A conveyor with a traction component generally includes a traction component, a load-bearing component, a drive unit, a tensioning device, a redirecting device, and support components. The traction component transmits traction force and can be a conveyor belt, traction chain, or wire rope. The load-bearing component holds materials and can be a hopper, bracket, or lifting device. The drive unit provides power to the conveyor and generally consists of a motor, reducer, and brake (stopper). The tensioning device, generally of the screw type or counterweight type, maintains tension and sag in the traction component to ensure normal conveyor operation. Support components support the traction component or load-bearing component and can be rollers or wheels.
The structural features of a conveyor with a traction component are as follows: the material to be transported is loaded in a load-bearing component connected to the traction component, or directly loaded on the traction component (such as a conveyor belt). The traction component passes around each roller or sprocket and is connected end to end to form a closed loop including loaded branches that transport materials and unloaded branches that do not transport materials. The material is transported by the continuous movement of the traction component.
There are many types of these conveyors, mainly including belt conveyors, plate conveyors, trolley conveyors, and automatic guide conveyors. Ladders, moving walkways, scraper conveyors, buried scraper conveyors , bucket conveyors, bucket elevators, overhead conveyors, and aerial cableways, etc.
Conveyors without traction components vary in structure and the working parts used to transport materials also differ. Their structural characteristics are: they utilize the rotational or reciprocating motion of the working parts, or the flow of a medium in a pipe, to transport materials forward. For example, the working part of a roller conveyor is a series of rollers that rotate to transport materials; the working part of a screw conveyor is a screw that rotates in a trough to push materials along the trough; the working part of a vibrating conveyor is a trough that reciprocates to transport materials placed within it, and so on.
In the future, conveyors will develop towards larger sizes, wider applications, automated material sorting, reduced energy consumption, and reduced pollution.
Larger scale encompasses several aspects, including greater conveying capacity, longer single-unit length, and larger conveying angle. The length of hydraulic conveying systems has reached over 440 kilometers, and the single-unit length of belt conveyors is nearly 15 kilometers. Furthermore, "belt conveyor systems" connecting two locations (A and B) composed of several units have emerged. Expanding the application range of conveyors refers to developing conveyors capable of operating in environments with high or low temperatures, corrosive substances, radioactive materials, or flammable substances, as well as conveying hot, explosive, easily agglomerated, and sticky materials.
