Conveyors are the backbone of packaging and processing lines, ensuring smooth transitions and efficient product handling. In this Package This episode, explore the key conveyor types, including infeed and discharge systems, bucket elevators, and modular conveyors. Learn how these machines enhance productivity, reduce downtime, and adapt to changing production needs. Watch now and see some conveyors in action!
Learn more from Morrison Container Handling here.
Learn more from SpanTech here.
Welcome to Package This, your guide to the world of packaging machinery and materials.
Today, we’re looking at conveyors, the essential equipment that keeps materials, ingredients, and finished packages moving throughout packaging and processing lines in countless ways. Truly, conveyors keep the entire operation in motion. So let’s get rolling!
BUCKET CONVEYORS
Bucket conveyors, also called bucket elevators, move products vertically — and sometimes even horizontally — using individual buckets.
They’re ideal for gently handling finished or fragile food products, minimizing breakage before packaging.
The Ryson Bucket Elevator is designed to do just that. Its modular design offers flexibility in both layout and height, with multiple infeed and discharge points that make integration simple.
Ryson bucket elevators are completely enclosed, protecting the product and preventing spillage. Their overlapping, pivoting buckets also keep out foreign debris, maintaining a clean and controlled transfer from start to finish.
Built for durability and continuous operation, Ryson’s bucket elevators offer one of the most reliable, space-saving solutions for vertical conveying in the industry.
SCREW CONVEYORS
Now, on to screw conveyors.
These systems use rotating timing screws to position and space containers precisely, keeping them aligned for filling, capping, labeling, as we see here from Morrison Timing Screws.
Engineered to keep your line moving smoothly and efficiently, these screw conveyors combine, divide, and orient containers for perfect presentation, maintaining spacing and control at high speeds.
Screw conveyors are often used for rigid and semi-rigid containers — bottles, jars, or other shapes — ensuring consistent motion from one machine to the next.
From feeding and grouping to indexing, turning, combining, or dividing, Morrison’s systems are the workhorses that make downstream operations faster, cleaner, and more reliable.
INFEED & DISCHARGE CONVEYORS
Infeed and discharge conveyors handle the smooth transfer of products into and out of packaging machines — and Span Tech designs theirs to make it seamless.
These conveyors are engineered for precision handling, preventing misalignment and jams that can slow production.
Span Tech systems can be customized with adjustable speeds, various lengths, and a range of configurations to fit perfectly with other equipment on the line.
Built for continuous operation, they’re durable, reliable, and require minimal maintenance — keeping product flow steady and operational costs low.
From start to finish, Span Tech ensures every package gets where it needs to go — safely, reliably, and without interruption.
MODULAR CONVEYORS
In the packaging world, consistency is everything. That’s why Span Tech has engineered a full range of chain types designed to move your products smoothly, like these modular conveyors.
Span Tech’s modular conveyor systems feature durable plastic chain designs that make customization simple. You can expand, reconfigure, or reroute them as your production needs evolve, without replacing the entire system.
Each link in the chain is built for strength and easy maintenance. Damaged sections can be swapped out individually, minimizing downtime and keeping the line running.
Their modular plastic chains also handle curves, inclines, and declines, making them perfect for tight or irregular production spaces.
Span Tech modular conveyors deliver smooth, consistent performance and flexibility, keeping your operation efficient even as your line changes over time.
GUIDES, RAILS & ADJUSTMENT SYSTEMS
Guides and rails keep products moving securely and smoothly along the conveyor line.
Span Tech’s EZGuide Guiderail System takes quick changeovers to the next level. Operators can adjust guiderails instantly, with no tools required.
That means faster, more precise transitions between product runs, with less downtime and fewer interruptions.
And unlike traditional guiderails with exposed rods, EZGuide’s enclosed design improves safety by reducing the risk of snags, trips, and contact injuries.
It’s a safer, cleaner, low-maintenance solution, built to last through continuous production.
COMPONENTS & ACCESSORIES
Conveyor systems often need extra components and accessories to perform their best.
Span Tech offers a full range of add-ons to enhance functionality. Features like bump rotates and lift gates help tailor your conveyor line for specific applications.
Safety options, including Lexan guarding and conveyor sidewalls, protect operators and help maintain compliance with safety standards.
And maintenance is simplified with clean-out holes and chain washers that support hygiene and extend conveyor life.
All these accessories combine to make Span Tech conveyors more versatile, safer, and easier to maintain, no matter the production environment.
OTHER TYPES OF CONVEYORS
In addition to these, conveyors come in many other forms.
- Tabletop conveyors move bottles and boxes in single file.
- Flighted conveyors use dividers to move products at steep angles.
- Incline and spiral conveyors lift products between levels, sometimes providing buffering or cooling.
- Roller conveyors handle heavier items, like cases or cartons, toward the end of the line.
And specialized systems — magnetic, vibratory, cable, or air conveyors — are designed for unique applications like metal parts or lightweight containers.
We hope this video has conveyed the diversity and versatility of conveyor systems used in today’s packaging and processing lines.
To explore more conveyor types and suppliers, visit PMMI ProSource at ProSource.org — a free, searchable directory featuring over 1,000 expert packaging and processing companies.
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Thanks for watching, and until next time, keep on packaging!
