Conveyor Language – Defining Movement

Have you ever experienced travelling to a country that is not your own and found it very difficult to communicate using words? If you have, you will agree with me when I say that indeed language can be frustrating when you are unable to express yourself properly.

We find a similar experience to the above mentioned occurrence as we get exposed to industry specific vocabulary in the places where we work. It is a well accepted fact that to know the definition of certain terms is very crucial to achieving our goals in a specific line of work. This is much the same with the conveyor operations industry. The people who work in this field have maintained a large and unique vocabulary that they use in their daily activities. Learning conveyor jargon is essential to understanding the wonderful world of conveyors and those who work with them on a daily basis.

We shall have to take a look at the rather easy words that are used around conveyors and move on to more complicated terms later. A belt scraper is a device that is used to take away unwanted fragments that are stuck to the conveyor’s moving parts. The plow is another familiar term used in this industry. It refers to the part that redirect, reroutes or releases materials as it move along the system.

Not an ode to cowboys if you hear the word spur analyzed in your next conveyor meeting your mind will not wander to the ranch but sectional units that switch packages from mainlines to side channels. Other simpler conveyor verbiage includes take-ups, tread plates, undertrussings, axles, brake motors, chain drives, emergency pull cords, frame spacers, guard rails, limit switches and pivot plates. If you really want to impress or show off your conveyor lexicon then adding additional more complex terms will be necessary.

The next time you want to increase your conveyor terminology prowess a quick search and study of this article just might be a starting remedy. As an avid sports fan the word cleat always grabs my attention. Moving away from the astro turf and pitch of the field, the word cleat in conveyor discussions means a part of the system that executes as a shover, supporter, feeler or signaler. Another one of the more fascinating conveyor phrases is the nip point guard. Not a new NBA position, a nip point guard is a conveyor feature that protects jagged edges and angled merges from being exposed or hazardous towards workers.

Other cool yet educated and well versed conveyor phraseologies we can use and research may be denoted as chutes, cross bracings, Dutchmen, gravity bucket, return idlers, slug modes, tread plate and V-belts. When it comes to conveyors there is a vast array of word we should familiarize ourselves with before diving head first into the conveyor pool.

Differences in culture are a very wonderful and amazing characteristic of the world that we live in. Cultural beauty is expressed in many forms and places but not as much as in language and words. Conveyors are not very much different than the outside world. The industry has a rich vocabulary that is unique in and of itself. If we study and appreciate this wonderful language we will begin to more fully understand the people that work with these massive machines.

Visit Wilkie Brothers Coveyors for more information on conveyors or to order Webb Conveyor Chain, Tsubaki Trolleys or any other related replacement parts.