When should you use a belt system?
- For products that can’t be conveyed on rollers. That’s typically loads like bags, envelopes, small parts, components, fabric and cartons with irregular bottoms. Anything that can’t travel on rollers is a candidate for belt conveying. Belts are much more forgiving on poor loads than rollers, which can drop small items or allow them to tilt between rollers.
- When you convey vertically. Incline conveyors are usually belt applications because rollers don’t grip the load, which can cause slippage or sliding. See more: Inclines vs. Spirals for Vertical
- For machine integration. Many machine integrations, such as packaging equipment, scanners, diverts, and others need control of the load’s orientation to function correctly. Belts don’t allow the load to shift or rotate since they grip the surface. The consistent speed and positioning for belts make them ideal for scan tunnels, where stability is critical for accurate reads.
- For pre-sortation applications. When you need to gap and/or track loads heading toward sortation, belts are ideal. Belts control the product better and work best in these applications. If your system has a curve leading to a sort area, and you must gap or track the load, belts are a good solution.
- For material versatility. Belt curves can be built with a variety of materials, ranging from rubber to high-grit to other specialized and materials that can be easily cleaned. You can specify a large variety of belt types to fit your needs.
- Gapping applications. When setting precise gaps between loads is critical, belt conveyors excel. Because belts support 100% of the load bottom (weight and surface area don’t matter), everything travels at a constant rate.