Roller Conveyors Industrial Material Handling Factory Process Automation Equipment

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Roller conveyors take in a variety of conveyors, standard roller, skate wheel and ball conveyors.  Even though they each look different, what they all have in common is that they all have some type of rolling surface in contact with the unit load being transported.  Distribution System

Both ball conveyors (or ball transfers) and skate wheel conveyors rely upon gravity or a human operator as the driving force.  A ball transfer table, pictured at right, is an easy and economical method of moving a part from one conveyor to another or from a conveyor to an inspection table.  As can be seen on the left, the balls that make up the table can be composed of stainless steel, for more corrosive environments, or they can be a polycarbonate composite that will minimize scratches to the product being moved.

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The skatewheel conveyor, also a gravity operated conveyor, is most often set at an incline so that material can be given a slight push by a human being and then roll to the end of the conveyor.  Distribution system

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Gravity skatewheel conveyors are used primarily for lightweight packages. They are typically used in shipping departments, stocking areas, assembly lines, etc. Hook & rod couplers along with tripod stands make it ideal for temporary set-up. Distribution System

The Roller Conveyor comes in many different types:

Gravity Conveyor.  There is the gravity roller conveyor, which has no driving mechanism, it is usually inclined and the momentum of the material causes the rollers to turn; allowing the package to move across the rollers.

Belt driven live roller conveyor.  This is essentially a gravity conveyor that has a "V" belt running under one side or the other of the rollers.  The "V" belt is in contact with the rollers and there will most likely be a tensioning adjustment, giving the designer the ability to increase or decrease the tension between the belt and the rollers.  As the belt moves, so do the rollers.

Line-shaft driven roller conveyors have a drive shaft that extends under the rollers in the direction of travel of the package, i.e., perpendicular to the roller.  The shaft has small rubber "bands" that twist around the shaft and can be also put around the roller.  This band causes the roller to turn.  Each roller has its own band.

Chain driven live roller conveyor.  Each roller has two sprockets built into it.  A gear reduced motor coupled with a chain to the first roller turns that roller.  A chain couples the first roller to the second and so on down the line of rollers.

Self powered roller conveyor consists of a single powered roller connected to adjacent rollers by a band, in a similar fashion as a line-shaft driven roller conveyor.  Each roller is connected to a roller on either side of it, in this manner one powered roller can drive up to 10 non-powered rollers.

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