
One of the key challenges in dealing with aggregates is moving the material from where it is quarried to where it will be processed and then to where it will be used.
Vehicles typically perform the role of long-haul transport, including trucks, trains, and barges. However, for short distances, conveyors can do much of the transportation work. The judicious use of conveyors can significantly improve the efficiency of aggregate extraction and processing. Often, this requires the use of multiple types of conveyors.
Radial Conveyors
Radial conveyors typically have a (relatively) fixed point where they receive inputs. This can either be deliveries from a loader, output from a screener, or other source of aggregates. The aggregate then travels upward along the conveyor to the top where it is dumped. This creates a storage pile for aggregates. When the storage pile reaches its preferred size, the conveyor can pivot so that the aggregate falls in a new location, creating a new pile. These conveyors can be wheeled conveyors or tracked conveyors, depending on what is best suited for the terrain where they operate.
This allows the easy storage of aggregates in numerous convenient piles without having to relocate a cumbersome screener or drive loaders an inconvenient distance. The ease of use, convenience, and effectiveness of these conveyors makes them very popular.
Overland Conveyors
Overland conveyors are the longest-distance conveyors. These types of conveyors are installed to transport aggregates over distances up to several miles. This can eliminate the need for a fleet of vehicles to haul materials from a quarry to their processing or transport site. They are especially useful for large quarry sites that don’t have good road access. These conveyors can transport materials up to 24 hours a day, allowing a higher quantity of aggregates to be extracted in a short period of time.
These types of conveyors are initially expensive to install, and they aren’t suitable if either end of the conveyor ceases to be convenient as either a source of aggregates or a destination. It can also be hard to obtain permission to build these conveyors, but in certain situations, they are extremely effective.
Transfer Conveyors
Sometimes overland conveyors face challenges that are hard to build around, such as tight curves, steep slopes, and difficult or shifting conditions at the loading or unloading zones. In these cases, transfer conveyors help overland conveyors to get their material where it belongs. These may be custom built, or they might be a different type of conveyor brought in specifically for the purpose of dealing with unusual features.
Transfer conveyors may not carry material very far, but they are critical. These may be other types of conveyors, such as radial conveyors, bucket conveyors, or screw conveyors.
Loading Conveyors
Loading conveyors are specifically designed for loading aggregate into transportation vehicles or unloading it from the vehicles. These conveyors may receive their material from other conveyors or from transporting vehicles. Feeder/stacker conveyors excel at this application because they can take materials easily from loading vehicles, rock crushers, and other sources directly into their attached hopper. The configuration of these conveyors allows for rapid, accurate, and efficient loading of the transport vehicles.
These conveyors are specifically chosen and configured to the vehicle they will be loading or unloading. Common vehicles used with loading conveyors include trucks, trains, and barges.
Sorting Conveyors
Sorting conveyors, often called screens, receive inputs of inhomogeneous aggregate, and divide them into different size categories. Sorting conveyors may deliver two, three, or four different products. They may also wash the aggregate or otherwise remove fines.
Sorting conveyors may take material from loading vehicles or catch the output from a processor such as a rock crusher. Different types of sorting conveyors are best suited for different types of aggregates or aggregates in different conditions. The products from sorting conveyors may be delivered to other conveyors to assist with further sorting, stacking, or transport of the aggregate.
Find the Ideal Conveyor for Your Operation
Since 1984, Power Screening has been supplying the aggregate industry with all the tools they need to profitably extract, process, transport, and deliver aggregates. This includes conveyors. Whether you are looking to buy a new or used conveyor or are looking to rent one for a specific job, Power Screening is ready to help.
Our team of knowledgeable professionals can listen to your needs and match you with the ideal machine for your situation. We are well known for providing innovative solutions and durable machines that are well maintained so they run like new when you rent or buy used.
We maintain close relationships with manufacturers so we can not only match you with the latest equipment, but also get manufacturer-authorized repairs for any equipment we sell or rent. We have locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, and we serve clients across these states as well as those in Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Nebraska, and Southwest Kansas.
If you are looking for an ideal conveyor solution for your aggregate operation, please contact Power Screening, LLC today.