Spiral conveyor, commonly known as twisted dragon, is a widely used conveying equipment in food, grain and oil, feed, etc. It plays an important role in efficient, fast, and accurate transportation of food, grain and oil, etc. However, during the production or purchasing process, some users may not have a good understanding of the principles and safe use of spiral conveying machinery equipment, and some users may not know how to make purchases. In this regard, the author has collected and organized some questions and related answers about screw conveyors for everyone’s reference.

How are materials transported in screw conveyors?
When the spiral shaft rotates, due to the gravity of the stored material and its frictional force with the groove wall, the material moves forward along the bottom of the equipment groove under the push of the blades. The transportation of the stored material in the middle bearing relies on the thrust of the advancing material from behind. In other words, the transportation of materials in a conveyor is completely a sliding motion.

How to safely use a screw conveyor?
Firstly, before starting, it is necessary to check whether there are any problems in each link of the machine, and start it when it is unloaded to avoid forced starting and damage to the conveyor. Overloading and strong conveying are strictly prohibited.
Secondly, the rotating part of the screw conveyor should be equipped with protective fences or covers, and protective plates should be installed at the tail of the conveyor. Note that during the operation of the equipment, it is not allowed to cross the screw conveyor, open the cover plate, or allow human body or other debris to enter the screw conveyor to avoid safety accidents.
Afterwards, the screw conveyor stops under no-load conditions. Before stopping the operation, the materials inside the conveyor must be unloaded to keep the machinery in an idle state before stopping. Afterwards, comprehensive maintenance, lubrication, and rust prevention should be carried out on the screw conveyor. If cleaning with water is necessary, the electrical part of the screw conveyor should be properly protected to prevent water from getting wet.

What are the advantages of using a bendable screw conveyor in combination with horizontal and vertical conveyors?
As the name suggests, the central axis of the spiral body of a bendable screw conveyor is bendable. If food and beverages need to be bent or bypassed in horizontal and vertical conveying lines, they can be arranged according to spatial curves as needed.
At the same time, according to the different length ratios of the horizontal and vertical sections in the layout route, it is designed as a regular screw conveyor or a vertical screw conveyor, which is flexible and variable, without causing jamming or low noise. However, when paired with vertical conveying, the speed is generally required to be high and not less than 1000r/min.

What are the common types of screw conveyors?
The common screw conveyors mainly include vertical screw conveyors and horizontal screw conveyors. Users should pay attention to the fact that vertical screw conveyors, due to their small conveying capacity, low conveying height, high speed, and high energy consumption, can be used to transport powder and granular materials with good fluidity. They are mainly used for lifting materials, and the lifting height is generally not more than 8 meters. The horizontal screw conveyor is convenient for multi-point loading and unloading, and can simultaneously complete mixing, stirring, or cooling functions during the conveying process. It is widely used in the food and beverage processing industry.