Determine Horsepower for conveyor
Determine Horsepower for conveyor
(OP)
Hello,
I've got a conveyor to design which I need to confirm the horsepower requirements. Following are the specs:
50" wide sliding flat belt
60" long
4" diameter drum pulleys on each end
750fpm
The weight of the product on the conveyor is negligible (cardboard box sheets). I will use a 15:1 gearbox between the conveyor and motor.
I realize there could be more info given, but I don't have it either! Hopefully someone with experience could give me a general idea what kind of power requirements this thing would have.
Thank you for any guidance,
Craig Sink
FDI, Inc.
I've got a conveyor to design which I need to confirm the horsepower requirements. Following are the specs:
50" wide sliding flat belt
60" long
4" diameter drum pulleys on each end
750fpm
The weight of the product on the conveyor is negligible (cardboard box sheets). I will use a 15:1 gearbox between the conveyor and motor.
I realize there could be more info given, but I don't have it either! Hopefully someone with experience could give me a general idea what kind of power requirements this thing would have.
Thank you for any guidance,
Craig Sink
FDI, Inc.
Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.





RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
I would sal that 1/4 HP would easily do it.
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
1/4hp is quite a bit less than what I was thinking, but thanks for the input. I really wish I knew what kind of friction we'll have.
Thank you,
Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
Timelord
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
Start with torque needed to spin the conveyor (including the maximum amount of cardboard) at 750FPM, then figure back to the HP at the motor.
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
HP=2pi*torque*RPM/33000
Using my proposed 1/4 HP make the assumption that delivered HP=.18 after allowing some electrial and gearbox loss; solving for torque
T=HP*33000/(2pi*RPM)=.18*33000/6.28/750= 1.26 ft-lb, probably a little light if you include excess for startup torque (i.e. the torque you need to accelerate the inertial load to speed in reasonable time)
Why don't you build the unit and then test it for friction torque before designing the drive? Make sure you have a handle on the inertial load for startup, especially if you start/stop a lot.
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
(1) Google and download a PDF file on the net called "Smart Motion Cheat Sheet". It has all the formulas and descriptions needed to do this.
(2) Go to SEW Eurodrive's website and get set up to use their PTPilot application (it's free). Your conveyor system is one of their standard models. It will size a SEW gearmotor for your app. From that you can determine the HP requirement.
TygerDawg
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor
Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.
RE: Determine Horsepower for conveyor