Chapter Eight

Oscillating Conveyor
 Oscillating Conveyors
A vibrating conveyor consists of a trough
supported by tined springs and/or hinged links
having a drive system. Thus these conveyors
are sometimes called oscillating conveyors.
The vibrating conveyor consists of the following
elements:
a)Watertight stainless steel tray riveted to a rigid
mild steel frame
b)Swinging arms
c)drive
 Oscillating Conveyors
Classification of vibratory conveyor
Vibratory conveyors may be classified on
the basis of 3 considerations:
1)The pattern of motions of the trough or
load
2)Drive mechanism
3)Frequency of excitation
Pattern of motion of the trough or load

1. Reciprocating or inertia-type conveyors

As the trough moves forward during its
forward motion, it carries the material with
it
2. Vibrating or oscillating conveyors
The load is periodically thrown above the
trough (jumps) with the vertical component
of the trough acceleration greater than the
acceleration due to gravity
 Drive Mechanism

1. Direct mechanical type, use crank and

connecting rod
2. Single or double eccentric weight on a
rotating shaft
3. Electromagnetic exciter using pulsed
single-phase AC supply
 Frequency of Excitation
According to the range of frequency of
excitation of the trough, the vibratory
conveyor can be classified as
1.Sub-resonant
2.Resonant
3.Super-resonant system
 Oscillating Conveyors
Oscillating conveyors move materials in a
uniform, continuous flow by the upward
and forward oscillating motion of a
continuous metal trough, mounted on
sturdy inclined reactor legs. The angle
of inclination of the conveyor arm may
vary from 25 to 30 degree.

S = A sin t
 Cont’d

Where S = the magnitude of the movement of

the conveyor in time t.
A = maximum amplitude of the vibration

k
  2f 
m

where k = rigidity and m = mass

 Vibrating conveyors operating
frequencies normally range from 200 to
3600 vibrations per minute with an
amplitude or stroke range from 0.08 to
3.75cm total movement.

Oscillating Conveyor with Variable Pressure on Deck

The velocity of the deck changes roughly as
a sine wave whereas the deck displacement
rectilinearly. Its acceleration can be
resolved into two components, a horizontal
and a vertical. In the forward stroke a
particle of material with a mass m is
subject to a vertical component of inertia
force press the load against the deck, a
horizontal component of inertia force
tending to displace the load along the deck,
and a friction force acting along the deck in
the direction of the stroke.
 F f  fFN ; G  m  a deck y


F f  f  m  g  m  a deck y ;
F f  Fx , Fx  ma deck ; F f x
 ma deck x

a deck x  a deck cos  ; a deck y  a deck sin 

fg
a deck >
cos  - f sin  ;
 
f  m g  j deck y  m  j deck x
;
f g
j deck 
cos   f  sin  ;

m  jdeck x  f  m g  jdeck y  , m g  j   0 deck y
, j deck y  g
Velocity of the Deck as a Function of Time
• The efficient performance of the conveyor
depends upon the choice of and  A.
The contact of the material with the canal
should be between and . If the t b material
'
ta
contacts the canal at when thet ' c canal
 tb
is still in the descending phase, the
material will move backward until and
then forward.
tb At time it will attain "the
t c
position it had at time . Hence the '
tc
interval is not made
t ' c  t " cuseful. In the case
where the contact is at , the velocity t c of
ta
the canal will not be sufficient to push the
material forward.
 Cont’d…
• This conveyor is used for handling:-
– All granular free flowing materials

– Hot, abrasive, fine, dusty, lumpy, stringy and

other materials which are difficult to handle or
where contamination or corrosion is a problem.

• In addition to conveying, it is used for

– cooling, heating and drying
Basic Designs
Basic elements
1. A trough supporting system.
2. The source of the controlled
vibrating.
Reviewing of the elements:
1. The trough is the only portion of the
vibrating conveyor that comes in contact
with the material being conveyed.
2. The base is primarily a means of
mounting the conveyor and is usually of a
simple design incorporating structural
steel members.
 Cont’d

3. The trough supporting system's

primary function is to control and
direct the motion of the trough
4. The drive is the prime element in a
vibrating conveyor because it is the
source of the controlled vibration.
5. The reactor spring system can assume
many forms including steel coil springs,
flexible steel, rubber blocks, circular
rubber toroids, and torsion bars.
Types of Oscillating Conveyors
a. Flexmount Oscillating Conveyors are
used for light duty applications. They
have simple construction, remarkably
rugged, compact and require minimum
maintenance and attention.
b. Coilmount Oscillating Conveyor are
rugged, well reinforced and require
minimum maintenance. The coil springs
operate in the natural frequency range.
They are used for medium duty service.
The trough is supported by separate legs
that are rubber bushed at articulated
points and do not require lubrication.
 Cont’d
Torqmount Oscillating Conveyor are rugged,
dependable and easy to adjust and maintain.
They are used for heavy and extra duty
applications. Torsion bars fixed at one end and
steel backed rubber bushed at the other end,
absorb the energy of the trough movement at
the end of the stroke at all points of support
along the trough length.
 Selection of Oscillating Conveyors

i) Determining the trough width for the

required capacity

ii) Selecting the drive for the required

capacity
 Charts for Selection Oscillating Conveyor

Charts for Selection of Flexmount Oscillating Conveyor

 Cont’d

Charts for Selection of Coilmount Oscillating Conveyor

Charts for Selection of Torqmount Oscillating conveyors
 Cont’d

Charts for Selection of Torqmount Oscillating conveyors

 Advantages of Vibratory Conveyor
• Hot and abrasive materials can be handled.
• Cooling, drying and dewatering operation
can be done during transport
• Scalping, screening or picking can be done
• Units can be covered and made dust tight
• Simple construction and low head room
• Can be made leak proof
• Low maintenance
 Advantages of Vibratory Conveyor
• Low spillage of fines
• Controlled feeding and material alignment
• Heavy duty drive assemblies are fitted to all
conveyors
• Optional screening section can be built in for
separation of fines and sawdust
• Optional fiberglass section for material
detection can be built into conveyor
Limitations

There are few limitations, with today's

technologies, to the successful application of
this class of equipment. Some materials that
tend to fluidise, or adhere to the feeder trough
may be more efficiently handled by other
means. In addition, a dusting problem may occur
at the outlet of a feeder handling some dry,
powdery materials, and require special handling.
 Cont’d

• The equipment is subject to high

accelerations and high reversing stress
cycles; consequently, to achieve
acceptable fatigue life, the structures
must be designed with stress limits
much below that considered good design
practice for structures not subjected
to vibration.