What Is a Slat Conveyor?

Slat conveyor, a series of slats that are fixed on the traction chain to convey materials in a horizontal or oblique direction. A single piece of steel plate is articulated into an endless belt as the traction and bearing member of the conveyor. The driving endless belt in the trough box transports the coal scraper through the separator.

In 1905, scale steel belt conveyors appeared in Switzerland. Later, plate conveyors were developed in smelting, mining, and foundry industries. After 1945, some countries lacking rubber resources, such as Germany, Japan, the former Soviet Union and other countries, have produced plate conveyors for coal mines to replace belt conveyors. In 1966, China used a single-chain traction curved plate conveyor in the down-channel developed along the contour of the coal seam in a coal mine. Such conveyors have been eliminated in the coal industry since the 1970s. ^[1]

The plate conveyor is mainly composed of trough disc-chain conveyor belt, driving device, head driving sprocket, tail turning wheel, frame, cleaner and electrical control and protection devices.

Slotted disc-chain conveyor belt: Slotted discs are connected in series on the chain to form a slotted disc-chain conveyor belt. A pair of rollers are arranged at a certain interval at the bottom of the conveyor belt to play a supporting and guiding role. It has functions such as low running resistance, abrasion resistance, dust resistance, moisture resistance, anti-sticking and anti-drip. Grooves are generally stamped from steel. The chain is a ring chain, a plate type, a sleeve roller chain, and there are various traction methods such as single chain, double chain or multi-chain. The entire traction chain is connected by a multi-chain chain with a special link.

Drive: Power source for driving the conveyor. It consists of electric motor, hydraulic coupling, reducer and brake. The driving device is generally arranged on the head of the conveyor, and has single or multiple driving. When the driving power is large and it is restricted by the strength of the traction chain and the use of space, a number of intermediate power-assisted drive stations are set up at appropriate positions along the captain's position to drive in the form of segmented relays. When multi-machine drive is used, the power balance and start-up acceleration can be controlled between the drive devices.

Sprocket: There are two types of drive sprocket and redirection wheel. The driving sprocket transmits the torque with the gear tooth meshing chain and drags the grooved disc-chain conveyor belt to run. The sprocket is made of steel. In order to meet the strength requirements, there are also tooth crowns inlaid with alloy steel wheels, and the tooth surfaces need to be hardened. The redirection wheel is used to change the running direction of the conveyor belt, does not transmit torque, and also serves as a tensioning device for the traction chain.

Frame: Mainly composed of headstock, middle frame and tailstock. The headstock is used to install the head drive and drive sprocket. The middle frame includes all the upper and lower tracks for the running of the rollers, which are connected by the segmented sections. The connection of the segmented tracks must maintain a smooth transition. Generally, they are laid on the ground; the tailstock is used to install the turning wheels and tensioners, and the conveyor belt is turned back.

Cleaner : Sweep the bearing surface of the belt tray to keep the bearing surface clean. Commonly used cleaners include flexible scrapers, roller brushes, elastic scrapers, and water jets.

Electrical control and protection device: It is basically the same as the electrical control and protection device of the belt conveyor (see Electrical control of belt conveyor, Protection device of belt conveyor).

Classification According to the laying operation characteristics, it can be divided into two types: straight and curved.

Linear plate conveyor Conveyor runs in a straight line. It can adapt to appropriate undulations along the vertical plane. Most of the traction chains are plate chains, sleeve roller chains, and also ring chains. Chains come in many forms, such as single, double, and multi-stranded.

The curved plate conveyor can be turned to bend and lay in the horizontal plane, and the arc at the bend transitions. When the radius of curvature is large, the bottom roller of the conveyor belt is used to guide the turn through the curved guide; if the radius of curvature is small, the conveyor belt is turned and bent by the special guide mechanism of the traction chain. The traction chain is fixed at the center of the trough by a circular chain. Most of the traction chains are single-chain traction. Some are also double-chain. The chain should be in the center of the conveyor belt.

The trough discs are continuously connected in series to the endless chain, and the chain bears the traction force of the conveyor. The trough discs serve as a carrier for carrying materials, forming a trough disc-chain conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is passed around the head sprocket and the tail redirection wheel, the sprocket meshes the driving chain, and the conveyor belt is caused to continuously run along the fixed track along with the rollers at the bottom of the groove plate. The material is loaded at the receiving point, and is pulled to the machine head to be unloaded with the belt to realize the fixed distance transportation of the material. ^[2]

Features of plate conveyor:

1. Wide range of application. Except for materials with particularly high viscosity, it can be used for general solid materials and pieces;

2. Large conveying capacity. In particular, the production capacity of scale plate conveyors (commonly known as double-chain wavy plate conveyors with flanges) can reach up to 1000t / h;

3. The strength of the traction chain is high, which can be used for long distance transportation;

4. Flexible transmission line layout. Compared with the belt conveyor, the plate conveyor can be transported under the conditions of a larger inclination angle and a smaller bending radius, so the layout flexibility is greater. The inclination angle of the plate conveyor can reach 30 ° -35 °, and the bending radius is generally about 5-8m;

5. Various processes such as classification, drying, cooling or assembly can be performed during transportation;

6. Stable and reliable operation.