Oscillating Conveyor System
In this post, we focus on the vibrating/oscillating conveyor systems and their categories, designs and applications. Manufacturers can transfer material from one area to another and fulfil the task in a number of different ways. Conveyor Transportation technology has been designed for moving various types of goods, whether they solid, semisolid or sometimes liquid, and a number of conveyor systems are available to suit these requirements. This article is designed to help people concerned with conveyors determine whether the vibrating / oscillating conveyor meets their requirements and help customers learn their alternatives.
Nowadays, vibratory conveyor technology is used in a wide variety of industrial applications. It is a necessary component of production and assembly lines since it transports components to locations for processing or assembly. Today, mining, metallurgical, and processing facilities, as well as other primary engineering, are unthinkable without such equipment. Vibratory conveyors are often used in groups and are an integral component of automated manufacturing and assembly operations.
The widespread use of vibratory conveyors or oscillating conveyors in industrial facilities has resulted in attempts to enhance their performance and remove associated issues. Much work is spent on optimizing geometrical parameters, which are dependent on a variety of variables, including the mechanical characteristics of the carried particles, their size, the friction between the conveying surface and the conveying element's frequency of oscillation.
Systems of vibratory conveyors or Oscillating Conveyors:
There are many producers of vibratory conveyors globally today. This has a broad range of applications in a variety of sectors for the transportation of components or in heavy industry for the transportation and sorting of bulk materials. Vibratory conveyors' primary benefit is its structural simplicity and minimal overall maintenance needs. However, this definition is limited to vibratory conveyors used in heavy industries. The usage of vibratory conveyors in buildings and assembly rooms has shown its primary disadvantages related with vibration and noise over time.
Linear vibrating conveyors
Vibratory conveyors are classified into linear and screw conveyors based on their architecture and the primary carrier of the oscillatory motion of items. Vibratory conveyors are essentially unique in comparison to other modes of conveyance. Conventional transport devices are typically defined by the object being transported moving continuously along the conveying element (carrier), whereas vibratory conveyors subject the transported objects, components, or bulk material to a periodic motion with the primary component of the transport way being free of contact with the carrier.
The amplitude and frequency of conveying components are clearly critical factors for a conveyor's proper operation and output. In addition to these variables, the angle of the direction vector of the conveying element's oscillatory motion relative to the primary direction of the items carried, or to the horizontal plane, must be defined. Elevation is the term used to describe this angle.
Other critical variables affecting the operation and performance of vibratory conveyors include the mechanical characteristics of the transported items, such as the object's surface and shape, and the conveying element's transport surface. It is conceivable that the physical transport friction between the item and the conveying element's surface plays a critical role. For linear conveyors, induction motors with exciter are often utilized. In practice, a value between 15° and 35° is used for the elevation angle. This range is based on empirical data. The greater the angle, the lower the excitation frequency that must be selected.
Vibratory conveyor designs include the following:
Basic vibratory conveyor designs typically have the following components and properties:
– Conveying element,
– The inertial mass of an object.
– Framework,
– Floor,
– Elasticity of the element carrying the load relative to the frame,
– Between the conveyance element and the frame, there is a guide mechanism.
– The elastic modulus of the conveying element in relation to the inertial mass.
– Mechanism that acts as a guide between the transporting element and inertia,
– An exciter of vibration connected to a conveying device,
– Exciter for vibrations applied to the inertial mass,
– A vibration exciter in between the carrier and inertia,
– Arrays of buffers.
Vibratory conveyors' conveying components are often configured as pipes, cylindrical or conical drums, or rectangular channel. Due to the simplicity and dependability of this kind of construction, the carrier's guiding mechanism relative to the frame or inertia is often built as a parallelogram.
Leaf springs or helical springs are often used to connect the conveying element to the frame or inertia. The inertia mass is resiliently connected to the carrier on one side and to the frame on the other. This is often used to impart a desired motion to the conveying element or to minimize the transfer of unwanted vibrations to the frame and surrounding area. Additionally, tuning stability is a concern when using an inertia mass.
