Oscillating Conveyor System

Selection of vibratory conveyor:

The oscillating motion of the trough is achieved via specially designed inclined arms and an eccentric shaft driven by a motor through V-belts. The eccentric shaft is mounted on anti friction bearings and has V-pulleys at both ends with weights on them to counteract the unbalancing force. The rotation of the eccentric shaft provides a forward and backward motion to a connecting arm attached to the trough through a rubberized pin. The trough motion is predominantly horizontal with some vertical component, which causes it to oscillate with a pattern conductive to conveying material. A retaining spring assembly at the back of the trough absorbs shock load. All components including drive motor are mounted on a rigidly constructed base frame.

Advantages:

· Hot and abrasive materials can be handled

· Cooling, drying and de-watering operation can be done during transport

· Scalping, screening or picking can be done

· Units can be covered and made dust tight

· Simple construction and low head room

· Can be made leak proof

Disadvantages:

· Relatively short length of conveying ( about 50m Maximum)

· Limited capacity, about 350 tons per hour for length of conveying of 30 m.

· Some degradation of material takes place.

Applications:

Vibratory conveyors find wide spread application in the transportation of dusty, hot, toxic, and chemically aggressive bulk material through a closed trough or pipe in chemical, metallurgical, mining industries and manufacturing of building materials.

Vibratory conveyors are also employed for transportation of steel chips in machine shop, hot knocked out sand, wastes and small castings in foundry shop. Vibratory feeders are also in use for delivery of small machine parts like screws, rivets etc.

Sticky materials like wet clay or sand are unsuitable for vibratory conveyors. In handling finely pulverized materials, like cement etc., the performance of such conveyors are reported to be poor.

Vibratory conveyors are hardly employed for handling common bulk loads, such as sand, gravel, coal etc as the same can be done more efficiency by belt conveyors.

BELT DRIVES

Types and Selection of Drives:

• Single Unsnubbed Bare / Lagged pulley Drive
• Snubbed Bare / Lagged Pulley Drive
• Tandem Drive
• Special Drives

Single Unsnubbed Bare / Lagged Pulley Drive:

This is the simplest drive arrangement consisting of a steel pulley connected to a motor and the belt wrapped round it on an arc of 180°. This can be used for low capacity short center conveyors handling non-abrasive material. The pulley may be lagged to increase the coefficient of friction.

Snubbed Bare / Lagged Pulley Drive:

Here the angle of wrap is increased from 180° to 210° or even up to 230°, by providing a snub pulley to the driving pulley. In majority of medium to large capacity belt conveyors, handling mild abrasive to fairly abrasive materials, 210° snub pulley drive with load pulley lagged with hard rubber is adopted.

Tandem drive:

Here belt tension estimated to be high; the angle of wrap is increased by adopting tandem drives. Both of tandem pulleys are driven. The tandem drive with arc of contact from 300° to 480° or more can operate with one or two motors. The location of such drive is usually determined by the physical requirements of the plant and structural constraints.

Special Drive:

Special drives with snub pulleys and pressure belts used in heavy and long conveyors.