How To Select A Conveyor Roller

Conveyor systems have become an important mechanical handling equipment in majority of the industries and factories. They are used for transportation of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow quick and efficient transportation of a wide variety of materials, which has made them very popular in material handling and packaging industries. Many kinds of conveying systems are available and are used according to various requirements of various industries. Roller conveyors are also a type of conveyor system.

Here are some factors you should keep in mind when purchasing a conveyor rollers:

1.       When you are choosing conveyor the first step is to conduct a detailed review of the conditions like product conditions, transport volume conditions, work conditions, loading conditions.

2.       Choosing the width of the roller accurately is very important, the width should be selected based on the outer dimensions of the products being transported. It should be chosen by adding at least 50 mm to the width of the bottom surface. Products whose bottom surface is wider than the roller width can be transported as long as their bottom surface is flat. 

3.       The impact load on the rollers varies with the work method associated with the loading conditions. Choose a roller type that can withstand the impact and is reliable and durable. 

4.       Choose the roller pitch so that the bottom surface of the products being transported is always supported by at least three or four rollers. Take special care to ensure that the load on any given roller does not exceed the allowable load. 

5.       The frame and leg pitch should be chosen according to certain specifications that is on linear sections there should be one leg every 1,500 to 2,000 mm. On the curves of 45 degree or greater there should be one single leg in the middle of the section. For a more detailed indication of leg spacing, convert the product weight per meter and choose a leg pitch so that the allowable load is not exceeded. 

6.       The slope of the conveyors varies according to different factors such as the state of the bottom surface of the product being transported and their construction and weight.

The Perfect Tool For Material Handling - Chain Conveyors

Conveyor systems have been a major revolution in the field of material movement. It has been proven to be very useful and effective for moving materials. It is generally utilised for transporting materials between the specific points over the fixed path. Conveyors are available in various options which can be employed depending on the requirements of the materials to be moved. One of the most efficient type of conveyor systems is chain conveyor, they are used in virtually any industry or company that has to move parts, assemble products or transport heavy objects. 

The link arrangement of the chain conveyor makes it very flexible and hence it can be utilised for various purposes. The chain conveyor can be placed in a small space in such a way that it will provide the needed movement of parts while using a series of turns throughout the assembly. This is accomplished with through the placement of aluminium side rails which support the chain arrangement. Each link in the conveyor holds importance and is used to move materials, parts or products that are either suspended or firmly within the links of the chain. Normally moving the materials from one place to the next using manual labour will be very tedious and time consuming, but the same can be achieved by chain conveyors without much inconvenience and wastage of time. 

Structure of the chain conveyor:

Talking about the structure of chain conveyors, they come with single or multiple assemblies of chain which can directly support the load of the materials being transported. It is perfect to be utilised for transporting pallets and tote boxes. Also, the conveyor can be used for transporting beer or other bottling plants. 

Usage of chain conveyor:

The chain conveyor actually becomes the primary part of any industry that is aiming for mass production. It is able to move parts to assemble products and also to move the materials and bulky components through a plant setup that makes them indispensable in the modern assembly lines. In majority of assembling industries like bottling or auto makers, such conveyor includes the entire length of the plant that starting at the entrance. Thus, it is hooking up the parts and also terminating at the exit where all the finished goods were put out.

Trough Conveyors : The Most Effective Means Of Moving Bulk Materials

As the title itself suggests it is indeed a fact that trough conveyors are the most the important and efficient means of moving heavy duty or bulk materials.  They are designed to leverage the open frame and trough effect of the rubber belt to fully contain the load of materials. Such conveyors are used to move items that are at least 500lbs. It makes the handling and transportation of such heavy equipments or products very easier and more time effective. Some of the heavy duty conveyors out there can move as fast as 75 feet/minute. 

Troughconveyors are the most commonly used and effective means of moving bulk materials because they are in made in such a way so as to convey high tonnage of material, handle gradual curved concave or convex incline path over long runs, convey horizontal and up to 28 degree straight incline relying on the product and it requires very little maintenance.

There are endless benefits of using trough conveyors to move bulk materials from one place to the next, some of them are listed below:

     1.     Such conveyors are adept of handling a vast number of bulk materials ranging from very fine to large lump sizes. Very fine materials such as Portland cement are transported on it also large lump size materials such as coal is also transported from mines using trough conveyors.

     2.   Heavy duty conveyors can be designed to handle capacities for any operation. It is common for such conveyors to unload ships at capacities up to 10,000 tons per hour. They can also be designed to transport a small amount of material between processes. 

