What are Conveyor Belts?
Conveyor belts are used in the manufacturing industry where materials are moved via a conveyor belt system. Each conveyor belt consists of a belt or strip that is looped and interlocked with one or two pulleys.
An electric motor powers the system, with rollers supporting the belt placed on top of a metal slab or plate. The drive pulley (motorized) and the idler pulley (non-motorized) are the two types of pulleys used in a conveyor belt system.
Depending on the location of the loading bay in relation to the conveyor belt, both head drives and tail drives can be implemented. The most effective type of belt drive is the head drive, as it is located at the discharge end; when used, the pulley will pull the belt forward.
Conveyors are specifically designed to shift machinery, materials, or goods from one place to another with the aid of a constantly moving path. Motor-powered conveyor belts are the most widely utilized type of moving system; however, there are configurations that use non-motorized rollers.
How do conveyor belts work?
The main components of a conveyor belt include a loop or band of rollers termed rotors that are rotated by a motor. The width of conveyor belts can vary from as small as 1 inch (25 mm) to as big as 5 feet (1.5m), with modular belts extending plastic reaching widths of 10 feet (3m)
A conveyor belt is made of an industrial-grade material that is extremely resilient, particularly found in heavy machinery.
The construction of the belt provides a specific shape and texture which enables the propulsion of goods and materials to happen properly.
Conveyor Belt Motors
The motor on a conveyor belt drives the pulleys, which turn the belt in their respective direction. A certain level of friction is needed between the belt and the pulleys, ensuring that the belt does not fall off its path. The force produced by the motor is responsible for rotating the drive pulley and moving the conveyor belt.
Conveyor Belt Pulleys
Both ends of a conveyor belt near the drive motors are fitted with pulleys. The motor and reducer enable the drive pulley to rotate and power the conveyor belt, propelling it forward; external bearings are also available. To minimize slippage of the belt, crowned lagging is fitted to the pulleys.
The return, idler, and tail pulleys guide the conveyor belt to the drive pulley. These internal bearing pulleys are positioned at the ends of the conveyor bed or both ends in a central drive conveyor. Tail pulleys are important to provide the necessary tension in the conveyor belt.
Conveyor Belt Rollers
A dead plate reinforces the conveyor belt and is installed within its frame. To guide the belt back to the infeed, both external and internal support rollers are placed around the conveyor. Each roller is fitted with a spring-loaded axle, allowing for easy access installation and removal.
Conveyor Belt
Conveyor belts are categorized based on their types, materials, sizes, and angles. Each belt in a system serves a particular function defined by its design and type, as they are custom-made to transfer products and materials from one location to another.
How Conveyor Belts are Made?
How these conveyor belts are crafted does not change their main purpose of moving items, materials, and components from one point to another, ultra-efficiently.
In general, the product being carried in the conveyor strongly influences the design of the conveyor box, which guides the selection.
Although a conveyor belt can be made using various materials, they can be categorized into metal, plastic, rubber, leather, and fabric. Each of them can further be split into subcategories based one materials.
Plastic Modular Conveyor Belts
Compared to other types of conveyor belts, plastic ones are lighter and more resistant to temperature changes. This is due to them being constructed out of thermoplastics such as polyurethane, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, silicone, and polyethylene.
The versatility of the individual segments allows them to bend, curve, and even move on a vertical incline or decline, allowing them to be flexible in every direction. These types of interlocked plastic conveyor belts can replace metal and fabric conveyors.
Metal Conveyor Belts
Plate and woven metal conveyor belts are renowned for durability, rigidity, strength, and flatness. Unlike woven and linked belts that may stretch out and lose their shape over time, solid metal conveyor belts retain their shape throughout their lifespan.
They are only designed to operate in a straight pathway without any curves, turns, or deviations. The exceptional longevity of these products is due to their construction materials: stainless steel, aluminum, or carbon steel.
Rubber Conveyor Belts
Rubber has been widely known as a popular material to use for conveyor belts due to its high durability and resistance to abrasion.
Neoprene, nitrile, and styrene butadiene are the commonly used rubber types in conveyor belt construction, all of which are reinforced with cloth fabric.
Due to the durability of rubber, it can withstand harsh conditions that require resistance to abrasion and impact absorption. The cloth reinforcement alleviates the rubber’s tendency to stretch and deform.
Fabric Conveyor Belts
Fabric conveyor belts are appropriate for short conveyor belt systems with a lower capacity demand as they are more cost-efficient.
They are made of multiple layers of synthetic fabrics resistant to elongation longitudinally reinforced with polyester threads and polyamide crosswise threads.
This combination provides exceptional tensile strength in relation to weight, along with flexibility, impact, and chemical resistance.
The top covers of fabric conveyor belts are made from grade rubber, polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and silicone. They can also be used to improve fire, heat, and abrasion resistance.
The following are the types of fabric conveyor belts:
- Nylon: Will not mildew and is impact resistant, heat resistant, and durable.
- Polyester: Quieter and less expensive than nylon while still having most of its features.
