Steep belt conveyor
Steep belt conveyors or steep incline conveyors are technical devices from the field of feeding technology, which serve the vertical transport of bulk material and smaller workpieces. In this context, the term bunker elevator is also frequently used. Depending on the structural design of the conveyor, variants such as kink conveyors or corrugated edge conveyors are used. Furthermore, the steep conveyors can be used primarily as an element of the feeding technology or can also take on additional sorting tasks. The steep conveyors can pick up and transport workpieces made of different materials as well as in different sizes, because individual adaptations are possible in many areas. In this way, the conveyed material overcomes even large vertical distances reliably and with low friction.
How does a steep belt conveyor work?
Unlike, for example, a linear conveyor or a spiral conveyor, a steep belt conveyor does not work with the aid of vibrations, but instead transports the material by means of a conveyor belt. For this purpose, the workpieces are first placed in a bunker, which is located at the foot of the conveyor belt, so to speak. From there, screws, nuts, coins and similar bulk materials are moved piece by piece onto the conveyor belt and guided upwards. Profiles or troughs are attached to the conveyor belt for this purpose. These hold the material to be conveyed on the belt.
What are the advantages of a steep belt conveyor?
The steep belt conveyor enables vertical transport safely and reliably even over steep inclines of sixty or seventy degrees. Its design can be individually adapted to the bulk material to be transported as well as to other parameters. For example, it is possible to equip the steep conveyor with a mobile hopper and/or to adapt the conveyor belt to the nature of the bulk material. While light material can be transported on a plastic belt with cross profiles, a plastic or steel link chain is used for heavier items. Individualization is also possible and sometimes even necessary with regard to the hopper volume, the transport speed, and the design of the cross profiles on the conveyor belt. If necessary, steep conveyors can be combined with other systems from the field of sorting and feeding technology, such as a linear conveyor.
