General Manufacturing Conveyor Systems
Production floors across American manufacturing facilities share common material handling requirements: moving work-in-process between operations, feeding machines with components or raw materials, transferring finished products to packaging areas, and maintaining production flow through multi-step processes. Custom Conveyor & Equipment Corporation has spent over forty years engineering conveyor solutions for these day-to-day manufacturing needs.
Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa since 1984, we design and fabricate conveyor systems that address the practical realities of general manufacturing environments. Our approach centers on understanding your production processes, engineering appropriate solutions, and delivering systems built in our own facility with equipment including a 3kW fiber laser, 300-ton press brake, and multi-material welding capabilities.
Typical General Manufacturing Material Handling Requirements
Work-in-Process Transfer
Moving partially completed products from one manufacturing operation to the next represents perhaps the most common conveyor application in general manufacturing. Parts leave a cutting operation and travel to deburring. Assemblies move from welding stations to paint prep areas. Machined components transfer from CNC operations to inspection.
These conveyors must accommodate the specific characteristics of your products—dimensions, weights, surface finish requirements, orientation needs. A conveyor moving stamped sheet metal parts operates differently than one transporting machined aluminum components or welded assemblies. We engineer work-in-process conveyors based on your actual products and production flows.
Machine Feeding and Unloading
Manufacturing equipment requires consistent material supply and finished part removal to maintain production rates. Conveyors that feed punch presses, present components to assembly stations, or remove completed parts from automated cells enable continuous operation without manual material handling interruptions.
Machine feeding conveyors must match cycle times, provide appropriate product positioning, and integrate with machine controls when automation is involved. We design these systems to work reliably within your production timing requirements, whether supporting manual operations or automated manufacturing cells.
Finished Product Handling
Products completing manufacturing processes need transport to packaging, quality control areas, or shipping departments. These end-of-line conveyors often handle products in their final condition, requiring gentle handling to prevent damage after value-adding operations are complete.
Finished product conveyors may incorporate accumulation zones to buffer between production and packaging rates, provide product orientation or singulation, or include inspection stations. Custom Conveyor engineers these systems to bridge the gap between manufacturing completion and the next phase of your operation.
Assembly Line Integration
Multi-station assembly operations rely on conveyors that move products between workstations at controlled rates, present assemblies at appropriate heights and orientations for worker access, and accumulate work during downstream delays. General manufacturing assembly conveyors range from simple gravity roller systems to powered belt or chain conveyors with sophisticated controls.
We consider factors like workstation spacing, assembly cycle times, ergonomic requirements, and whether operations are manual, automated, or a combination. The goal is a conveyor system that supports efficient assembly flow while accommodating your facility layout and production methods.
Engineering General Manufacturing Conveyors
Effective general manufacturing conveyors result from careful attention to the specific requirements of each application. While the fundamental purpose—moving products through your facility—remains consistent, the details of implementation vary significantly based on what you manufacture and how you manufacture it.
Product Characteristics
Understanding the products your conveyor will handle drives design decisions. Weight determines structural requirements and drive system sizing. Dimensions affect conveyor width, side guide design, and transfer configurations. Surface finish concerns dictate contact materials and support methods. Geometry influences whether products ride flat, on edge, or in fixtures.
Custom Conveyor has engineered systems for general manufacturing products ranging from 6 grams to 6 tons per unit. This experience across the weight spectrum informs our engineering approach, whether we’re designing conveyors for small precision components or large fabricated assemblies.
Production Flow Requirements
Your manufacturing processes determine conveyor layout, speed, and accumulation needs. High-volume operations may require continuous belt conveyors with precisely controlled speeds. Job shop environments might need flexible systems that accommodate varying product sizes. Operations with unbalanced workstation times require accumulation zones.
We analyze your production rates, batch sizes, changeover requirements, and facility constraints to engineer conveyor systems that support efficient material flow. This includes considering how products enter and exit the conveyor system, where manual or automated transfers occur, and how the conveyor integrates with existing equipment.
Environmental Factors
General manufacturing environments vary considerably in temperature, cleanliness, available space, and physical constraints. Some facilities operate in climate-controlled spaces with ample room for conveyor installation. Others face tight quarters, temperature extremes, or exposure to cutting fluids, dust, or other contaminants.
Material selection, drive component protection, and structural design all respond to these environmental realities. Our multi-material capabilities—carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum fabrication—allow us to select materials appropriate for your specific conditions.
Integration Requirements
Most general manufacturing conveyors operate as part of larger production systems. They interface with existing equipment, work within established facility layouts, and may need to integrate with plant control systems or manufacturing execution software.
Custom Conveyor engineers conveyors that fit your facility—not theoretical ideal conditions. We address mounting to existing floors, clearance around other equipment, electrical integration with plant power, and coordination with upstream or downstream processes. The conveyor system we deliver must work in your actual manufacturing environment.
Common Conveyor Configurations for General Manufacturing
Belt Conveyors
Belt conveyors provide smooth, continuous product transport suitable for a wide range of general manufacturing applications. Products rest on a moving belt surface, supported by slider beds or roller beds depending on load requirements and product characteristics.
We engineer belt conveyors with appropriate belt materials for your products—rubber for general use, urethane for specific applications, or specialized surfaces when needed. Belt tracking systems ensure reliable operation. Drive systems size to handle your product loads and conveyor lengths. The result is a belt conveyor matched to your manufacturing needs.