- Kevlar: Strong, thick fibers make it flame retardant and impact resistant and allow it to run faster and longer than other fabrics.
- Natural: Woven cotton or wool.
Leather Conveyor Belts
Despite being one of the oldest types of conveyor belts, leather conveyor belts are still in use today because of their durability, shock resistance, and gripping capabilities.
Leather is many times used in custom and hybrid conveyor systems in modern use. Just like other conveyor belts, leather belts come in a variety of widths and thicknesses and can be reinforced or coated with other materials to enhance their performance.
They are able to perform all tasks associated with a traditional conveyor, such as moving products up or down slopes.
Types Of Conveyor Belts
Different types of industries and applications make use of conveyor belts as they improve productivity and cut down labor costs and lead time. Moreover, they can quickly and dependably move large volumes of goods for processing, assembly, or storage.
Embracers of conveyor systems highlight the savings accrued on labour, efficient movement of goods, and shielding of items from damage as pivotal benefits. They provide the best service at the minimum cost.
Roller Bed Conveyor Belt
A roller bed conveyor belt’s surface has a belt made up of multiple rollers that are sped based on needs like speed, weight, and type of products being transported. The number of rollers is determined by the length of the conveyor belt.
Roller bed conveyors are especially useful for demands with high weight requirements. The construction minimizes the friction of the belt with the rollers, enabling smoother movement of products.
Flat Belt Conveyor Belt
In a transport of materials and supplies, a flat belt conveyor utilizes a number of pulleys to belt them into position. The belt created of natural or synthetic materials has a broad range of adaptability and application enabling it to withstand different conditions. Sometimes, flat belt conveyors also have a center drive and nose bars.
Modular Conveyor Belt
A modular belt conveyor consists of sections made from hard plastic that interlock, enabling easy removal and replacement of segments that might undergo wear and tear.
This aids in the efficiency of cleaning while also protecting the conveyor from sharp and abrasive types of materials.
Modular belt conveyors are adaptable in shape, design, and structure. These conveyors can control and support a single belt that goes around corners, runs straight, and can go up or down inclined surfaces.
Cleated Conveyor Belt
During upward or downward movement, products can be held securely in place on cleated belt conveyors with sections, pockets, or dividers. The design of the belt and the product determines the spacing and style of the cleats, which can be set either evenly or unevenly.
Types of Cleats on Cleated Conveyor Belts
- Inverted Capital T: A T cleat that is set upside down, not parallel to the belt but perpendicular, and thus, supports gentle and delicate materials.
- Forward Leaning Capital L: A capital L cleat that has an arm that is leaning forward, which makes it easier to pick up granular materials as the bulbous base can be rounded. A capital L construction makes it much more manageable to deal with leverage forces.
- Inverted V: Space between inverted V cleats is restricted to 2 inches in order to create a trough shape, which is used for heavier bulk materials that are abrasive and large.
- Lugs and Pegs: Lugs and pegs are specifically crafted to accommodate the requirements of a product and are economically friendly for products needing intermittent support, like cartons. They are applied as needed for handling products of different dimensions.
- Sidewall: The function of sidewalls on a conveyor belt is to contain the material on the belt. Sidewall conveyor belts perform exceptionally well on incline and decline belts and help extend product load capacity to optimize the efficiency of a conveyor system. The assortment of sidewall materials is broad, and it is also possible to corrugate sidewalls to different depths in order to meet product and application requirements.
Curved Conveyor Belt
Curved conveyor belts allow the movement of products around corners and help in transfers while maximizing floor space. They are capable of making “U” turns to turn back in the opposite direction. These conveyors consist of flat belts and can turn at 45°, 90°, 135°, and 180°.
Incline Conveyor Belt
Let us start with the incline conveyor belt, which comes in various types. Some possess a rough, uneven surface, whereas others feature cleats to hold the materials in position so they don’t slip or fall back. The backside of the belt usually has a smooth surface to allow it to glide freely on the bed.
Modular conveyor belts are useful for this purpose, adding cleats as necessary to avoid slippage depending on the material being transported and the structure of the particular belt used.
Decline Conveyor Belt
The decline conveyor belt’s main focus is to move the material or products lower in height or change their position diagonally downward.
Just like incline conveyor belts, decline versions can also come with a rough surface or cleats to prevent falling or slipping.
These types of decline conveyor belts have an articulated frame, and they pivot or angle downwards so that the products can be released from the upper positions. It functions continuously.
Filter Conveyor Belt
This type of conveyor filters contaminants and excess liquid off components and they are drained away. For this, they are provided with lateral grooves on both sides and several drainage holes in the center of the belt.
These holes are either placed into fabric-covered areas or sealed, which prevents the liquid from soaking the belt materials. Like sidewall conveyor belts, filter conveyor belts can have sidewalls added on to contain spillage.
Moreover, for dewatering functions, they are made out of heated polyester, polypropylene, polyolefin, or mesh stainless steel.
