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CONVEYORS & 
ELEVATORS

Conveyors by definition are designed to move material from one location to another.  They are not typically required to control their own feed and instead are delivered a controlled flow of material from an upstream feeder (e.g. belt or screw feeder)

 

Conveyors and Elevators should be designed to handle the full range of expected feed rates, ideally at a fixed speed.  

 

To cater for any unexpected, temporary surges in feed, good practice often dictates that they be designed to convey anything from 5% to up to 10% more than the maximim possible feed rate. 

 

Bulk Handling Technologies can select, design and supply a suitable and reliable conveying or elevating system for your specific application and can present a range of options to suit your needs and budget.

Our capabilities include:

  • Belt Conveyors

  • Screw Conveyors

  • Chain Conveyors

  • Vibrating Conveyors

  • Steep Angled / Side Wall Belt Conveyors

  • Bucket Elevators

  • Pneumatic Conveying Systems

Graphite screw feeder testing

SELECTING THE RIGHT CONVEYOR FOR THE JOB

Bulk Handling Technologies (BHT) can design and supply a range of conveying solutions to suit your application and the material to be handled.  Selection of the most suitable conveyor depends on a range of factors including:

  • Bulk Material Characteristics (lump size, temperature, moisture content etc)

  • Method and orientation of feeder

  • Location of discharge point (obstructions, elevation)

  • Special requirements or considerations (mixing, minimising product damage etc)

The most common types of conveyors and elevators include:

Belt Conveyors

Cost effective and efficient, belt conveyors carry material resulting in minimal frictional resistance. This allows high capacity, long distance conveying with relatively low installed power.

Limitations for belt conveyors include the conveying angle, ability to seal against dust escape and spillage and risks of belt damage due to sharp or hot materials.

Materials commonly handled by belt conveyor include:- crushed ore, mineral sands, limestone, filter cakes, grain etc.

Screw Conveyors

Fully enclosed, dust tight conveyors with the ability to convey at steep angles (even vertical). Lengths of up 50m or more can be achieved with certain products by using intermediate support bearings.

With the ability to handle various materials ranging from free flowing grain to sticky filter cake, BHT screw conveyors are typically a heavy duty construction with outboard bearings and custom grease purged casing seals.  

 

Materials commonly handled by screw conveyors include:- quicklime, cement, titanium dioxide, pellets, sugar, crushed limestone, fly ash, filter cakes etc.

Chain Conveyors

Chain conveyors are often a preferred option when handling fine, free flowing materials or hot material.  With a range of configurations, including 2-way conveying simultaneously in a single machine, chain conveyors can be a unique solution for a variety of applications.

 

Added benefits include the ability to simply add multiple outlets and / or inlets and the fact that chain conveyors are very gentle on the material, minimising product degradation.

Materials commonly handled by chain conveyors include:- quicklime, cement, nickel concentrate, copper concentrate, sugar, flour, fly ash, wood chips etc.

 

Vibrating Conveyors

Vibrating conveyors use directional vibration to 'hop' the material towards the discharge.  With no internal moving parts, they offer a fully enclosed alternative for the conveying a range of free flowing materials at low to medium rates.

Materials commonly handled by vibrating conveyors include:- quicklime, mineral sand, hydrated lime, sugar etc.

Bucket Elevators and Steep Wall Conveyors

Vertical elevation of material can be achieved using a bucket elevator or steep wall conveyor. Bucket elevators provide pure vertical elevation and incorporate specially designed buckets which are bolted to a belt or chain.  Steep wall conveyors, however, can provide additional horizontal conveying along both the upper and lower sections, all within the one machine. 

 

Depending on the application, bucket elevators can be supplied in various designs depending on the material to be handled.  Configurations include slow speed, central gravity discharge designs using twin strands of chain, up to high speed centrifugal discharge belt and bucket elevators operating at belt speeds above 4 m/s.

Pneumatic Conveying

In order to convey free flowing, dry materials at low to moderate rates, pneumatic conveying may also be viable.  Depending on the conveying rates and distances, two types of pneumatic conveying methods are commonly used; lean and dense phase conveying.

 

Lean phase conveying typically uses lower pressures and conveys material at higher velocities, whereas as dense phase systems use higher pressures and are typically used for longer conveying distances and higher capacities.

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