Choosing a conveyor can be quite tricky but it can be made simple if important factors are carefully considered. These include product type or material to be conveyed, speed or throughput, and elevation changes. Conveyor rollers, for instance, come in different sizes and may range from shorter units to longer lengths. Conveyors in general can be engine powered or hand powered where materials are moved manually over rollers. But typically, they are driven by motors. While they are available in standard build, they can be custom designed from modular components such as curves, straights, merger or transitions.
Due to their large scale and integration into different factory production lines, conveyor systems can be complex in design and construction. Nonetheless, the modular nature of most of their components such as conveyor rollers, makes it possible to achieve even more complex and extra-long conveying systems. Manufacturers usually provide design assistance in this regard. Apart from these considerations, the most important attributes that has to be also taken into account are the following:
- Load capacity per unit length: this attribute will be necessary if the conveyor unit will be customized to let the users know its loading margins.
- Maximum load capacity: this is related to the above attribute and can be determined for fixed length, purposely-made conveyors.
- Throughput: this measures the capacity of a conveyor that handles bulky materials such as powdered products. It applies to certain conveyor types only such as bucket, screw, walking beam and pneumatic. It is provided as a volume per unit time.
- Belt speed or rated speed: belt speed applies to belt conveyors while powered conveyor rollers are rated through linear velocity with the same units to that of the product being handled or moving over the rollers. Whereas rated speed is applicable to slat, chain, tow or drag conveyors