Types of Conveying Systems in the Food Industry
Conveying systems in the food industry refer to the mechanical equipment and infrastructure designed to transport various materials, ingredients, and finished food products within a processing or manufacturing facility.
A conveying system is the mechanism or equipment designed to transport raw materials, ingredients and finished products efficiently and safely from one point to another within a food processing facility. In practice it is the backbone that ties washing, cutting, processing and packaging together, and the choice made at design stage governs how cleanly and how continuously the line runs.
Conveying systems play a vital role in optimising production processes, reducing labour costs, improving efficiency, and ensuring the quality and hygiene of food products. Because the same plant may handle wet product, free-flowing powders, delicate produce and heavy filled containers, most factories end up combining several conveyor types rather than standardising on one.
The main types used in food plants are belt conveyors, for transporting products between different processing stages such as from washing to cutting or from processing to packaging; screw conveyors, for dry or semi-fluid materials such as grains, powders and granules; bucket elevators, for lifting products, powders or other dry materials to higher levels in the production process; and pneumatic conveyors, used where traditional mechanical conveyors might not be feasible. Vibratory conveyors suit delicate products such as fruits and vegetables, as well as spreading, grading and aligning items.
For heavier duty and container handling there are roller conveyors, for heavier products or containers; chain conveyors, suitable for heavy-duty applications such as moving bulk materials like grains and for transferring products between processing stages; mat-top conveyors, for products needing stable support or smooth transfers, such as packaged goods and containers; and slat conveyors, suitable for moving heavy items or containers in applications like bottling and canning. Gravity conveyors handle simple transportation over short distances, spiral conveyors give vertical transportation in a compact footprint, and tubular drag conveyors use chains with moulded discs to move materials through a tube.