Raised Belt Conveyors Offer Quick Cleaning Solution

An argument can be made that, in the packaging industry, nearly any belt conveyor can move almost any product through a packaging line.  This is pretty much true.  However, different applications will benefit from different types of power conveyors, adding efficiency and useful life to the packaging system as a whole.

 

For example, HDPE power conveyors may be built for packaging bleach, acid or other chemicals that would have a detrimental effect on stainless steel.  Drips and spills of such products would eat away at the stainless steel material, an effect not replicated on the HDPE models.  Along the same lines, certain packaging professionals require a sanitary process, especially those dealing with foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals and other products that will be ingested, injected or otherwise consumed.  Many steps will be taken along such packaging systems to ensure a sanitary process, and one of these steps will be the maintenance and cleaning of the power conveyor system.

 

In these cases, raised belt, sanitary style conveyors can save packagers a significant amount of down time by making the cleaning process as quick and as simple as possible.  In fact, these conveyor systems can be manufactured as wash down compatible, allowing the operator of a packaging system to simply spray down the entire conveyor system after a production run (assuming, of course, all other machinery on the line is also wash down compatible!)  The design of the power conveyors as wash down compatible can be beneficial for packagers that do a number of different products in any given day, allowing operators of the system to essentially hose down the packaging line.

 

However, even if a system is not wash down compatible, the raised belt power conveyors can still save time by the way they are designed.  The useful life of a conveyor system can be threatened by the build up of product both on the belt and in certain areas of the conveyor frame.  For example, spills or drips on a C-frame conveyor may fall right through to the return portion of the conveyor belt.  With a raised belt power conveyor, the return portion of the belt will be "guarded" by the frame of the conveyor.  In other words, spills and drips will not reach the return portion.  Keeping the belt itself clean can reduce product and debris build up on the belt itself, thereby restricting the amount of debris traveling along the belt to collection points as well.  

 

In addition, on most occasions, spills and drips can simply be wiped off of the raised belt conveyors if contained to the frame.  Less dis-assembly will be required to keep this type of power conveyor clean.  To learn more about the different conveyor types and the benefits of each, simply browse our Power Conveyor page.