Belt Feeders

Belt feeders and feeder conveyors extract material from bins and silos, allowing for an adjustable flow rate with limited wear on components. 

The choice of belt feeder or feeder conveyor depends on the feeder length required.

Belt feeder 

The belt feeder, featuring a rectangular conveyor cross-section, is standard for short distances between bins and downstream conveyors. 

The belt runs on flat idler stations and, together with a straight shear gate opening at the end of the bin, limits the material cross section out of the bin area in a horizontal direction. Vertical skirtboards at both sides shape the rectangular cross-sectional area of the conveyed material. The common maximum belt speed is 0.5 m/s to limit skirtboard wear. Also explore TAKRAF’s Apron Feeders.

Feeder conveyors 

For longer distances (25 m and more), the feeder conveyor is more suitable due to the belt transition being at the conveyor head and tail, and it potentially offers a more economical solution for these longer pulley center distances. 

The troughed idler shape (up to 45° troughing angle) and a circular shear gate opening at the end of the bin shape the material cross section. There are no vertical skirtboards out of the bin. Common maximum belt speed is 1.5 m/s. Skirtboard wear does not occur with this feeder design.