Top 6 Material Handling Conveyor Sytems
There are a number of different types of material handling conveyors in use today, but there are five systems that are the most commonly found in industrial settings.
The top five include:
Chute Conveyor
The key points of this system include:
* Unit/Bulk + On-Floor + Accumulate
* Inexpensive
* Used to link two handling devices
* Used to provide accumulation in shipping areas
* Used to convey items between floors
* Difficult to control position of the items
Wheel Conveyor System
The key points of this system include:
* Unit + On-Floor + Accumulate
* Uses a series of skatewheels mounted on a shaft (or axle), where spacing of the wheels is dependent on the load being transported
* Slope for gravity movement depends on load weight
* More economical than the roller conveyor
* For light-duty applications
* Flexible, expandable versions available
Roller Conveyor
The key points of this system include:
* Unit + On-Floor + Accumulate
* May be powered (or live) or nonpowered (or gravity)
* Materials must have a rigid riding surface
* Minimum of three rollers must support smallest loads at all times
* Tapered rollers on curves used to maintain load orientation
Gravity Roller Conveyor
The key points of this system include:
* Alternative to wheel conveyor
* For heavy-duty applications
* Slope for gravity movement depends on load weight
* For accumulating loads
Live (Powered) Roller Conveyor
The key points of this system include:
* Belt or chain driven
* Force-sensitive transmission can be used to disengage rollers for accumulation
* For accumulating loads and merging/sorting operations
* Provides limited incline movement capabilities
Chain Conveyor
The key points of this system include:
* Unit + In-/On-Floor + No Accumulate
* Uses one or more endless chains on which loads are carried directly
* Parallel chain configuration used to transport pallets
* Vertical chain conveyor used for continuous high-frequency vertical transfers (cf. vertical conveyor used for low-frequency intermittent transfers)