Fabricantes de Esteiras e Manuseio de Alimentos

Food conveyor and material handling — system overview

Conveyors and material handling systems link individual machines in a food processing line, moving product between processing stages. The appropriate conveyor type depends on the product characteristics (size, shape, fragility, temperature, stickiness), the required transfer speed and direction (horizontal, inclined, vertical), and the hygiene requirements of the application. The main types include: flat belt conveyors (general-purpose product transport; product-contact belts in PU or PVC food-grade material); modular belt conveyors (plastic interlocking belt segments — easier to clean, maintain, and modify than flat belts; suitable for washdown environments); screw conveyors (enclosed rotating screw inside a tube or trough — for powders, granules, and pumpable food materials; protects product from contamination); bucket elevators (vertical elevation of product in enclosed buckets — for fragile products or where product must be handled gently during vertical transport; also used for bulk grain, sugar, and other solid raw materials); vibratory feeders and conveyors (electrically driven vibration moves product along a trough — gentle, can be used for fragile or irregular products, also for controlled feeding and metering); and pneumatic conveying systems (product is transported in an air stream through pipes — for powders, granules, and small pieces; positive-pressure or vacuum systems available). In food processing, all food-contact conveyor surfaces must be constructed from materials approved for food contact.