A weighing conveyor is a type of conveyor used by many manufacturing plants to weigh materials used and made in the plants. Such a conveyor is typically not an entire conveyor belt but a small, more cost-effective block scale that is added to a larger conveyor belt but tends to lose effectiveness at larger sizes. While there are many speed settings for this type of conveyor, most blocks fall within a certain range and are usually able to check a weight from 15 to 150 items within a minute. To move items, a belt is used on the weighing block; it is usually made of woven material, rubber or polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Most manufacturing plants make or fill items to a certain weight. For example, a ketchup bottle is filled by weight, whether the ketchup fills the bottle entirely or leaves a bit of space. To ensure that all items weigh the correct amount, a weighing conveyor is used. This can be used by nearly any industry, as long as the industry does not produce items that are too heavy for the block.
While an entire conveyor belt can have a weighing system, this is typically very expensive and usually not effective. This is because each section of the belt would need to have special sensors and technology to weigh each item. A less expensive solution is to use a weighing conveyor block. The block is typically large enough to fit just one item, and it is added somewhere in the middle of a larger conveyor belt. Large manufacturing plants often use several blocks at once to increase production times.
The speed of a weighing conveyor is variable among different models, but most are able to check from 15 to 150 items per minute. The speed usually is set to be the same as the conveyor belt to which it is attached, or slightly slower to give the block time to accurately weigh the item. Most weighing conveyors have different speed settings, so users have room to adjust the speed.
A belt is used with a weighing conveyor to move items from the larger conveyor belt and to keep them moving through the production line. The belt can be made from several different materials, but the common materials are woven fabric, PVC or rubber. If the manufacturing plant is legally bound to use a specific belt material, whether for strength or sanitation, it should check the belt material before purchasing a weighing block.