Easy Product Handling with Vacuum Belt Conveyors
6 June 2023
Belt conveyors with vacuum function for conveying goods in fixed positions without gripping or pallets.
Do your products tip over or float on the belt conveyor at high accelerations? Do your short cycle times not allow you to stop and handle the products with a gripper? Do you want to coat, scan, label or laser your products on their base? Do your products have to be continuously elevated or bridge a gap?
When transporting with a vacuum belt conveyor, products are fixed to the belt conveyor by a vacuum. This means that the products can, for example, be accelerated quickly or transported vertically, overhead or alongside the conveyor. Intermittent handling tasks can also run continuously with vacuum belt conveyors.
Vacuum belt conveyors are typically used to secure lightweight/large-area products at high accelerations or speeds. Goods of this type are often transported in the packaging, consumer goods and paper industries, or in battery production.
mk offers all of its belt conveyors and timing belt conveyors as vacuum belts. Only the conveyor frame and the belt are modified to implement the vacuum function. Unlike the belt conveyor, the timing belt conveyor has a positive drive mechanism that allows it to run without slippage. If an image processing system is used, the individual images can be matched to a specific distance travelled.
Our engineers will design all the necessary components, from the belt conveyor and suction line to the pump. Alternatively, you can request a complete vacuum belt conveyor that you can integrate into your production environment.
Benefits of the vacuum belt conveyor
- Fixed position transport without gripping or pallets
- Secure transport of lightweight products at high accelerations – no tipping over or floating
- Products can be transported overhead or alongside the conveyor
- Products can be processed or checked while moving
Basic structure of a vacuum belt conveyor
The conveyor frame is equipped with suction fittings for a vacuum pump (e.g. industrial vacuum cleaner or side channel blower). This creates a vacuum inside the conveyor frame. The conveyed products are gripped through holes in the slide bed and in the belt located above it, and then conveyed with the belt.