Roller Conveyors

1. Roller Conveyors

Roller conveyors are the backbone of most business company. They are reliable, affordable, flexible and extremely practical. Konek Technology offers a wide range of roller conveyors including simple free roller conveyors, lineshaft and motorised roller powered roller conveyors and chain driven roller conveyors. All our roller conveyors come in a selection of widths, roller diameters, roller pitches and transit speeds so that they can be matched to specific load and throughput requirements.

Roller conveyors suit any application that deals with flat-bottomed objects like boxes and tote bins. They consist of a series of rollers over which objects are moved and they can be designed and manufactured for a great many applications at relatively low cost. Roller conveyors are offered with a variety of options tailored specifically for food handling applications, helping you produce your products more efficiently. (18)

Rollers can be custom built for extreme temperature ranges, high speed, and wash-down environments along with many other customizations. We can also include accumulation into your conveyor for optimal performance.

     1.1. Gravity Roller Conveyor

Konek Technology gravity roller conveyors are a low cost and an ergonomic way to move materials. Versatile conveyor type for many applications. Gravity roller conveyors are the cheapest way to convey products quickly and easily. The modules can be extended, changed and moved easily and quickly. Loads are conveyed on rollers or rollers which are mounted in frames. A gravity roller conveyor moves the load without utilizing motor power sources, usually down an incline or through a person pushing the load along a flat conveyor. Minimal effort required in the movement of goods whether it is manual assistance or gravitational force. Gravity roller conveyors are the simplest, most robust and affordable form of conveyor and suit a large range of applications. In order to select the speed and functionality of gravity driven conveyors, take into account its length and the specificity of transported products, i.e. its mass, shape, dimensions, etc.

These non-driven conveyors are usually applied at the end of a production line for buffering products or in line where products must be handled by employees. Renowned for rigid construction and apt conveying ability, these conveyors finds wide application in warehousing, production lines, accumulation at start or end of powered conveyors manual assembly lines. To meet client requirement we also offer 90^o bend gravity roller conveyor. This powerless free flowing conveyor system with little noise is perfect for handling light to medium weight packaged food or for station to station movement where processing or inspection may occur. Roller or skatewheel sizes as well as spacing will vary.

Its simplistic qualities make this conveyor virtually maintenance free. Many options are available for gravity conveyors such as brakes or “stops”, guard rails and supports, spurs, lift gates and numerous roller options. Depending on the application and customer requirements, we are able to make this type of transporter with a support frame made on the basis of aluminum profiles and steel sections of the right size, grade and with an appropriate protective coating. The gravity roller conveyors can be delivered with a frame of aluminium, stainless steel or steel. By standardization, the roller conveyor can be delivered in various widths, lenghts, roller diameter, type of roller (plastic, steel, aluminium and stainless steel), supports and side guides.

Features & Benefits

• The system is silent with very little friction
• Available in light or medium duty versions
• Can be supplied with locking casters
• Rollers are zinc plated as standard
• Broad range of rollers to suit application
• Bolt together construction
• A range of finish options: Powder coated, powder coated with zinc rich primer, hot dip galvanised, stainless steel
• Modular design
• Proven product, highly configurable, easy and reduced installation and low maintenance
• Allows for product rotation
• An open frame for easy accessibility during cleaning

     1.2. Driven Roller Conveyors

These powered conveyors are usually applied for conveying products such as boxes or crates.

          1.2.1. Chain Driven Roller Conveyor

Chain driven roller conveyors are extremely versatile and reliable, providing a host of excellent benefits for materials handling situations. Chain driven live roller conveyors are designed for heavier load operations at controlled speeds. There are many options available for rollers and chains.

Conveyor is driven in standard design with chain that tangentially is against rollers cogwheel. Chain driven conveyor systems transmit drive to the individual rollers via a chain (or a timing belt or a V-belt). Chain drive is suitable for low to medium speed applications while timing belt and V-belt drives can be used for high speed applications. Chain driven roller conveyor is made up of a series of rollers aligned inside two side frames. The rollers are then connected via sprockets and chain to a drive motor mounted to the side of the conveyor. These pulleys, being made of steel, are able to convey far heavier products compared to plastic based conveyors like table tops and modular belts.

Generally used for short to medium conveyor lengths, transfer cars, shuttles and turning devices. Specially suitable in environments with demands to withstand heavy conditions. Each is chosen for the specific application and the conveyor designed to fit your food processing needs. Handles most environments. In addition, it’s well suited for dirty or oiling environments, where other types of live roller conveyors won’t perform. The down side of such a conveyor, however, is the relatively large gaps between the rollers limiting the size of the products that can be effectively conveyed.

Features & Benefits

• Positive drive-no belt slippage
• Wash down operations
• Energy-efficient design

          1.2.2. Lineshaft Driven Roller Conveyor

The Konek Technology range of lineshaft conveyor equipment is of a modular design making it easy to configure systems of any layout and make modifications/additions at a later time.

Lineshaft roller conveyors are powered by a shaft running longitudinally beneath the rollers to which are attached a series of spools. Polyurethane O-rings run from each spool around a groove in the rollers, thus as the shaft is rotated by an electric motor the rollers also rotate in turn pushing the product along the conveyor. It’ s simple, yet provides the whole system with reliability, efficiency and flexibility. Line shaft drive uses a single rotating shaft mounted within the conveyor frame, transmitting drive to each roller using belts and friction spools. On the drive shaft selected pulleys are positioned for either fixated drive, accumulating or seperation speed. Specific roller choices are available, allowing the conveyor to move the product in the most effective manner possible. This conveyor is often used as an accumulating conveyor, as the rollers will stop turning when there is something stopping the item on top from moving, however when this is released, the rollers will return to being driven. Available in powder-coated steel as standard also available in aluminium and stainless steel.

