What’s a Feed Carrier?

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Conveyors are used to move products from one machine to another, from supply vehicles in a process, or from finished product storage to delivery vehicles. An infeed conveyor delivers products for cleaning or processing, or moves intermediate products to further processing or handling equipment. These can be designed using belts, chains, rollers or other parts, but in all cases they are devices that move raw materials.

The term “feed” is used in agriculture to identify food products of animal origin, which could be plants such as hay, grains such as corn or oats, or dried animal feed. Many of these materials are moved in bulk, using trucks or rail cars that carry large quantities in tankers. A feed conveyor is placed under the vehicle and a valve or gate is opened, allowing the feed materials to drop into the conveyor silo and travel to storage tanks or directly to process equipment.

Feed conveyors can clean or shred materials as the first step in production. An example is an infeed conveyor with an attached shredder that can shred recycled paper used to make cardboard. Recycled metals are often sent through shredder conveyors that supply metal to remelting operations. The feed conveyor can also be equipped with magnets to pick up iron-based metals and separate them from aluminum, or to remove wires and debris from recycled paper.

There are several ways to transport materials on an infeed conveyor. A metal- or fiber-reinforced rubber belt can be used, because they are relatively easy to maintain and are cost-effective. Bucket conveyors consist of a series of trays that can collect material and carry it vertically to a higher level and are commonly used for small parts or grains that might fall off a conveyor belt. Sticky conveyor belts may look like a conveyor belt, but they are made with a sticky natural or man-made rubber that allows the material to adhere lightly to it, preventing the material from sliding back onto the belt.

A screw conveyor uses a curved metal track welded to a central shaft, resulting in a conveyor that resembles the threads of a bolt or screw. The material enters one end and is carried through the spaces between each wire, until it reaches the other end and is discharged. Screw conveyors can be useful for thick solids or mixtures of solids and liquids that would not stay in place on an open belt or pail. They are often found on grain harvesting equipment used on farms and transfer grain from the harvester’s storage tank to trucks as the harvester moves across the field.

Feed conveyors can vary greatly in length, from short conveyors that feed materials to a tank, to mining conveyors that send rocks long distances to processing plants. Conveyors can send material in different directions by placing one conveyor under the end of the previous one. The product falls off the end of the first conveyor and the second one can take it in any direction needed. Trays or slides can be added to the ends of the conveyors so that the product slides rather than falls, preventing product damage.

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