Need a Conveyor

Hoooow did you get that to work?? Thats ridiculous! You need to buy a lotto ticket asap!

 

Nahh.. I had a good bite on its ass. It wasnt going anywhere.

 

I can't even get my lathe to take cuts without chatter with 2 or 3 inches of stick out

 

better?? lol

 

Whew! That sucker was lookin sketchy!lol

 

Closet thing to your conveyor we built was a hay Elevator. Make sure to give your self plenty of adjustment on the pillow blocks on the Tail roller and a bit of tension adjust on both the tail and drive roller you'll be good. If you have adjustment close enough on the machine work will be good enough. Depending on the weight of material going up the conveyor you might want to knock up a frame with dead rollers (something like these https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...bWDWIjz3tIdGZHPkb9FvNT1BuUBWZTv0aAqCvEALw_wcB) but with wider space between rollers. it will allow you to run with lower belt tension and reduce the risk of the belt parting at the seam if overloaded (just a little...Overload it too much it's going to break!) As for Joining the belt hit up Ebay for belt lacing. You can knock together a lacing tool with a couple strips of steel and a couple or three hinges.

 

Thanks BillyBob! That helps a lot! Does it really matter if the driving roller is at the bottom or the top? I'm planning to put it on the bottom as of now. My buddy that gave me the belt, told me to bring it back when I have the length set and he will lace it for me. I taught the guy to fly and bought him an airplane, so that's a nice little thank you for me.

 

On the Hay elevator we put the motor on the bottom. I've seen belt units with the drive at either end so I don't really think it makes a difference.

 

After a little thought I could see the use case for a top drive vs a bottom drive On some things . On a top drive the section of the belt with the load is under pull. On a bottom drive the unloaded "Back side" of the belt is being pulled.
Bottom side Drive would allow the load side more slack this is useful with lose material (Gravel, dirt, etc). A top side drive is going to keep the load side under more tension so it's good for containers. Both will need rollers to spread the load.
remember you can't push something flexible only pull it (with any force). The side being pulled is under tension. I'm sure I an find some calculations for all this. But you seem to be more of back of envelope engineering with this one.

 

That makes sense, a little sag would be good for my application here. I could see the dirt and crap getting halfway up and falling off the side. My belt is pretty damn stiff so I don't know how much V'ing I can get out of it, but I'll try. I'm going to try to half ass the rollers and wanna try just 2 or 3 midway rollers. I can always add more if I have to and I'm skeptical anyways how fast I can actually load this so that should keep the total weight way down. The goal is to keep this thing a 2man lift and not need a trailer for it to be carted around on. Probably wishful thinking, but I'm trying.

And I called my local rental place and a conveyor is not something anyone rents in my town. That means the price of this one just went way up when I sell it! Gotta make up for the EXTORTION job I just got f'd with from the friendly folks at US Customs.

 

So the new MTS is finally getting put to use. I'm new to MIG and compared to TIG, this thing makes welding a dream.
Practically ZERO SPLATTER! Running 90/10 here.

 

Very nice welding Jason. I forget what we used to use for gas on the floor it the one shop, maybe 75/25 ?

 

I got a good coach. My neighbor has been welding for 35 years. The 90/10 is so I can mess with spray arc. I guess that's more for production work. Not hearing the bacon sizzle sound is very strange. This was not spray arc here. The machine is pretty wild, it makes adjustments when you dont maintain the same distance and adjusts voltage accordingly. Makes a new guy like me look passable.

 

I've made 4 for these setups for the ends of each side. The bolts are welded on the back to 3/16 plate. The part that moves here is 1/4" plate. With the movable eyes on the bearings, it should find center pretty easy I hope.

I think the tabs on the right will have a bolt through it for fine adjust.

 

Jack Screws on the tabs will make adjustments easy and fast. That's a fine looking adjuster you've built there sir. I think it will make getting the right tension and Belt tracking easy.

 

ahh.. Jack screws. I couldnt think what to call them.

 

Head and tail rollers for conveyors usually have a slight crown in the middle to aid in tracking. If you find the belt likes to walk from side to side, throw them back on the lathe and fine tune them. Or do it now before the build. A 1/16" crown will work and you can run the belt with less tension which helps your lacing last longer.
Even our 1.25" wide belts had crown rollers to keep them tracking.

 

I was going to crown the rollers, but forget it. My compound doesnt have but a few inches of travel. I think its easier to glue some rubber sheet to the center section of the rollers. I have some 1/8" nitrile perfect for the job.

 

Pop Rivet the ends of the rubber sheet. Glue likes to give up when it gets warm. And the rub section of a roller can get warm.

 

Little more work on the conveyor.




C purling is pretty thin stuff, so I'm backing up with plate. This adjustment setup works great. No brownie points for pretty tig welds!
I need this thing DONE!