Knowing your equipment and what it can handle is a crucial part of managing operations in a warehouse. Since many stages of production take place using conveyor belts, it’s worth understanding what types are available and what each can do. Read on to discover the advantages of belt conveyors over chain conveyors.
Belt Conveyor Advantages at a Glance
- Superior customization options
- Better precision
- Higher accuracy
- Debris and damage resistance
- Infrequent repairs
- Increased efficiency
- Enhanced durability
- Higher production capacity
Customization Differences
One of the advantages of using a belt conveyor is that you can implement just about any kind of conveyor system. Specialized engineers can design a unique conveyor belt solution for your needs, and you can rest easy knowing that you can find the parts you need.
Here are a few of the specialized features you can have with a belt conveyor:
- Backlighting
- Magnetization
- Vacuuming or suction
- Cleating
- Troughing
Backlit Conveyors
Backlighting is a useful technique in which belts carry items over a lightbox. The intense contrast between the backlit conveyor belt and the items is essential in the quality control process, whether it’s manual or automated. Additionally, you have the choice to stop parts over the lightbox or allow them through uninterrupted, allowing for efficient randomized spot-checks.
Magnetized Conveyors
Another special feature that’s exclusive to belt conveyors is magnetization. Magnetization is useful for several purposes, like keeping ferrous objects in one place on a conveyor belt. However, it’s most often helpful in a situation where you’re trying to sort different items. The magnetization allows the belt to separate ferrous and non-ferrous material.
Vacuum Conveyors
Vacuum conveyor belts are belts with small holes in them that allow for suctioning from below the belt to secure objects on the belt while it moves. The advantage of this kind of belt is that it doesn’t prevent you from lifting the objects off the belt—it just helps hold them in place.
Cleated Conveyors
Cleating is another valuable feature in belt conveyors that helps you move items in a more predictable fashion. Cleats are small dividers spaced out along a belt that keep items from grouping up in one spot. They can also push items up and down inclines, making them an essential part of any process with vertical components.
While it is possible to find cleated conveyors in chain form, they are much less common and are harder to clean. If you need a cleated conveyor, you’re better off going with a belt as opposed to a chain.
Troughed Conveyors
Troughing is a technique that changes the angle or tension of the belt so that it has more stretch. This stretch keeps materials in the center of the belt and helps prevent the contents from spilling over the sides. Since chain belts do not use flexible materials, they are less likely to have troughing capabilities.
The other benefit to using a belt conveyor is that you can adjust the angle of troughing to fit whatever purpose you need the belt to serve. While a steep angle does have some drawbacks, especially if the conveyor is outdoors, it’s good to know you can get multiple jobs out of the same piece of equipment.
Design and Use
Chain conveyors are a good choice for some projects, but one of their many drawbacks is that they have much more surface area than belt conveyors. Because of the cracks and crevices, chain conveyors are far more likely to pick up dirt, debris, and bacteria from whatever they carry. This makes them a less-than-ideal choice for making things like food or medicine.
On the other hand, belt conveyors are excellent at these tasks because they have a smooth surface. Plus, you can choose belts made from debris and bacteria-resistant materials.
Accuracy
One of the many advantages of belt conveyors over chain conveyors is accuracy. Because of their design, operators are able to change the tension on belt conveyors so that they are more accurate. This makes it far less likely that the belts will cause damage to the goods and parts they carry.
Belt conveyors are not just accurate—they can also achieve this accuracy at much higher speeds than chain belts without losing their accuracy. This kind of precision is incredibly important in industries that make small or delicate items like medical instruments.
Maintenance and Durability
Proponents of chain belts often like to point out that if a belt conveyor breaks or becomes damaged, you’ll end up having to replace the entire thing. They offer chain belts as an alternative because, in theory, you would only need to repair one damaged link in the entire conveyor.
While this may sound appealing, chain belts tend to experience damage much more easily and more often than belt conveyors. This is due to their many moving pieces and the way they pick up debris more easily. While it may be inconvenient to replace a conveyor belt, chances are you won’t have to do that until the belt has seen some serious wear and tear.
You can further increase the lifespan of your conveyor belt by choosing heavy-duty conveyor belts made from rubber with special coatings that protect them from damage and friction heat. You can find long-lasting conveyor belts for all kinds of warehouse processes at Texas Belting and Supply. Several of our belts come with additional protective coatings that make them more resistant to oil, mildew, stretch, and other common problems.
Production Efficiency
Because belt conveyors move so much faster than chain belts, they can increase your warehouse processes exponentially. This also makes them incredibly cost-effective because you’re getting more work out of a machine for the same energy costs and time spent in operation.
Choose the Belt That’s Right for You
While every kind of conveyor has certain advantages, belt conveyors offer the most flexibility and longevity for your investment. Plus, you can get them customized to fit just about any kind of warehouse process, even those that include vertical elements.
If you’re looking for a supplier of high-quality conveyor belts, check out Texas Belting and Supply. We’d love to hear from you and help you choose the belts and equipment that best suit your needs.