    3.   Such conveyers can be used for almost any kind of application. It can convey a material horizontally, on an incline or a combination of both. 

    4.   Such conveyors can be utilised to stock-pile or reclaim bulk materials. Radial stackers are used for creating large piles of materials such as wood chips, coal or ore. The conveyors are present under the piles to carry the materials into the plant for processing. 

    5.    Such conveyors have proven to be a reliable method of conveying bulk materials. Industry standards for the design of trough conveyors have been developed and they keep updating it according to industry's changing standards.

Versatile And Functional Conveyors : Flexible Conveyors

It is very obvious a fact that fixed conveying solutions are not always adequate, there are some industries out there that need to have flexible and extendable conveying solutions, flexible conveyors are the perfection solution for all such problems. A flexible conveyor is based on a conveyor beam in aluminium or stainless steel, with low friction slide rails guiding a plastic multi-flexing chain. The products to be moved travel directly on the conveyor or on pallets/carriers. Such conveyors can be worked around obstacles and keep production lines working. They are efficiently made at varying levels and hence they can be employed in various work environments. They are used in various industries like food packaging, case packing and pharmaceutical industries and also in some retail stores. 

Flexible conveyors are distinguished in two main types and they are as follows:

Flexible Gravity Skatewheel Conveyor:

The flexible gravity skatewheel conveyor is a very proficient piece of equipment that can expand up to four times its collapsed length. It is perfect for loading and unloading trucks, this type of conveyor is used in many types of industries including; postal, warehousing and distribution, manufacturing and cross docking. Often the setup will have a 4 degree to 7 degree decline to enable to packages flow by gravity. Skatewheels by design do not take much energy to get the product moving. Flexible gravity conveyor is also many a times utilised for seasonal operations that require a quick set-up and modular design. 

Flexible Roller Conveyor (Gravity And Powered):

The flexible roller conveyor is better than skatewheel conveyor, it can handle heavier loads than skatewheel conveyor. It is a very ductile piece of equipment that can extent as much as four times its collapsed length. Most designs include lockable caster to move the conveyor from one place to another quickly. This type of conveyor is perfect for smaller or odd shaped packages and bagged goods that are heading in to or our of a particular facility or industry. 

There are many benefits of flexible conveyors some of them are listed below:

       1. They are incredibly versatile

       2. It can be packed away when not in use. 

       3. They are flexible so that you can move the products according to your requirement. 

       4. Such conveyors can be moved with ease from one place to another. 

       5. The height of such conveyors can be adjusted according to your requirements.

       6. This type of conveyors are very reliable and durable.

Types Of Conveyer Rollers

A conveyer system is a conventional piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one place to another. Conveyors are mainly used for the transportation of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyer systems enable quick and efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials which have made them very popular in material handling and packaging industries. Conveyer rollers are the most commonly used conveyer systems, they can also be called as the backbone of businesses around the world. They are trustworthy, ductile and extremely practical. Such conveyers are built to deal with flat bottomed objects like boxes and tote bins. 

There are mainly three types of conveyer rollers and they are as follows:

• Belt conveyors
• Gravity roller conveyors
• Live roller conveyors

Belt Conveyors:

The belt conveyor is usually made up of with two or more pulleys, with a continuous movement of the belt rotating to move the product. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving both the belt and the product on the belt forward. Belt conveyors can come with flat bed or on rollers. Each serves particular need, belt conveyors are mostly used to move the products from one level to the next either up or down. With a lighter product, a limited amount of use of rollers can also provide you with a quieter system. 

Gravity Roller conveyors:

Gravity roller conveyors have metal rollers that roll on a fixed shaft as the rollers are equally spaced to allow free movement. This type of conveyor is slightly inclined as gravity is used to used to move the object along its length. Gravity rollers can carry numerous objects placed on the conveyor at one time. Placing the rollers closer to one another will increase the overall capacity of the conveyer as well as this provides a smoother rolling package. 

Live Roller Conveyors:

Live roller conveyors also have metal rollers on which an object can be placed and transported to the desired location. Unlike gravity rollers, live roller conveyors use mechanical power or line shaft drive system. The most common speed of live roller conveyor ranges from 40 to 100 feet per minute. The industries out there that need to start and stop the conveyor for merging and sorting out products will employ the live rollers for their work, as live rollers provide complete control during product transportation.  

Thus, conveyor rollers are the most cost-effective alternative for material handling.