When you’re moving goods in a plant or warehouse, it’s vital that you don’t damage your product in the process. Some items are fragile enough that they break or crumble when falling off the end of a conveyor belt or when they collide with something solid. Discover the ideal conveyor belts for fragile products.
Troughed Belts
A troughed belt is one where the belt sags in the middle instead of holding taut. This allows the product to sit comfortably in the middle of the belt, suspended like it’s in a hammock. For fragile goods like food (think chips or cookies), troughed belts keep the product away from the sides of the belt. When fragile foods like chips hit the side of the conveyor, they may break. The trough does a better job of keeping these items intact.
Bucket Conveyors
There are special kinds of conveyors that use rotating buckets to move products. These buckets rotate with the flow of gravity, and they can move both vertically and horizontally. Buckets are a good choice for moving fragile goods because they can eliminate free falls between conveyor systems. When a cookie falls off the end of one belt onto another, it may break. Buckets are better able to protect these kinds of goods.
Cleated Incline/Decline Belts
Another ideal conveyor belt for fragile products is the cleated or ridged incline/decline belt. As the name implies, these belts have rubber ridges and cleats that separate goods. The cleats also act like tiny scoops, pushing product up inclines or holding it in place on declines.
Since these kinds of belts keep individual goods separated, pileup is less of a danger. A pileup happens when goods start to stack up together until the pressure causes fragile items to break. The ability to gently guide the product up and down the conveyor line helps to avoid free falls.
Incline/Decline Belts for All Your Needs
You can find incline/decline conveyor belts at Texas Belting and Supply. We carry many styles with both ridges and cleats to help move fragile products. We also carry food-grade belting that resists oils and helps prevent carryback. Contact us today to let us help you pick out the right belting for your needs.