A conveyor system is equipment that handles mechanical requirements. It is often used in order to move materials from one spot to the other. It is often termed as a conveyor and is relatively important in order to transport bulky and heavy materials. One important component of the system is known as conveyor rollers.

The entire conveyor allows a quicker and a more efficient handling of materials. This makes the system highly favorable in packaging industries. Different industries such as agricultural, automotive, canning, computer, electronics, food processing, aerospace, chemical, bottling and print finishing benefit from such handling equipment. Items transported with the help of the rollers are pills, scrap metal, automotive components, powders, wood and furniture. Look into the different types of rollers used in these systems.

High-speed rollers

These conveyor rollers provide low noise for conveyor systems. They also aim at decreasing the wear and tear of the entire system by providing it with an extended life. They are precision-powered and make use of bearing caps, conductive bushing and crimped tube ends. These components of the roller prevent materials from going out of the tube. They also contain sprockets and grooves for fixed shafts and chain-driven conveyors.

Grooved rollers

These are perfect for systems dependent on rollers as the driving device of the entire conveyor system. It has the capacity to locate grooves at any portion of the roller and is spring loaded on both its ends. It contains the standard galvanized steel tube and is equipped with crimped tube ends for bearing security. It is favored because it is easy to install plus it has a long bearing life. It can withstand high load and fast speed and contains a corrosion-resistant tube.

Gravity rollers

This is a less costly alternative to the high-speed conveyor rollers. It utilizes a commercial grade bearing and requires lower speed. It is also a great option for applications where noise is not a problem. It is recommended to fit any type of conveyor system.

Other types of rollers

There are other types of conveyor rollers namely the corrosion resistant rollers and chain driven rollers. The former contains lightweight steel roller tubes but has the capacity to handle heavy loads. The latter on the other hand has single or double sprockets welded to form part of the roller tube. These rollers are easy to install and have high speed capabilities thus complying with heavy load requirements.

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Conveyor belts have been utilised in a multitude of industries for many years. Mainly they are used for horizontal transport of products, but now advancements in the machine and belts allow them to be used also for ascending and descending product applications. Conveyor belts are used in industrial applications but also on large farms, in warehousing, from freight-handling, down to your local supermarket and in movement of bulk raw materials.

If you read part 1 of this article, we have mainly focussed on the belt material itself. However you also have to look at the actual conveyor machine itself if you are going to get this right.

What are the diameters of all the rollers involved (And I mean all the rollers involved) on the machine? Not all rollers are visible; some can be hidden from view inside a centre drive module for example. If you know all of the diameters, then you need to refer back to the belt manufacturer’s brochure again because there will be a minimum roller diameter given for each belt material. The reason for this dimension and the reason why it’s so important is that the more rigid the belt is, the less flexible it is and the less likely it is to wrap around a small roller. If this happens you will lose traction at the drive end and the belt will rise up at each end of the conveyor, not good. On a centre drive conveyor the belt will not want to grip the powered roller and your belt could well remain stationary.

Is the conveyor an end drive or a centre drive? Centre drives usually have pinch rollers and therefore the top and bottom surfaces of the belt will make contact with the rollers, unlike with an end drive. What if you want a flighted belt? Not possible with a centre drive for this very reason.

Will the belt get wet or be cleaned frequently? If you are changing the function of the conveyor to say a food environment, then the likeliness is that the conveyor will be frequently washed. If so, then the bearings may well need to be upgraded and some if not all parts be replaced with stainless steel or plastic components.

What kind of belt tracking does the conveyor have? Some conveyors have “Crowned rollers” that are a slightly larger diameter in the middle of the roller. This is used to align the belt. Some other conveyors use welded on flights or cleats on the underside of the belt that uses grooves in the bed and the rollers to align the belt. Both methods use different belt designs, so be aware.

In part 3 we can look at the characteristics of the conveyor accessories and how they impact on your belt choice.

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A conveyor system is equipment that handles mechanical requirements. It is often used in order to move materials from one spot to the other. It is often termed as a conveyor and is relatively important in order to transport bulky and heavy materials. One important component of the system is known as conveyor rollers.

The entire conveyor allows a quicker and a more efficient handling of materials. This makes the system highly favorable in packaging industries. Different industries such as agricultural, automotive, canning, computer, electronics, food processing, aerospace, chemical, bottling and print finishing benefit from such handling equipment. Items transported with the help of the rollers are pills, scrap metal, automotive components, powders, wood and furniture. Look into the different types of rollers used in these systems.

High-speed rollers

These conveyor rollers provide low noise for conveyor systems. They also aim at decreasing the wear and tear of the entire system by providing it with an extended life. They are precision-powered and make use of bearing caps, conductive bushing and crimped tube ends. These components of the roller prevent materials from going out of the tube. They also contain sprockets and grooves for fixed shafts and chain-driven conveyors.

Grooved rollers

These are perfect for systems dependent on rollers as the driving device of the entire conveyor system. It has the capacity to locate grooves at any portion of the roller and is spring loaded on both its ends. It contains the standard galvanized steel tube and is equipped with crimped tube ends for bearing security. It is favored because it is easy to install plus it has a long bearing life. It can withstand high load and fast speed and contains a corrosion-resistant tube.

Gravity rollers

This is a less costly alternative to the high-speed conveyor rollers. It utilizes a commercial grade bearing and requires lower speed. It is also a great option for applications where noise is not a problem. It is recommended to fit any type of conveyor system.

Other types of rollers

There are other types of conveyor rollers namely the corrosion resistant rollers and chain driven rollers. The former contains lightweight steel roller tubes but has the capacity to handle heavy loads. The latter on the other hand has single or double sprockets welded to form part of the roller tube. These rollers are easy to install and have high speed capabilities thus complying with heavy load requirements.

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