The most common powered roller conveyor is a drive shaft roller conveyor. Lineshaft roller conveyors are ideal for transporting light to medium products that are regular in shape and size, fairly rigid with an even underside eg. Boxes, cartons, totes, platens etc. Powered by a shaft beneath the rollers, these conveyors are intended for quietly moving lightweight packaged food or pharmaceutical products with relatively flat bottoms. During an accumulation situation the drive shaft continues to rotate and the rollers stop. When products are stopped on the conveyor by a mechanical stop, the friction between the product and the rollers beneath then causes the rollers to stop rotating and the corresponding O-rings to slip on their spools, without affecting any other rollers elsewhere on the conveyor. Therefor the friction occurs between the drive shaft and the pulley. Limited minimal pressure accumulation of product can be achieved.

Features & Benefits

• Modular design for quick installation, which also means they can be modified or added to easily
• Ability for transportation and accumulation on the same conveyor system
• Accumulation pressure is adjustable
• Reliable accumulation thus eliminating product damage
• Safe-spacers between drive spools, no pinch points or chains and fully guarded underneath
• Ideal for straight long runs or complex configurations
• Proven product, highly configurable, easy and reduced installation and low maintenance
• Fewer motors required
• Fewer drives are required compared to conventional equipment
• Reduced noise is more conducive to good working environment

          1.2.3. Motor Driven Roller Conveyor

Konek Technology’ s motor driven roller conveyors range is modular in design, safe and quiet in its operation, robustly built, aesthetically pleasing and incorporates cable containment. It is available in a range of lengths, widths, and roller pitches and the full range of ancillary equipment can be supplied to provide a turnkey conveyor solution.

The system is simple and cost-effective; consisting of an externally mounted, direct drive, brushless DC motor, driven by its own individual control card. The brushless and gearless 24V DC motors sit beneath the conveyor rollers and are thus protected from any impact loads. Powered roller is connected to a series of gravity rollers via urethane slave belt. Transport zones can be made more cost efficient using less motors with poly V belt transmission as an alternative to traditional round belt drives. (26) Each section of rollers is independently controlled. These conveyors non-contact, zero pressure accumulation conveyor usually has sensors that signal each zone to stop and go when required. (18)  It is especially well suited for small package conveyors, where small diameter rollers, tight roller spacing, and narrow conveyor widths are needed. This type of conveyor with decentralised drives is highly modular, creating the possibility to add/remove zones from conveyor schemes with ease. (26) The model motor driven roller conveyor uses a series of 24V DC motors to drive the tread rollers, eliminating the need for drive belts, chains, or line shafts.

Zero pressure technology means product moves along smoothly without one item touching another and ideal for handling fragile or small packages. Motorized roller systems are perfect for large zone controlled systems in assembly lines, warehouse situations or unit handling of pallets, totes and cases. Motor driven roller conveyors allow products to accumulate without contact so there isn’t any build up of line pressure between adjacent products in a queue. This makes them ideally suited for conveying fragile or sterile products where gentle handling is required or where there is a requirement to release single products from the queue at set intervals. The rollers in any one zone or selected zones can therefore be feeding product whilst other zones remain stationary. This is very useful when wanting to create accumulation for cases or other large product feeding equipment such as palletizers. Our motor driven roller conveyors, allow accumulation of product on curves and on inclines and declines which gives them a greater capacity for accumulation over other types of conveyor.

Features & Benefits

• Energy efficient technology
• Plug and play controls
• Easy installation and wiring
• Simple (no need for PLC)
• Direct drive 24 V, brushless DC motor
• Quiet operation
• Simple maintenance
• Zero pressure sccumulation, no product damage
• Externally mounted drive motor means it easily adapts to a variety of roller sizes and conveyor widths
• Impressive torque at low speeds
• Pre-wired with 35 Amp capacity cables
• Integration of field devices with no extra wiring
• No sprockets reduce pinch points
• Low cost repair parts

          1.2.4. Chain Driven Curved Roller Conveyor

Konek Technolgy will design and manufacture chain drive roller conveyors with frames, widths and roller pitches and diameters specially selected for the type of load being handled.

The principle of chain driven roller conveyors is that each roller is fitted with a pair of sprockets at one of its ends. The inside and outside sprockets are alternately connected to the corresponding sprocket on the adjacent rollers by a series of link chains. The terminal rollers are then connected via a drive chain to a geared motor. In this way a positive mechanical drive is delivered simultaneously to all of the linked rollers, ensuring that they can’ t slip under load. With two drives for high loadings. The curves are available with guide profiles on both the inside- and the outside. Unlike with the lighter duty powered roller conveyors the use of roller curves to change conveying direction becomes impractical as loads get heavier and so 90° transfers and turntables are used instead.

The chain drive roller conveyors are often used to convey and accumulate products such as boxes and crates. They are mainly used in warehouses and heavy goods assembly lines too.

Features & Benefits

• Driven curves offer smooth product flow
• Large and heavy items can easily be transported
• Higher load and wider range ambient temperature
• Various gearings and a frequency converter provide adjustability of speed
• The curves are silent during operation