bulk-online, the Powder/Bulk Portal

The completely closed VecoBelt conveys bulk materials such as wood chips, wood shavings and dust-intensive materials like sawdust. Even in the feeder section, the conveyor belt in this series passes through a pipe and does not run on rollers like conventional conveyor belt systems. Since the belt is supported by an air cushion, only minor friction losses occur during operation, which is also very quiet.Vecoplan® has continually upgraded this series with belt widths of 500, 800 and 1000 millimetres. In the optimised version, the returning belt is accommodated in a closed-off housing. It is supported here by an air duct. As a result, no material drops through in the area of the return rollers.Each drive station is also equipped with two scrapers. Users can adjust the front head scraper and the carbide scraper from the outside. The components can be retensioned in a quick and uncomplicated operation using the ratchet. The front head scraper is flexible, yet strong enough to remove impurities from the belt. The carbide scraper is more thorough, and prevents resin, for example, sticking to the belt. Further scrapers in the weight tensioning stations additionally reduce the maintenance effort, increasing the availability of the systems while reducing material carry-over. Vecoplan® optionally offers a hopper attachment filter, which uses a radial blower to extract dust-containing air during material transfer from one conveyor to the other.The VecoBelt can convey bulk goods over a length of up to 450 metres, with a volumetric flow rate of 800 cubic metres an hour. The conveyors in this series operate at a maximum speed of 2.5 metres a second. The conveyor belt is quick and easy to assemble. The system is sturdy yet has a low dead weight. The spacing between the individual supports can be up to 75 metres – considerably reducing the material costs. Inclines of up to 20 degrees are feasible. Compared with similar conveyor belt systems, this series also consumes about half as much power.Södra Cell chooses Vecoplan's conveying technologyThe pipe belt conveyors from Vecoplan® are the right choice for Södra, Sweden's biggest forest owners' association and also an internationally active wood processor. Their Väro location had previously used trucks to carry secondary materials to be processed, like sawdust and bark, across the company site from the sawmill to the paper mill. When the decision-makers decided to expand the capacity of the sawmill, a bulk material conveyor was planned which could convey the material dust-free over several hundred metres in one process. An important aim was not only to obstruct any areas intended for future expansion by the user. The systems also had to cross roadways and paths – without risking any collisions. Vecoplan® installed several pipe belt conveyors from the VecoBelt series with a total length of around 1700 metres and a minimum height of 14 metres. The systems feature pneumatic forward and return supports plus volumetric measurement of the material conveyed. The mechanical engineering company handled all the steelwork and installed the pipe belt conveyors into the existing environment.Vecoplan® AG is a leading manufacturer of machines and systems for the resources and recycling industry for shredding, conveying and reprocessing wood, biomass, plastics, paper and other recyclable materials such as domestic and industrial waste. Vecoplan® develops and manufactures the systems and components, and sells them worldwide in the wood reprocessing and waste processing industries. It currently has around 380 employees at its locations in Germany, the USA, Great Britain and Spain. ■