Roller conveyors are used to move goods in warehouses and manufacturing plants, as well as in equipment like tortilla makers and candy production lines. They consist of rotating tubes that push items along the conveyor, but can be problematic for awkwardly shaped objects. Maintenance involves cleaning the bearings and checking for leaks. Safety precautions must be taken to prevent accidents.
A roller conveyor is a conveyor made up of a series of parallel rotating bars that move goods to their final destination. Roller conveyors are used in environments such as warehouses and manufacturing plants. They can also be mounted inside some types of equipment, such as tortilla making machines that automatically make tortillas and roll them along a roller conveyor to allow them to cool after they’re made. Similarly, the production of some types of candy often involves a roller conveyor for cooling.
A roller conveyor design consists of a series of tubes mounted at set intervals. The tubes rotate at the same speed and in the same direction to push the items along the top of the conveyor. The tilt of the conveyor can also help push items. The device may have equipment positioned alongside it to perform various functions such as sealing packages, and employees may also be positioned along the conveyor to manipulate items as they pass.
A disadvantage of the roller conveyor is that objects can fall through the rollers or be awkwardly shaped and sized and therefore not move along the conveyor very well. An ideal application for this type of equipment is on packaging lines, where boxes of uniform size and shape can easily move along a roller conveyor. Similarly, when air circulation is needed around a product as it moves along the line, as seen with candy, the roller conveyor can be very useful.
This type of conveyor system relies on a combination of gravity created by the angle of the belt and the propulsion of the moving rollers. The maintenance of the rollers involves the periodic cleaning of the bearings used for the rotation to guarantee the smoothness of the rollers and the verification of the presence of signs of leaks and dirt on the bars themselves. In a candy production line, for example, the rollers can get smeared with chocolate and other materials and can stop moving freely, causing the conveyor to stop.
Like other manufacturing equipment, a roller conveyor can be dangerous to unwary employees. It is possible to snag and mangle the ends in the rollers, and people with long hair are usually advised to keep them pinned under a work cap so they don’t snag. When it is necessary to hold the line, the conveyor should be switched off and the use of an interlock switch is recommended to prevent anyone accidentally turning the conveyor back on.
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