Difference between revisions of "Tripper Conveyors"

A '''Tripper Conveyor''' is a form of conveyor belt used in  construction, mining, and other large-scale earth-moving businesses.  They are also known as tiered or stepped conveyers, and the term  "tripper" is a colloquialism that formed after they came into widespread  use. This particular type of conveyor was designed to ferry debris,  earth, rocks, etc, uphill. In order to keep these materials from sliding  back down the conveyor, tall ridges or flaps were affixed laterally to  the face of the conveyor belts. Workers watched the occasional rock or  pebble come tripping back down one flap only to trip over the next and  the name stuck.

Although the conveyors move by a repeating series of linkages between rollers, the power source of these linkages is not  always the same. Initially, large diesel motors were used. The motor's  flywheel would connect to a gear exchange called a speed reducer to give  the first roller in the series the low speed and high torque required  to move so much weight. However, the chains between cogs would often  break under the strain. For that reason, newer model tripper conveyors  have a smaller motor attached to the underside of the conveyor for every  hundred yards of belt. While this increases consumption of fuel, it  lessens time wasted in repairing damaged parts because the conveyor  remains functional to some degree.