockets attached to the rolls.
Belt conveyors of fabric, rubber, plastic, leather, or metal are driven by a power-operated roll mounted underneath or at one end of the conveyor. The belt forms a continuous loop and is supported either on rollers, for heavy loads, or on a metal slider pan when the load is light enough to prevent frictional drag on the belt. Electric motors operating through constant- or variable-speed reduction gears usually provide the power.
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Floor conveyors use chain, cable, or other linkage mounted in or close to the floor in an endless track. They are usually designed to drag a train of four-wheeled carts around in a loop to carry large products or materials for assembly on the conveying system. Power is furnished to the chain by guiding rollers.
Slat conveyors consist of endless chains, driven by electric motors operating through reduction gears and sprockets, with attached spaced slats to carry objects that would damage a belt because of sharp edges or heavy weights.
Flight conveyors have scrapers, or flights, mounted at intervals perpendicular to the direction of travel on endless power-driven chains operating within a trough. Bulk materials such as sawdust, sand, gravel, coal, and chemicals may be pushed along the trough.
Apron conveyors consist of endless chains with attached overlapping and interlocking plates to provide a continuous-carrying surface that forms a leakproof bed suitable for bulk materials without containers.
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Vibrating conveyors consist of troughs or tubes flexibly supported and vibrated by mechanical or electrical means to convey objects or bulk materials; vibration takes place in an inclined, elliptical pattern to cause directional as well as upward movement of the material.
In trolley conveyors an overhead rail carries a series of load-bearing containers (trolleys) that are coupled together on an endless propelling medium such as cable, chain, or other linkage. The trolleys may be hooks, magnets, or various carriers designed for the particular load to be handled. The rails are usually supported by the framework of the plant building.
En masse conveyors use skeletal or solid flights mounted at intervals on a cable or chain power driven within a closely fitting casing. Designed for bulk materials that must be enclosed to prevent leakage or explosion, the conveyors can operate in horizontal, vertical, or inclined positions.
Bucket conveyors consist of endless chains or belts to which are attached buckets to convey bulk material in horizontal, inclined, and vertical paths. The buckets remain in carrying position until they are tipped to discharge the material. Various discharging mechanisms are available.
Screw conveyors consist of revolving shafts with continuous or broken spiral flighting that operates inside a casing. Powered by an electric motor and suitable gearing, the screw conveyor usually operates in one direction only to move fine bulk material such as meal, seed, and coal.
Pneumatic conveyors use air pressure or vacuum to move bulk material in tubes or ducts.
Tow conveyors may be overhead trolley cars or floor conveyors adapted for handling dollies, trucks, and cars, which are locked into the towing chain to be moved from any point in the system to any other point.
Various conveyors may be mounted on mobile supports, particularly gravity roller and wheel conveyors and short belt conveyors, for adaptation to portable use.
During the 1960s, air-float conveyors were introduced consisting of a platform, or pallet, equipped with air jets underneath to provide levitation. Thus supported, the platform can be easily moved in any direction over a flat surface.