All about Bucket Elevators

Bucket elevators are a kind of machine which makes use of centrifugal force and is used in transporting and transferring material from one place to another, generally where the transfer is required vertically. Or in other words, they are used for the deposition of the material from a lower floor to a higher floor so as to facilitate the continuity of the process. They are generally used for transferring powder material such as grains, sand, cement, sugar, etc. generally, these machines are found in various grain mills such as rice mills and wheat mills, but these days we also see how the use of these machines is increasing in the construction industry. Apart from Bucket elevators, other machines which are used in Rice mills are- Bucket conveyors, screw conveyors, flexible screw conveyors, auger conveyors, etc.

Functioning of Bucket Elevator

Bucket elevators work on the principle of Conveyors. The bucket elevator has an elevator bucket attached to it which is attached at the input point of the elevator bucket. A huge amount of the material which is going to be processed is deposited in this bucket and then it has a loop of small buckets attached to it, in which the material gets transferred and then these buckets move vertically, staying horizontally intact so that there is no loss due to spillage and after travelling upwards, they end up depositing the material through its output point. This way this loop goes on.

Types of Bucket Elevators-

Majorly, there are three types of Bucket elevators; Centrifugal Discharge, Continuous/Gravity discharge, and Positive discharge, the selection of the Bucket elevator totally depends on the process and when it comes to grain mills such as rice mills, Centrifugal discharge is used. This is because generally, it is the powdery stuff that is used and not the sticky stuff. Apart from Centrifugal discharge, in cereal factories, Positive discharge elevators are also used because they travel at a comparatively lower speed All these bucket elevators come in different sizes and shapes depending on the suitability of the factory, and where it is going to be used.

Bucket Elevator Components-

The main components of bucket elevators are-

· Elevator buckets- These are the buckets used in Bucket elevators for transferring and depositing the material from one place to another.

· Elevator bolts- These are the bolts that are used for attaching buckets to the Bucket elevator.

· Elevator belts- A component that helps in the smooth functioning of the machine by facilitating constant movement and making it smooth. Generally, for Bucket Elevators, PVC belts are used.

· Belt Fasteners- Another type of screw that is used for attaching the belts to the machine. These are also called Buckles.

· Elevator Chains- This is an internal part of the machine which helps in the movement of the buckets.

· Elevator Drums- These are the drums that are kept at the bottom of the machine and are used for lifting the weight of the chain attached to the machine.

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