Determining Which Gravity Conveyor Is Right for Your ...

Conveyors are the lifeblood of many distribution and manufacturing operations. Conveyor systems can increase efficiency, improve material flow, and transform operations.

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When a conveyor system is installed, accidents decrease. Consequently, product breaks and damage are also fewer, and, in general, plants become more productive. Nothing is more important than the safety, security, and productivity of your warehouse or factory.

There are as many types and configurations of conveyor systems as there are uses. In this blog, we&#;ll discuss gravity conveyors and help you determine which type is best for your application.

What Is a Gravity Conveyor?

A gravity conveyor is an unpowered conveyor that uses the force of gravity to move loads, either with the help of an incline or manual force, such as a person physically pushing the load. These loads move down the conveyor line along a series of metal rollers or wheels, which transport products from one designated work area to another.

Gravity conveyors are a popular choice due to their:

• Modular design: They can be fitted into and used in a wide range of industrial environments, including those where space is limited or awkwardly shaped rooms.
• Ease of installation: They can be easily installed and are reliable with minimal, basic maintenance needed.
• Cost-effectiveness: Because there is no actual power needed, they are cost-effective and work efficiently, saving money on electricity.
• Compatibility: Due to their simple design, they&#;re compatible with powered systems and can easily be connected to larger systems.

Types of Gravity Conveyors

Gravity conveyors may be metal or composite chutes, rollers, or skatewheel conveyors.

Chute Gravity Conveyor

A chute gravity conveyor is one of the most basic methods of gravity conveyance and is used to link two handling devices, provide accumulation in shipping areas, and transport items between conveyors on different levels.

These systems are designed to have a low coefficient of friction, allowing the product or material to slide easily, and can be straight or curved depending on the needs of the application. The design allows for efficient transport without spillage or blockage.

Relatively inexpensive to use and maintain, chute gravity conveyors are used in bulk handling operations, such as when moving powders and liquids, and are ideal for lightweight products with a variety of package types, including cardboard, corrugated boxes, flexible packaging, and pouches.

Gravity Roller Conveyor

Gravity roller conveyors are just that&#;they transport materials on either rollers or wheels. Depending on the application and available floor space, the conveyors can be designed in four different style types&#;straight, curved, spur, or merged.

Primarily used in industries that handle distribution, packaging, and manufacturing applications, roller conveyors are assembled from a series of metal tubes with bearings or rollers mounted on axles and fastened to the conveyor frame. Because the rollers and axles have very low friction, it takes little gravitational force to rotate the rollers.

Additionally, roller gravity conveyors are simple to install, require little maintenance, and work well in combination with powered conveyor systems.

Skatewheel Gravity Conveyor

Skatewheel gravity conveyors are often used in applications handling lightweight packages or containers with smooth, flat bottoms.

Used in shipping, receiving, and assembly areas, these systems are comprised of wheels placed on axles and separated by spacers to keep them from moving from side to side on the axle. While the number of wheels on each axle can vary based on the size and weight of the item being conveyed, there should always be a minimum of 10 wheels underneath each item.

Industries that can benefit from skatewheel conveyor systems include those that specialize in handling parcel, food and beverages, and consumable goods.

Which Gravity Conveyor Do You Need?

There are many options to choose from when it comes to gravity conveyor systems. At Conveyer & Caster, we&#;re eager to help you find the right one for your application. We work with only the most respected gravity conveyor manufacturers and have the solution for you. Contact us with your application so that we can customize the solution to what it is you&#;re trying to achieve.

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Gravity separation is widely used in the beneficiation of metallic and non-metallic minerals due to its low environmental pollution and low cost. Gravity separation equipment is generally suitable for processing coarse-grained materials with a certain specific gravity difference. We have introduced some gravity equipment: jig machine, shaking table and centrifugal separator before. This article will introduce a gravity equipment in detail: spiral chute.

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Definition of spiral chute

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The spiral chute is a gravity separation equipment that uses the inertial centrifugal force generated by the ore pulp in the spiral rotation motion to realize the separation of light and heavy minerals.

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Separation range of spiral chute

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The spiral chute is widely used to separate non-ferrous metals, ferrous metals, non-metallic minerals, rare metal minerals and heavy minerals in tailings with a particle size range of 0.3-0.02 mm, such as iron, tin, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, gold mine, coal, monazite, rutile, zircon, etc.