Roller Conveyors
Roller conveyors transport products on a series of rotating rollers, either gravity-powered on inclines or motor-driven for level or uphill transport. These systems work well for rigid products with flat bottom surfaces—boxes, totes, pallets, or flat manufactured items.
Roller spacing, diameter, and load capacity vary based on product characteristics. Powered roller conveyors can incorporate zone control, allowing accumulation without product-to-product pressure. Custom Conveyor designs roller systems appropriate for your specific products and production requirements.
Chain Conveyors
Heavy products or harsh manufacturing environments often require chain conveyors. Industrial chains with attached slats, fixtures, or direct product contact provide robust transport for demanding applications.
Chain conveyor engineering addresses chain selection, drive system design, and product support methods. These systems handle products that would overwhelm belt or roller conveyors, including hot materials, extremely heavy items, or products with irregular shapes that need positive control.
Overhead Conveyors
When floor space is limited or products require elevated transport between manufacturing areas, overhead conveyors provide solutions. These systems suspend products from trolleys moving along overhead tracks, freeing floor space for other uses.
Overhead conveyor design includes track layouts that navigate around obstacles, load and unload stations at appropriate locations, and structural support adequate for product weights and system spans. Custom Conveyor engineers overhead systems that make efficient use of vertical space in manufacturing facilities.
In-House Manufacturing Supports Custom Engineering
General manufacturing conveyors often require custom dimensions, specialized product support features, or facility-specific integration details. Standard catalog conveyors rarely optimize these applications. Custom Conveyor’s in-house fabrication capabilities enable us to engineer and build conveyor systems tailored to your requirements.
Laser Cutting for Precision Components
Our 3kW fiber laser system processes steel sheets up to 6 feet by 12 feet, creating conveyor components with consistent geometry and tight tolerances. This capability supports custom side guides, product positioning features, mounting brackets, and structural elements designed specifically for your application.
Laser cutting enables complex shapes and precise hole patterns that would be difficult or expensive to achieve through traditional fabrication methods. When your general manufacturing conveyor needs custom-engineered components, our laser system provides the manufacturing capability to produce them.
Heavy-Duty Forming
The 300-ton press brake with a 12-foot bed in our Cedar Rapids facility forms structural members and heavy components for robust conveyor construction. This forming capacity supports everything from light-duty conveyor side rails through heavy structural frames for industrial systems.
Proper forming ensures accurate angles and dimensions in structural components, contributing to conveyor alignment and performance. Our forming capabilities handle the range of materials and gauges required for general manufacturing conveyor applications.
Multi-Material Welding
Different general manufacturing environments require different conveyor materials. Standard manufacturing operations typically use carbon steel conveyors with appropriate coatings. Food-related manufacturing may specify stainless steel. Applications requiring corrosion resistance or weight reduction might call for aluminum construction.
Custom Conveyor’s welding capabilities span all three materials. We select and fabricate with materials appropriate for your manufacturing environment, ensuring the conveyor system performs reliably under your actual operating conditions.
Our Engineering Process
Define Your Need
General manufacturing conveyor projects begin with understanding your specific material handling requirements. What products are you moving? Between which operations? At what rates? Within what physical constraints?
We ask detailed questions about your manufacturing processes, examine product characteristics, review facility layouts, and identify integration requirements. This definition phase establishes the foundation for engineering an effective solution.
Engineer A Solution
With thorough understanding of your requirements, our engineering team develops a conveyor system design addressing your specific needs. This includes selecting appropriate conveyor types, determining materials and construction methods, sizing drive systems, and designing for integration with your facility and processes.
Engineering drawings and specifications detail the proposed system. We review these with you to ensure the design meets your requirements and addresses all application considerations before proceeding to fabrication.
Deliver For You
Approved designs move to fabrication in our Cedar Rapids facility. Our in-house manufacturing capabilities—laser cutting, press brake forming, welding, and assembly—transform engineering specifications into completed conveyor systems.
Building conveyors in the same facility where we engineer them provides quality control and accountability. The team that designs your system oversees its fabrication, ensuring the delivered conveyor matches the engineered solution.
Forty Years Serving General Manufacturing
Since establishing operations in 1984, Custom Conveyor & Equipment Corporation has focused on understanding and solving material handling challenges in manufacturing environments. Four decades of experience across diverse general manufacturing applications has developed our expertise in designing conveyors that work reliably in production settings.
We’ve learned that successful general manufacturing conveyors result from careful attention to application details, appropriate engineering solutions, and quality fabrication. No two manufacturing operations are identical—conveyor systems must address the specific requirements of each application to deliver value.
This application-focused approach guides every general manufacturing conveyor project we undertake. Whether you’re adding a single conveyor to an existing production line or engineering material handling for an entire manufacturing facility, Custom Conveyor brings forty years of general manufacturing experience to your project.
Next Steps
If you’re facing material handling challenges in your general manufacturing operation—whether you need to improve production flow, reduce manual material handling, or integrate new equipment into existing processes—Custom Conveyor & Equipment Corporation can help.
We invite you to discuss your specific requirements with our engineering team. Contact us at (319) 449-3322 or reach out through our contact page. We’ll work with you to understand your needs and develop conveyor solutions that address the practical realities of your general manufacturing environment.
