NERAK Systems offers high quality grid belt conveyors.
We have a long record of engineering, designing and building complete turnkey cooling systems ranging from tread cooling lines for the tire industry, including cooling of master batch and final compounded sheet or extrudate, to parts cooling of extruded or molded rubber items. We also offer cooling or drying line systems for the plastics industry as well as systems designed especially for industrial operations.
Grid belts or grid belt conveyors consist of two or more parallel NERAK Rubber Block Chains connected by either fiberglass or stainless steel rods, forming a continuous grid that supports and conveys both single pieces and continuous products.
NERAK cooling lines, featuring grid belt conveyor systems, are primarily used for cooling unvulcanized rubber in tire and rubber manufacturing facilities. The open grid of the grid belts allows the product to be surrounded evenly by the cooling medium (usually chilled water) from all sides.
Because of size constraints at many customers’ sites, cooling lines are usually designed one above the other to save floor space, requiring transfers between the conveyor levels. The transfer of material conveyed is fully automatic. Variable speed drives and so-called dancer bars (mounted at the transfers) on the conveyors synchronize the conveyor and product speeds to ensure smooth transfers while avoiding hang ups and balling up of the conveyed product. NERAK grid belts with Rubber Block Chains and fiberglass rods provide a conveyor which eliminates damage to soft unvulcanized rubber, whether it’s used in immersion, spray or air cooling applications. There are three different ways of cooling the product:
Immersion cooling is a very cost-effective and highly efficient solution. The material is immersed into water and transported gently by the grid belt without stretching. Open top trough construction allows for easy access of the whole conveyor system, allowing you to check your product at any position. Immersion cooling offers low energy, maintenance, and service cost compared to other systems, and turbulence in the water caused by the contra-rotating carrying and return sections of the grid belt adds substantially to the system’s cooling performance.
Spray cooling offers both a higher cooling effect than immersion cooling and a smaller footprint, featuring cooling lines at least 10-15% shorter than immersion cooling lines. Nozzles mounted above and below the horizontally running strips or sheets cool the product with high-pressure water spray, breaking the heat barrier at the products’ surface, while evaporative cooling adds considerably to overall performance. Spray cooling lines are enclosed structures which keep moisture inside. Large viewing windows which also function as maintenance doors ensure easy access at all times.
Spray cooling is extremely efficient and cost-effective, offering low energy, maintenance, and service costs. Additionally, the make-up water requirement is reduced compared to alternative systems, as spray nozzles use relatively little water and the bottom tanks of the cooling tower collects return water for recycling.
Air cooling is rarely applied for high performance lines with grid belt conveyors, as this type of system increases the line length. If at all, air cooling lines are used downstream from immersion or spray lines for both cooling and drying.
Grid belts are also used in vegetable and potato harvester applications, carrying produce carefully from harvester to collection bin. Without metal surfaces, grid belts are for rough farming environments; unlike traditional conveyor chains, it’s both easy to clean and any soil brought to the conveyor by uprooting the vegetables will neither cling to the lubricant-free Rubber Block Chain nor damage the linkless grid belt.
Idlers and shafts for grid belts are available in many different wheel sizes and materials. All of our drive wheels and idlers are designed to fit perfectly.
Carrying rods and clips are available in different sizes, designs, and materials, including reinforced fiberglass and stainless steel rods. Plastic clips and cross members are available to transform a grid belt into a mesh belt. Mesh belts prevent material from sagging between the rods, and can be used to convey smaller items. They can also be equipped with plastic tubes to prevent material from slipping during transport.
NERAK will design your grid belt system specifically for your project requirements. We will be happy to advise you on the best material choice, grid belt type, and wheel sizes.
