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What Is a Bag Conveyor?

Paul Scott
Paul Scott

Bag conveyors are specialized material handling devices used to transport products in bags through various production processes to storage or distribution points. The conveyors are typically of a conventional continuous reinforced rubber belt design with direct drive electric motors. Several specific types of bag conveyor are designed to include production processes such as flattening, sealing, and turning of the bags. Depending on process specifics, the bag conveyor may be a permanent installation or a modular system that is easy to move around as production demands change. The conveyor systems are available in a range of sizes and capacities, including models suitable for horizontal or elevated operation.

Bagged products are challenging items to work with in most production processes. Bags are usually relatively thin and require gentle handling to prevent tears and spillage, requiring the systems to be designed with a minimum of protrusions and sharp edges. The bags are also sealed once full, creating a unique situation where the still open bag must be turned upright and transported vertically until it can be sewed or sealed. To facilitate easy and efficient packing of bags on pallets, they often require flattening prior to sealing, which requires another specialized production step along the conveyor route. The bag conveyor family of material transport solutions are designed to not only transport bagged products, but to also facilitate all of these, along with several other processes.

Woman holding a book
Woman holding a book

The bag conveyor is generally similar in its basic construction and operation to many other continuous belt systems. A reinforced rubber belt is joined to form a continuous loop driven by an electric motor. As the conveyor runs, the upper surface of the loop, or transport run, moves the bags along its length to a discharge point. These structures may be permanently installed or be movable, temporary units that can be shifted around as the production process demands. In some cases, the belt may be ribbed to allow for operation on an incline.

Specialized bag conveyor units are often included in standard transport routes to perform particular tasks in the production process. These include flattening filled bags, turning them into a vertical position, and sealing or sewing the bags closed. Weighing stations, contaminant scanning, and reject diversion units are also commonly included in production routes. Most bag conveyor systems include raised, vertical sides that prevent bags from riding up and falling off of the conveyor. A wide variety of different bag conveyor sizes and capacities are available, as are specialized units designed to run in an elevated configuration.

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