it is development.

www.cementchina.net ■

Dear all..

As far as I know the first conveyor was made using a belt made of leather which was dragged along inside a wooden trough.

This avoided having to carry the material (which I understand was grain), and made off-loading very easy.

There followed the endless belt in the wood trough which made it easier, and was manually driven.

As the conceprt got longer rollers of odd shapes were introduced.

Like the aeroplane, the concept has developed into something huge.

Regards

LSL Tekpro ■

As I understand, Mr.’s Hewitt and Robins filed for the patents on the first trough belt back in about 1935. Why? I believe that is obvious. If one wishes to be pedantic, do your research at the patent office. ■

good photo.

Now i know the reason why belt conveyor is developed. haw-haw ■

Using conveying belt not only saves time and efforts but also releases our labour.

New Technology signifies progress and effeciency, moreover, its development brings in further lightspot in Industries. ■

Great picture in the original post

I have a book called "Belt Conveyors and Belt Elevators" by Frederic V Hetzel, published in 1926. In it is a good summary of early conveyor belt history, some details of which I have set out below, for those who might be interested.

He records the first use of a conveyor belt in the US as being described in 'A Millers Guide" by Oliver Evans published in Philadelphia in 1795. Evans describes 'a broad endless strap of thin pliant leather revolving over two pulleys in a case or trough'. A reprint of the book is available for $30 for anyone who cares to search for it.

For the next century or so, there were many conveyor belts carrying grain installed in various places and the technology slowly moved forward. The tripper was invented in 1863 (US 37615) and the travelling tripper in 1866 (US 66759, 1867)

Then, in the 1890s, conveyors started to be applied to materials heavier than grain. The first use of cast iron idlers is recorded as being in 1891 in the plant of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Concentrating Co in Edison N.J.

A rudimentary transfer chute is also shown from Edison in 1893, in Hetzel's book.

Robbins patented a 3 pulley idler system in 1896 (US 571604), following an earlier patent on belts in 1893.

The problem of longitudinal cracking at idler junctions was a major issue in the early days and was tackled by both idler design and belt construction. The best solution was found to be to subject the belt to the least possible flexure in troughing.

Hetzel's book continued to be published at least until 1957. Copies are readily available for anyone with an interest. ■

Mr. Donecker,

Thank you for the very enlightening and concise summary. I was aware of most of what you wrote and have used it in my presentations on the continuing development to "Sandwich Belt High Angle Conveyors". I have erroneously stated that the first troughed belt conveyor did not appear until the 19th century. Your account reveals that it was already known at the end of the eighteenth century (1795). Thank you. I will make that correction on future presentations. ■

Dear Mr. Donecker,

Could you give more informations about how to acquire the referred book??

Thanks in advance. ■

I've a number of mining magazines circa 1925-1935. If there are requests, I can probably find an article or two. The advertisments are pretty amazing too. Notice no phone numbers!

Link Belt ad from 1930. I think the structure is wooden

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sorry for the size!, I should have previewed prior to posting. ■

Here is a figure from Thomas Robins' patent on conveyor belt from 1892.

And here is another figure from Thomas Robins' patent on troughed belt conveyor (1896)

href="https://forum.bulk-online.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=31404&d=1326196865" id="attachment31404" rel="Lightbox73499" target="blank">■

"Belt Conveyors and Belt Elevators" by Frederic V Hetzel

This book can be accessible from Hathi Trust Digital Library.

http://www.hathitrust.org/ ■

A conveyor belt (or belt conveyor) consists of two or more pulleys, with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called the idler. There are two main industrial classes of belt conveyors; Those in general material handling such as those moving boxes along inside a factory and bulk material handling such as those used to transport industrial and agricultural materials, such as grain, coal, ores, etc. generally in outdoor locations. Generally companies providing general material handling type belt conveyors do not provide the conveyors for bulk material handling. In addition there are a number of commercial applications of belt conveyors such as those in grocery stores. ■

Ironically the bucket elevator dates back to prehistoric times, powered by donkeys, mules and horses. Even the screw conveyor dates back to Archimedes. Why did it take so long to develop the belt conveyor? Necessity is the mother of invention?

