A chain conveyor is a type of

conveyor system A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

for moving material through production lines.

Operation

StateLibQld 2 153063 Scraper conveyor belt at the coke ovens, Bowen, 1933

Chain conveyors use an endless chain both to transmit power and to propel material through a trough, either pushed directly by the chain or by attachments to the chain. The chain runs over

sprocket A sprocket, sprocket-wheel or chainwheel is a profiled wheel with teeth that mesh with a chain, track or other perforated or indented material. The name 'sprocket' applies generally to any wheel upon which radial projections engage a chain passi ...

s at either end of the trough. Chain conveyors are used to move material up to , and typically under . Chain

conveyors A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...

utilize a powered continuous chain arrangement, carrying a series of single pendants. The

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

arrangement is driven by a

motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

, and the material suspended on the pendants are conveyed. Chain conveyors are used for moving

products Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Produ ...

down an

assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in seq ...

and/or around a

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

warehousing A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, tow ...

facility. Chain conveyors are primarily used to

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

heavy unit loads, e.g. pallets, grid boxes, and industrial containers. These conveyors can be single or double chain strand in configuration. The load is positioned on the chains, the friction pulls the load forward. Chain conveyors are generally easy to install and have very minimum maintenance for users. Many industry sectors use chain conveyor technology in their

production lines A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...

. The automotive industry commonly uses chain conveyor systems to convey car parts through

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

plants. Chain conveyors also have widespread use in the white and brown goods,

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

finishing and distribution industries. Chain conveyors are also used in the painting and coating industry, this allows for easier paint application. The products are attached to an above head chain conveyor, keeping products off of the floor allows for higher productivity levels.

Types

Types of chain conveyor include apron, drag, plain chain, scraper, flight, and en-masse conveyors.

Drag conveyor

Drag conveyors, variously called ''drag chain conveyors'', ''scraper chain conveyors'' and ''en-masse conveyors'', are used in

bulk material handling Bulk material handling is an engineering field that is centered on the design of equipment used for the handling of dry materials. Bulk materials are those dry materials which are powdery, granular or lumpy in nature, and are stored in heaps.http: ...

to move solid material along a trough. They are used for moving materials such as

cement clinker 200px, Typical clinker nodules 200px, Hot clinker Cement clinker is a solid material produced in the manufacture of Portland cement as an intermediary product. Clinker occurs as lumps or nodules, usually to in diameter. It is produced by sinte ...

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, and

sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, ...

in the mining and chemical industries,

municipal solid waste incinerator Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

s, and the production of

pellet fuel Pellet fuels (or pellets) are biofuels made from compressed organic matter or biomass. Pellets can be made from any one of five general categories of biomass: industrial waste and co-products, food waste, agricultural residues, energy crops, and ...

. The difference between drag conveyors, scraper conveyors, and flight conveyors largely depends on whether the chain links have obvious

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

s or paddles attached. In a drag conveyor, the chain moves the material directly, while a flight conveyor uses a series of wood, metal, or plastic flights attached to the chain at regular intervals, which push the material along the trough.

Multiflexing chain conveyor

Multiflexing conveyor systems use plastic chains in many configurations. The flexible conveyor chain design permits horizontal as well as

vertical Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...

change of direction.

Notes

References