Conveyer Build

[Rvjimd]

Thanks for the tips guys! I'm headed out to the shop now to check on that stuff and try a few of the suggestions.

Jim

[Rvjimd]

I made two new end drums and crowned them on my sophisticated lathe. oh, wait, I just chucked them in the drill and used a wood chisel. worked good enough I guess cause the belt tracks really good now! Thanks a BUNCH for that tip! I even took the belt off my bench top belt sander to see how much crown it had. Not enough for me to notice it until today, but when I put a straight edge on it, looked like about 1/32 at each end of the four inch wide rollers.

Here is the third test video. I hope I can get this sucker working sometime Sunday. I still need to widen the frame a bit to fit the new belt. And, I think I want to slow it down a bit more. Not sure how I'm gona do that, cause I don't want to put a bigger spur gear on it and I don't think I have a bigger crown gear.

http://youtu.be/W2iv_fd8XIc

Jim

[Lil Giants]

If you want slower speed, then use a lower voltage battery... but I'd say your speed is about right in that video. You'd want the belt moving fast to keep minimum weight on the belt at any time, takes less torque to move a lot of material quickly.

[Rvjimd]

Joe,

Have you got anything done on side rollers yet? I'm having trouble figuring out how to mount them to the side rails. I'm trying to do a set of rollers down each side angled toward the middle, but just don't have a good idea on mounting them to the frame. Got some brass tubes glued to the sides and was trying to use a simple wood roller and soft wire, but not having much luck yet.





Jim

[Rvjimd]

Today. Saw good progress with the conveyor belt!

I had always told myself maybe the rubber I was using was too heavy and stiff for the narrow scale. So, I cut up a light weight 26" bike tube, glued the butt ends together with CA, added a small splice piece and it seems to hold pretty good. I don't have a lot of tension on it. One pic you can see the splice. Also, the tube is cut to favor the natural curve or the tube so it follows a nice concave on the machine. I don't think I'm gona need rollers now.



Added a in feed bin, made from tin flashing.


Splice joint in the belt.


http://youtu.be/pE0RhldRzh0

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Here is a video clip loading from the stock pile into the conveyor/stacker to the barge loading pile.

http://youtu.be/kapvscN0GuA

Jim

[MoRockN]

Nice work Jim. That looks really nice. The drag bucket is awesome looking.

Ayoub

[Rvjimd]

Second part of the conveyor loading video coming up...

http://youtu.be/WaSrDUeLv3Y

Still processing, should be finished soon.

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Here is a video loading a barge using the new conveyor. Got some paint on it and moved the legs down to setup for barge loading

http://youtu.be/nMDasxKSxOw

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Someone on YouTube asked for more pictures and detail of my conveyor build. Hope there is something in the video you can use.

This was a pretty satisfying build for me. Fairly simple, yet quite useful and once I got this one running it make me think I need about a half dozen more of them!

http://youtu.be/l09iAWVR9Lg

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Guys,

I'm starting on a new bigger conveyor. Question, I'm planning on turning the end drums on the lathe but HOW do I get a nice convex taper on them? I do not have power feeds so I can't imagine turning it slow enough and manually moving the cross feed and lateral feeds smooth and consistent enough to get a descent drum?

Impossible to do without power feeds?

Thanks

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Well,

I did end up finding the fixture that seems to attach to the cross feed and allows a convex, but, I ended up turning a small diameter on each end and then putting a taper on it using a file freehand.

I think that is going to be good enough in this application.

Jim

[Jared]

I would turn the compound slide to the angle I want and use it to do the cutting and lock the carriage. Then if I want it more rounded I'd change the angle again or use a file. Or turn them between centers and offset the tailstock a little.

[Rvjimd]

Jared,

Thanks for the response. I have figured it is easy enough to just use a file.

Next question - does the entire length of the drum need to be convex or just the outside ends of the drum? For instance, I'm making 1.5" wide drums. Will it keep the belt in the center by only putting a taper or curve shape on the outside .25 " of each end ?

Jim

[Jared]

I would divide it in thirds to more closely replicate the convex shape if you're cutting a straight angle. But if it's easy to disassemble the conveyor and remount the rollers in the lathe you could try .25" on each end first and cut more if it still doesn't work right. If you're going for a curved surface I think it would be best to make the entire surface a constant radius so the point of largest diameter is more concentrated in the middle instead of being two-thirds or three-quarters of the length, if that makes sense.