Belt conveyors: history and stages of improvement

The root cause of the birth of the mechanism was the need to irrigate fields in the ancient farmers of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India. It is known that farmers in these countries have long been forced to artificially water their crops. And then a way was found with the help of primitive devices to arrange the transportation of water. They were called differently in different countries, but the principle was common. A little later, with the invention of the wheel, people learned to use the power of water for such work.

In the days of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, mills, water pipes, other mechanisms were set in motion with the help of slaves, and later - with the help of animals.

Stages of improvement

But actually belt conveyors, familiar to us and intended for industrial use, appeared only in the 18th century. At first the basis for them was a board on which a ribbon of leather or canvas moved. In 1908, Heiml Goddard patented a roller base for conveyors. But the real "parent" of the conveyor belt conveyor was Henry Ford, who noticed that the workers were losing too much time for the delivery of spare parts to the workplace, and put the belt conveyors where the parts moved from one shop to the next. This contributed to higher labor productivity, lowered the cost of production and became the starting point in the development of conveyors.

Over time, the mechanisms for moving cargoes became more and more perfect. A new stage in the development of belt conveyors has been developed with the development of industrial development of various deposits (with gold, coal, ores mining).

Types and scope of application

Today the variety of types of conveyors is amazing. With their help, we get things at the airport, work bread shops, confectionery factories, print newspapers, collect cars, lift coal from mines and move huge distances from the quarries.

The use of conveyors saves time, allows to optimize the production process and get rid of heavy manual labor.

Its device, in comparison with other hoisting mechanisms, is quite simple, it is easy to repair and operate. The main components of the conveyor are:

• Supports (stationary or adapted for movement);
• Drive belt conveyor, which consists of an electric motor, reducer (cylindrical, worm, with chain or belt transmission, or belt-gear) and drive drum;
• Supporting surface (rollers or metal sheet);
• Bearing body - conveyor belt;
• Tension mechanism (drum and screw).

To move different materials invented belt conveyors of several types:

• Tape;
• Lamellar;
• Inertial ones;
• Vibration;
• Roller;
• Scraper;
• Suspended load-bearing;
• Pushing;
• Trolleys;
• Bucket and lyuchnye;
• Screw.

Some of them have a special purpose, for example, to transport passengers (escalators). The direction of movement of goods can be any - horizontal, inclined, vertical.

Verily, the belt conveyor has the status of the most popular mechanism for moving almost any materials. Modern electronics and automation increase its capabilities many times.