The frames of vibratory conveyors / Oscillating conveyors are typically welded or cast and are often supported by rubber springs with a reasonably high stiffness. In certain instances, frames are attached to the floor by stiff connections, such as screw anchors. No rubber sprigs are used in these instances.
Excitation is accomplished via eccentric motors or electromagnetic vibration exciters. External vibration exciters are rotors that are naturally unbalanced and may be linked to either the conveying element or the inertial mass. Typically, an electromagnetic oscillation exciter is attached to energize a spring. The split core is connected to the inertial mass on one side and to the conveying element on the other.
Selection of vibrating/oscillating conveyor:
The oscillating motion of the trough is achieved via specially designed inclined arms and an eccentric shaft driven by a motor through V-belts. The eccentric shaft is mounted on anti friction bearings and has V-pulleys at both ends with weights on them to counteract the unbalancing force. The rotation of the eccentric shaft provides a forward and backward motion to a connecting arm attached to the trough through a rubberized pin.
The trough motion is predominantly horizontal with some vertical component, which causes it to oscillate with a pattern conductive to conveying material. A retaining spring assembly at the back of the trough absorbs shock load. All components including drive motor are mounted on a rigidly constructed base frame.
Types of Vibrating / Oscillating Conveyor system
In vibrating conveyors there are three major drive mechanisms: cranks/springs, weights revolving, and electromagnets. Crank or spring-type conveyors are turned by a motor has a four bar mechanism, which transmit an elastic force causing sinusoidal movement. The very same objective are achieved by revolving weights and electromagnets, but by rotating eccentric weights and rotating magnetic fields respectively. The benefits of any one drive mechanism over another are quite varied since they are all shown to be successful and depend greatly on the application conditions and the working environment.
Vibratory Feeders
Vibratory Feeders
When it comes to continuous weighing applications, these vibratory feeders are particularly helpful since they can handle higher volume rates than other feeder types. They find use in a variety of sectors, including the chemical, food, hardware, and manufacturing industries, among others.
Difference between Vibrating Conveyor vs Oscillating Conveyor
Oscillating conveyors are often referred to as a particular form of vibrating conveyor when they work with a relatively low frequency and a greater range of motion than would be normally used with a vibration conveyor. This means that oscillating conveyor systems are utilised for the transmission of bulk commodities such as in the wood or waste management/recycling industries. These conveyors, for instance, can be used to carry wooden scraps upstream and transfer them to an outlet.
In contrast to vibrating conveyors operating at lower amplitudes and higher frequencies, the flow or transportation of the substance is softer with a vibrating conveyor than with a oscillating conveyor. Oscillating conveyors are often known as jump conveyors or grass hopper conveyors in hard rock mining applications.
Advantages of Oscillating Conveyor System:
· Hot and abrasive materials can be handled
· Cooling, drying and dewatering operation can be done during transport
· Scalping, screening or picking can be done
· Units can be covered and made dust tight
· Simple construction and low head room
· Can be made leak proof
Disadvantages of Oscillating Conveyor System:
· Relatively short length of conveying ( about 50 m Maximum)
· Limited capacity, about 350 tons per hour for length of conveying of 30 m.
· Some degradation of material takes place.
Applications of Oscillating Conveyor System:
- Vibratory conveyors find wide spread application in the transportation of dusty, hot, toxic, and chemically aggressive bulk material through a closed trough or pipe in chemical, metallurgical, mining industries and manufacturing of building materials.
- Vibratory conveyors are also employed for transportation of steel chips in machine shop, hot knocked out sand, wastes and small castings in foundry shop. Vibratory feeders are also in use for delivery of small machine parts like screws, rivets etc.
- Sticky materials like wet clay or sand are unsuitable for vibratory conveyors. In handling finely pulverized materials, like cement etc., the performance of such conveyors are reported to be poor.
- Vibratory conveyors are hardly employed for handling common bulk loads, such as sand, gravel, coal etc as the same can be done more efficiency by belt conveyors.
