Conveyor belts are widely used in the food processing industry, as ingredients need to be brought together and products moved to different parts of the production process. There are many different options for the kind of conveying system used within the industry and manufacturers need to carefully consider several different factors before deciding on the best system for their particular plant or factory.

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Volume and material

One of the first factors to consider is how much of a particular ingredient or material you want to move; for example, vacuum conveyancing won’t work well if you have a lot of material to move or the material is heavy, wet or sticky. If you are moving a moderate volume of material, especially a powder-like flour, vacuum conveyancing can be very cost effective. There are fewer moving parts in a vacuum system, keeping maintenance and cleaning costs down, and the flour moves freely and is less likely to clog.

Hygiene and maintenance

Hygiene is of paramount importance in the food processing industry. The materials being transported are often wet or sticky and it is important to find ways of minimising the amount of cleaning that needs to be done and the risk of contamination. One way to do this is by selecting the materials used in the conveying system carefully; for example, some plastics are easier to clean than others. Design is also important – the fewer spaces in which oil, food residue or other food waste can accumulate, the easier hygiene will be and the less cleaning time required.

Distance and space

Another factor to consider is how far you need to move things through your plant and how much space is available. Modern pneumatic conveying systems are capable of both horizontal and vertical conveying. If you plan carefully and work closely with a supplier such as http://www.aptech.uk.com/pneumatic-conveying/ to design your pneumatic conveying, you can fit an efficient conveying system around existing machines or into an awkwardly-shaped factory space.

Transport

Finally, you need to consider how the material will get on and off the conveyor system. Will it be transported by hand? By forklift truck? Is there an efficient feeding system that you can install? How will the material be collected and moved on at the other end?