That’s why it’s important to evaluate these 3 essential variables when selecting a chip conveyor for your CNC shop.

1. A chip conveyor that’s best suited for handling one kind of material may not be effective managing mixed materials. For example, if all you plan to machine is cast iron that produces only fine chips, then a magnetic chip conveyor is a safe bet. However, if you produce coarse, stringy ferrous chips, a standard hinge belt chip conveyor is a better choice.

Other dedicated materials, such as brass, aluminum or plastics may require a different chip conveyor type. And things become a bit more complicated when working with more than one material on the same machining center. Which leads to the next variable.

2. Chip types. Various materials and machining processes create chips that range from very fine to very coarse, and from small cuttings to large, stringy chips that can create birds’ nests. Some chip conveyors may handle one or more chip types, but not all. Others are designed and built to handle virtually any size and type of chip you can create. Therefore, it’s important to consider not only the materials and chip types in your current process, but also the possibility that, in the future, you may use the same machine tools with different materials that produce additional kinds of chips.

3. Buying and disposing of machine coolant can be expensive. A filtering chip conveyor removes chips in the same manner as a hinge belt conveyor, but also uses filtering technology to remove particles as small as 50 microns from the coolant. This extends coolant life, reduces coolant disposal costs and protects the coolant tank and pump from damage. Depending on the kinds of materials you run and the chip types and sizes they produce, a filtering chip conveyor may be your best choice.

LNS has prepared a handy chip reference chart that uses these criteria to identify the type of chip conveyor that best suits your processes.

Of course, there are other factors to consider when selecting a chip conveyor, such as the company’s reputation, applications assistance, parts and technical service support and breadth of chip conveyor types offered. For more on this subject, call 704-739-7111 or your local LNS representative.