Monday, January 2, 2012

Conveyor Language 101

By Paul Timmerman


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.

The work place can become a similar experience as we encounter industry specific jargons in our daily interactions with co-workers. Being knowledgeable with the basic definitions of the terms that are used in your workplace can spell success to anybody. The industry of conveyors is no different. People who work in this industry have used and maintained a sizeable set of industry specific vocabulary words and phrases. Learning the words that are used daily around these machines will make your working experience with them a lot more manageable and enjoyable.

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.

The term "spur" is not an uncanny reference to our cowboy friends but in conveyor jargon it actually refers to the part that swaps the packages from the mainline towards a channel in the side. You may also familiar yourself with some of the easier conveyor terms such as pivot plates, guard rails, emergency cords, brake motors, under trussings, take-ups, axles, tread plates, chain drives, frame spacers and limit switches. These beginner terms are important, but it is necessary for you to load up with the more complicated terms if you want to impress somebody with your rich conveyor vocabulary.

You could take a quick look at this article in order to impress your friends with highfaluting words regarding conveyor systems. The word cleat has caught my attention because I have always liked sports. Cleat in conveyor language is a mechanism that serves as a signaler, feeler, supporter or shover and is certainly not a term that refers to athlete's shoes. The nip point guard may sound like another position in a game of basketball but in reality it is a protection mechanism that keeps people away from pointed edges that may cause them harm and injuries.

You may also find other conveyor jargon cooler and amazing such as chutes, Dutchmen, cross bracings, gravity buckets, slugs, return idlers, tread plates and V-shaped belts. It is very prudent and wise to familiarize yourself with the many words that are unique to the conveyors industry before you fully immerse yourself in this wonderful world of conveyors.

Cultural diversity is a wonderful world characteristic that should never be extinguished. Much of cultural beauty can be captured in the languages and sayings that are so unique to the different parts of the world. Never ones to stray too far from real life, conveyors too have a language all there own. Understanding conveyor terms and definitions will go a long way towards helping us to not embarrass ourselves the next time we are broached with the topic.




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