Since its development the belt conveyor has progressed greatly in capability, speed, strength and sophistication. The conveyor became so reliable and economical that its use increased dramatically. Though limited in conveying angle to about 15 degrees the belt conveyor even took over the elevating duties for large tonnages of bulk material. Elevating required long horizontal space and/or many switch backs and transfers. Throughout, the belt conveyor remained a long low angle conveying technology. It was not until the late 1940's, early 1950's that the idea of sandwiching material between two belts was introduced. A cover belt was introduced onto the bulk material, with hugging pressure, in order to develop and increase internal friction within the bulk material and at the surface to belt interface making high angle conveying possible with smooth surfaced rubber belts that can be continuously scraped clean and discharged completely. This is the beginning of extending the belt conveying technology into the realm of high angle conveying.

I am proud to have worked, since 1979, in the successful advancement of the belt conveyor technology into the realm of general high angle conveying of bulk material. Until 1979 the equations governing the belt conveyor technology did not recognize conveying angle at all. It thus required our dismembering these equations and reconstituting them to include the forces and resistances that are not gravity dependent but due to curvature, induced and applied pressure. This generalization is best revealed in the year 2000 writing "Theory and Design of Sandwich Belt High Angle Conveyors according to The Expanded Conveyor Technology by J. A. Dos Santos. This is a significant advance in the belt conveyor technology and the generalization, though prompted by the high angle conveyor requirement, serves to expand the entire technology for a better understanding and broader accounting of all forces and influences. This is a fundamental expansion and progression of a technology that was only developed less than 200 years ago.

Joe Dos Santos ■

Originally Posted by cancengiz

Here is a figure from Thomas Robins' patent on conveyor belt from 1892.

And here is another figure from Thomas Robins' patent on troughed belt conveyor (1896)

I was recently thinking about a conical shape of the side rolls for through belt conveyors...just trying to find an easier construction for the idler frames.

But due this difference of diameter brought by conicity, the surface speed at the conical idlers will vary along its length, and this diference would cause belt sliding against the roll, with the respective premature wear and energy consumption.

As can be seen in the picture, Mr. Robins was not very worried about it in the past, as one can see from this drawing...

Regards. ■

Mr. Cancengiz,

I was seeking for an easier construction for upper idler frames, and was wondering about to use conical side rollers. And I abandonned this idea when I realize that the diferences of

tangential speeds along the conical idlers can cause belt sliding which results in wear and energy consumption.

Your figure showed me that Mr. Robins faced the same idea in 1892, but in 1896 he changed, and invented the through shape, used today!

Thanks. ■

You're welcomed, Mr. Calijorne. ■

Troughed idlers made of a single double conical roll do exist on the market and are used at low rate low duty applications. The wear and tear must be acceptable in such cases.

Joe dos Santos ■

good photo,i think the conveyor belt can help man to solve many questions.like crushing stone for linking the the stone crusher ■

Hello,

The recorded histories happen to be mostly for kings, emperors, grand monuments or fascinating vision of the sky and astronomy / astrology. Unfortunately our beloved belt conveyor does not come into any of this category. So it is difficult to find proper history of the belt conveyor. The little information is as below:

Clouth Germany belt catalogue mentions that ‘The principle of conveying material over an endless belt is said to have been known to ancient Egyptians’. It also states ‘In pictorial representation of mining activities in the middle ages one may also find belt conveyor like implements’.

The Goodyear USA belt conveyor catalogue / manual mentions somewhat recent but more specific information ‘Transporting bulk material by conveyor belts dates back to approximately 1795; most of these early installations handled grain over relatively short distance. The first conveyor belt systems were very primitive and consisted of leather, canvas or rubber belt traveling over a flat or troughed wooden bed. This type of system was not an unqualified success but did provide incentive for engineers to consider conveyors as a rapid, economical and safe method of moving large volume of bulk materials from one location to another’.

The information may be of some interest to the reader.

Regards,

Ishwar G Mulani.

Author of Book : Engineering Science and Application Design for Belt Conveyors.

Author of Book : Belt Feeder Design and Hopper Bin Silo

Advisor / Consultant for Bulk Material Handling System & Issues.

Pune, India.

Tel.: 0091 (0)20 25871916

Email: parimul@pn2.vsnl.net.in ■