Timing Conveyor Belt
For indexing and placing products on conveyor timing systems, timing conveyor belts are utilized. Regardless of the size of the products, they guarantee accurate placement and preset positioning of products.
Timing conveyor belt systems blur the line between conveyors and robots, as they use a timing pulley and idler pulley with a belt looped with timing ribbons.
The timing belt has teeth that correspond to the tooth’s cone angle on the driven pulley (that are perpendicular with respect to the axis of rotation), the frame of the conveyor conveys and supports structures that support the position of the pulleys.
What distinguishes these systems from general conveyor belt systems is the accuracy they provide for bulk transfer and placement of products. Teeth on timing belt conveyors can be rounded or trapezoidal and the space between them set at varying distances.
Sandwich Conveyor Belt
Two face-to-face belts make up a sandwich conveyor belt where one belt is positioned above the other. The belt is designed to hold the material firmly in place. Within the system, there is also a rotating wheel that controls the pressure and gap between the belts.
The two gripping belts function as follows: The belt located above the structure is devoid of a motor. Rather, it is advanced by the motion of the lower belt, which is motorized.
Anti-Static Conveyor Belt
Electrostatic charges arise on a conveyor belt due to friction between the belt and its bed, movement of products, or even ionization that occurs in the surrounding atmosphere.
While these static charges tend to be feeble, they pose a threat in situations where materials are bound to the belt. Even a small amount of charge can lead to an explosion, hence posing a danger.
Different types of static charges can be controlled and eliminated with the installation of modulatory devices on conveyor belt systems. For example, carbon particles or static dissipating fabrics may be woven into anti-static belts to restrain static build-up.
Application Of Conveyor Belt
Conveyor belts are essential to any sector that requires an internal movement of goods or materials within the factory or facility. Conveyor systems of all sizes are now a core component of industrial activity because of their speed and efficiency in product movement, which drives improvement in supply chains.
In more advanced and larger-sized facilities, automated conveyor systems are used for ease of operation, maximum time efficiency, and enhanced productivity.
Conveyor belts are versatile machines used for transporting jewelry and stones, moving coal, ore, and stone, and even for large-scale outdoor tasks.
They can be used for the rapid movement of different materials and, therefore, act as a stand-alone and versatile machine.
The use of conveyor belts can be analyzed in the context of general and bulk material handling, food processing, manufacturing, and assembly operations.
Bulk Material Handling
Bulk conveyors enhance the transport efficiency of various products and raw materials, including sugar, oats, cereal, fruit, flour, screws, and nuts.
In addition, bulk equipment is particularly proficient in the loading and offloading of materials such as cement, sand, and gravel.
In the mining sector, bulk transport conveyors are utilized for moving coal, minerals, rocks and stones from both open pit and closed pit operations.
The removable sections of these belt conveyors enable easier access to terrain where minerals and waste material need to be removed.
Ship Loading and Unloading
Mobility is a pivotal factor in the efficient loading and unloading of ships. In terms of loading, a belt conveying method is used to convey material from the trucks into the hold of the ship. For unloading, the reverse process is employed in which the materials are conveyed from the ship to the trucks.
To cater to the other ranging heights of ships, the belt loading and unloading conveyors are designed to telescope so they can be adjusted to different heights.
Line Automated Assembly
Assembly operations employ a number of conveyors that are tailored to their specifications. With the rise in the use of robotics on assembly lines, there has also been a shift toward new computerization, with belt conveyors adapting rapidly to the evolving needs of automation and bolt-controlled systems.
For automated assembly lines, a variety of belt conveyor types are used, such as chain, slider, hinged, plastic belt, and pallet conveyors.
The increase in demand for rapid movement of materials has spurred advancements in and novel approaches to the design of belt conveyors.
Luggage Transport
The timely movement of packages, cargo, and luggage is delivered through belt conveyors, which are instrumental in the functioning of an airport.
The successful implementation of a belt conveying system for airport material handling makes it indispensable for interfacing with other handling and checking systems.
As with other systems, specifications for airport belt conveyor systems focus on reliability, silence, aesthetics, safety, and low maintenance requirements.
Every airport has a unique layout and, therefore, each conveyor system is designed to specific angles, flow rates, and uni- or bidirectional operation.
Parts Belt Conveyors
Parts belt conveyors can transport all kinds of parts, including small, simple components as well as more complex units, such as hot, oily frames from a forging machine, which need to be put into hoppers, storage boxes, or drums.
These types of systems are constructed with piano hinges because of the strength, durability, and rigidity these hinges provide.
Because of the weight and density of the parts being handled, the belts are made of spillage and shock resistant materials with walls to contain the sides of the belt.
Excavation Belt Conveyors
Belt conveyors for excavation have special construction features for transporting earth and materials through windows, doors, and vents into more confined spaces. These conveyors are outfitted with belt buckets that can carry different weights and offer high load capacity.
Belt conveyors for excavation, despite being able to carry large loads, can be maneuvered and repositioned with ease by two or three operators, making the process simple and straightforward.