Designing Better Conveyors for Bulk Material Handling

The Types of Conveyor Systems

There are a few main types of conveyor systems:

• Belt
• Screw
• Chain

Each has their own advantages. Those coming from other industries are perhaps more familiar with belt conveyors (they’re the ones the general public sees far more often in places like the grocery store).

The method of conveying the material isn’t the only component, though; you also have hoppers, feeders, chutes, separators, reclaimers, and stackers. But the conveyor is the linchpin that determines the rate and efficiency at which the bulk material is moved through the system.

Belt conveyors can be the simplest form of a conveyor system. Often comprised of just a belt, the platform, and a basic pulley system, belt conveyors work best with dry materials. You don’t want to use a belt conveyor with anything that is wet, damp, sticky, hot, or corrosive, though, because it’ll degrade the belt and foul the system.

For those materials, a screw or drag chain conveyor may be more applicable. Also, these systems tend to use more of the available housing space for transport. A belt conveyor, on average, uses about 20% of the space within the housing for material movement. This number can be as high as 50% on average for something like a drag chain conveyor. The benefit is that you can move more material at slower speeds, in a small housing enclosure, with less horsepower – which ultimately means lower energy costs and less wear-and-tear.

Talk to your engineer to determine which of the main conveyor types is best for your bulk material handling needs.