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: Roller Conveyor Design
: Roller Conveyor Design -- billinr	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: jboggs ® 08/27/2009, 12:43:23 Author Profile eMail author Edit

Why do you have to design one when there are so many variations available on the market, along with the engineering needed to make sure it works? Does management think the "build-it-yourself" approach will save money? I doubt it. Not in the long run. Just my opinion. Take advantage of the "development process" (meaning trial and error) that someone else has already done.

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: : Roller Conveyor Design
: : Roller Conveyor Design -- jboggs	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: rwolfejr ® 08/28/2009, 09:44:37 Author Profile eMail author Edit

One thing that jumped out at me with your design is your anticipation of this seeing 6,000 lbs. If these are 4 x 4 pallets you'd better add a roll in between each of your existing rolls minimum. This assumes you're a little over four foot wide rolls and they're stout 2-1/2... like 1/4" wall. That still would not be an overkill by any stretch but might... be do-able. This is without any consideration to the size of the journals on these rolls. What you have to start with sounds way lean for your loads. Your framework is also going to need to be able to support etc. 3 tons on a 4 x 4 pallet will require some seriously sturdy equipment. That's just plain heavy in a 4x4 space no matter what you're trying to do with it. Running your belt is a different ball game but won't matter if the conveyor table can't handle the expected loads. As was mentioned... Might want to consider "store bought" and get something that's designed to handle your requirements. Might not cost as much as you might think. Possibly less than what your in house costs could run up to by the time you've got a working unit?

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Roller Conveyor Design
: : : Roller Conveyor Design -- rwolfejr	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: billinr ® 08/28/2009, 15:33:59 Author Profile eMail author Edit

Apologies if I was unclear with my original post. We are working on the belt solution - not the conveyor itself. The machine exists with roller to roller chain drives - I want to replace all of those drive chains with belts. My issue is in trying to calculate the drive requirements down the line. The conveyor industry is something we do not have much experience in... I need to "go to school" on these applications. Thanks for the interest - do you have any suggestions for these problems? Thanks

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: Roller Conveyor Design
: Roller Conveyor Design -- billinr	Post Reply	Top of thread	Engineering Forum

Posted by: jboggs ® 08/28/2009, 21:34:14 Author Profile eMail author Edit

When you say "belt driven" conveyor, what I picture is the type of conveyor where a single driven belt runs underneath the conveyor rollers in the opposite direction to the direction of travel of the payload. An arrangement of additional rollers under the drive belt forces it into contact with the upper rollers imparting drive torque to them through friction. Is that what you mean? On the other hand, roller-to-roller chain drives are very common, and you say you want to "replace all of those chain drives". Are you saying you want to replace those individual chain drives with individual belt drives? Basically just replacing the roller chain loops and sprockets with v-belt loops and pulleys? If that is what you are planning, you have some significant issues in front of you. The problem is that you are replacing a positive drive system (roller chain) with a friction drive system (belts). Each chain loop not only powers the rollers it touches but also all those downstream. So the loading on each chain loop increases incrementally roller to roller. With chain drives, the tension on each loop is not much of an issue as long as its enough to prevent skipping a tooth. They can be pretty sloppy and still work fine. On the other hand, with friction belt drives, tension is a major issue because tension = friction = transmitted torque. There are conveyors that use friction belts (large o-rings) as the drive loop for roller-to-roller arrangements. The rollers are made with grooved indentations to accept the drive belts, and the whole conveyor is designed for that method. Several different companies offer that type system. Their applicability to your situation is not something I would guess about. I would strongly recommend that you contact some local conveyor distributors for their recommendations. It won't cost you anything to let some experienced folks look at your situation. A quick internet search, or review of ThomasRegister.com should provide several potential contacts.

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