Conveyor equipment is a mechanical device that transports bulk and packaged goods in a continuous manner along a certain route from the loading point to the unloading point. It is a friction driven machine that continuously transports materials and is widely used in various modern industrial enterprises. The main features of conveying equipment include the ability to horizontally or vertically transport materials, conveying goods that are mostly in the form of individual pieces or bulk materials, and forming a material conveying process from the initial feeding point to the final unloading point on a certain conveying line. In addition, the conveying equipment can also be coordinated with the requirements of the production processes in various industrial enterprises, forming a rhythmic flow operation transportation line.
The history of conveying equipment can be traced back to ancient China's high-speed drum trucks and water lifting overturning machines, which were the prototypes of modern bucket elevators and scraper conveyors. In the mid-17th century, the use of gantry conveying equipment began to provide aerial ropeways for transporting bulk materials; In the mid-19th century, various modern structures of conveying equipment emerged one after another, such as screw conveyors; In 1905, steel belt conveyors appeared in Switzerland; In 1906, inertial conveyors appeared in Britain and Germany. With the influence of technological progress in mechanical manufacturing, motors, chemical and metallurgical industries, conveying equipment has been continuously improved, gradually evolving from completing internal conveying in workshops to completing material handling within enterprises, between enterprises, and even between cities, becoming an indispensable component of material handling system mechanization and automation.
Common types of conveying equipment include belt conveyors, chain plate conveyors, scraper conveyors, buried scraper conveyors, trolley conveyors, suspended conveyors, bucket elevators, pneumatic conveying equipment, etc. These devices are classified based on whether they have flexible traction components, such as belt conveyors and chain plate conveyors with flexible traction components, as well as screw conveyors and roller conveyors without flexible traction components. Each type of conveying equipment has its specific application scenarios and advantages to meet the material conveying needs of different industries. ‌