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Principle of spiral chute beneficiation

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The chute beneficiation is inclined flow separation. The operation process is mainly affected by the impact of the water current, the gravity of the mineral particles, the inertial centrifugal force and the friction force of the chute surface. The slurry is fed to a chute with a certain slope. Driven by the water flow, the ore particles are loosened and stratified. The upper light minerals are quickly discharged out of the chute, and the lower heavy minerals are retained in the chute or discharged from the lower part at a low speed. After receiving them separately, concentrates and tailings are obtained.

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Composition of spiral chute 

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The spiral chute is mainly composed of these six parts:

(1) The ore divider is used for distribute slurry, located at the uppermost part.

(2) The ore feed chute is located between the ore divider and the chute.

(3) The chute is the main part, which is connected by a number of spiral pieces with bolts. Spiral pieces are made of glass steel.

(4) The cutting chute is connected to the discharge end at the lower part of the spiral chute.

(5) The ore receiving bucket is a concentric annular cylinder, which can collect the different grade streams intercepted by 4 ore cutting chutes and send slurry to the next operation.

(6) The chute bracket refers to the pillars around the spiral chute and the upper cross frame.

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Classification of spiral chute

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According to the particle size of the ore that can be processed by the spiral chute, it can be divided into three categories:

(1) For coarse-grained chute, the feed size is above 2-3mm, and the maximum can reach 100-200mm.

(2) For ore sand chute, the feeding grain size is 2-3 mm.

(3) For sludge chute, the feed size is less than 0.074 mm.

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Structure parameters of spiral chute

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(1)The diameter of the chute. The processing capacity of the chute is proportional to the square of the diameter. When conditions permit, large-diameter spiral chute should be used to handle coarse materials.

(2)The cross-sectional shape of the spiral chute is related to the particle size of the materials. For the particle smaller than 2mm, the ratio of long and short axis is 2:1. The long axis is horizontal. It is appropriate that half of the long axis is equal to one third of the diameter of the spiral.

(3)The size of the pitch is usually defined by the ratio of the pitch to the diameter of the spiral, which is called the pitch-diameter ratio. When the ratio is about 0.73, the sorting effect is better.

(4)The length of the spiral chute and the number of turns. They determine the running distance of the material. It takes 3-4 laps for easy beneficiation ore, and 5-6 laps for difficult-to-select ore. 

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Advantages of spiral chute

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(1) Energy efficient. The spiral chute has no moving parts and consumes no power.

(2) Less space occupation. The equipment occupies a small area and has a large processing capacity per unit area.

(3) Water saving. There no need to add flushing water during the separation process.

(4) Stable separation index. When the ore volume, ore concentration, particle size and grade change, the impact on the separating index is small.

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Disadvantages of spiral chute

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(1) Large height difference. It need a pump to lift the slurry for feeding.

(2) Low concentrate grade. It is suitable for use as roughing equipment.

(3) Poor separation effect for conjoined or flake ore.

(4) The parameters of the spiral chute are not easy to adjust to adapt to changes of ore properties.

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Operation points of spiral chute

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(1)Suitable ore concentration:

Generally, the ore concentration for roughing separation is 30%-40%, and the concentration is 40%-60% for beneficiation. During the separation, the ore particle size and ore concentration are required to fluctuate within 5% of the error range. 

(2)Suitable ore volume:

The size of the feed ore volume directly affects the thickness and speed of the ore flow. The ore volume should be large when separating coarse-grained materials, and small when separating fine-grained materials. When roughing, the ore volume should be large, and when concentration, the ore volume should be small.

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Development trend of spiral chute

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(1) Large-scale, large processing capacity, based on scale effect to create benefits.

(2) Improve the separation of fine particles and fine particles, especially for particle size of -0.047 mm.

(3) Enhance the enrichment of useful minerals, and improve the separation efficiency of the spiral chute and the recovery rate of minerals.

(4) Energy saving and environmental protection, small floor space.

(5) Convenient operation, stable separation process, simple structure, easy maintenance and management.

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To Wrap Up

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With the increasing awareness of energy saving and environmental protection, the use of gravity separation method for ore pre-selection, recovery of monomer heavy minerals in the grinding circuit, and addition of gravity separation equipment in the magnetic separation or flotation process to recover coarse useful minerals or abandoning the final tailings will be an inevitable development trend. If you want to know more about spiral chute, please feel free to consult our online customer service.

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