Upgrading a legacy Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyor (built 1973–2015) to the new generation design improves overall equipment effectiveness through eight component changes: a larger hopper aperture, cast feed and discharge housings, electric single-operator tensioning, web-free sprockets, tri-clover connections, damped clamps, a modular base and direct drive. Floveyor measures up to 10% higher feed rates and 20–25% less residue.
Floveyor has been manufacturing the aero-mechanical conveyor (AMC) since 1958, the year the company invented the technology. Floveyor machinery is known for durability and longevity, with many of its conveyors running for decades in daily operation of powder handling applications.
If you’re not familiar with how an aero-mechanical conveyor works, read our comprehensive guide to find out more.
Why upgrade a legacy aero-mechanical conveyor?
Floveyor’s overall equipment effectiveness has distinguished it as an expert in powder handling. The legacy equipment manufactured by Floveyor has rightfully earned its place as a reliable, cost-effective workhorse in plant operations around the world. It had fabricated feed and discharge housings and was sold from 1973 until 2015.
If you’ve been working with the same Floveyor AMC for years – or even decades – congratulations! However, you might not be aware of the advances that are now part of our new generation design. That could mean you’re missing out on the most advanced powder handling available in industrial manufacturing environments today.
In this short guide, we’ll showcase the advances made in the modern Floveyor AMCs. Read on to find out about the new generation design upgrades.
How do I identify which Floveyor AMC generation I have?
Early:
1958 – 1972
Legacy:
1973 – 2015
New Generation:
2015 – present
What’s new in the new generation Floveyor AMC?
The new generation Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyor design delivers a more robust and better-sealed construction, significantly reducing dust emissions and material spillage compared to the legacy model. Improved component design simplifies maintenance, inspection, and servicing, eliminating the challenges associated with the earlier agricultural-style build.
Eight aero-mechanical conveyor upgrades that improve OEE
1. Improved hopper: Larger aperture size
Legacy Floveyor AMC hopper design
New generation Floveyor AMC hopper design
Manufacturers are often limited in conveying speed by the actual hopper and housing aperture size. Floveyor’s new hopper design allows more material to be fed into the conveyor, which is especially beneficial for low-density materials that aerate.
In addition, the new hoppers use a cast and machine interface to the feed housing of the Floveyor AMC, which improves the sealing arrangement.
2. Feed housing design: Increase quality and yield
Legacy AMC feed housing design
New generation Floveyor AMC feed housing design
The new feed housings in Floveyor’s aero-mechanical conveyors use cast and machined legs, a rear hub, and a post-welding machined hopper connection. This leads to an increase in quality, improved dimensional stability, and reduced fabrication hours. For manufacturers using a Floveyor AMC for powder handling, this results in more efficient operations, including:
- Up to 10% higher feed rates with some of the lighter products, based on improved hopper and feed housing design
- Approximately 20-25% less residue in both housings after conveying.
3. Discharge housing and tensioning: single-operator tensioning, no working at heights
Legacy Floveyor AMC discharge housing
New generation Floveyor AMC discharge housing
New generation Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyors use cast legs and a cast hub in the discharge housing. The top access hatch was removed, and the nameplate arrangement was upgraded both for sealability and accessibility. This results in significantly reduced sealing issues during wet washing and when handling fine powders, compared to the legacy machinery.
The new tension arrangement uses a set of PU (polyurethane) inserts within a cast and a machined sliding interface. Operators can tension the conveyors effortlessly with simple up/down buttons that control the movement of the discharge housing, which is a massive contribution to overall equipment effectiveness. The legacy machines had a metal-on-metal interface with a simple jacking bolt arrangement. In addition to leaking issues when wet cleaning, they were prone to jamming on the tubes and to misalignment.
The benefits of the improvements to the discharge housing and tensioning arrangement can’t be overstated. They include:
- Improved quality and dimensional accuracy
- The housing slides smoothly over the tubes, thanks to the PU insert
- The electric tension arrangement creates a safer, easier maintenance environment that can be handled by a single operator
- Because it’s no longer necessary to work at heights and tensioning is quicker and far easier in the new generation Floveyor conveyors, the tensioning task is performed more frequently, which contributes to the longevity of the rope and reduces replacement parts expenses.
4. Improved sprocket and shaft design: Even gentler handling and better operator access
Legacy Floveyor sprocket with 6 flat webs
New generation Floveyor sprocket with no webs, and the sprocket can be removed independently from the shaft.
The legacy sprockets and shafts were a pressed interface with a key and locking fastener. The sprockets had six flat webs impacting the material being conveyed, which could increase damage to fragile materials. The new generation design of Floveyor sprockets removed the webs completely, which improves gentle handling materials within the conveyor. The sprockets are also easier to clean without the webs.
In the legacy design, the sprockets were press-fitted onto the shaft using keys and interference fits, which required complete removal of the assembly and the use of an industrial press. The current design incorporates a square drive with a sprocket cap, enabling sprocket removal using just a single spanner. This allows sprocket replacement to be carried out onsite without dismantling the full shaft assembly, greatly improving maintenance efficiency and reducing downtime.
The new sprockets are secured by a reverse thread cap, allowing the sprocket to be removed independently of the shaft. Operators benefit from easy access for replacement, cleaning, inspection, or rope maintenance. In the legacy conveyors, this task could only be done on the discharge housing from the top access hatch, often difficult due to heights.
Benefits of the improved sprocket and shaft design of Floveyor AMCs include:
- Less product breakage when handling fragile materials
- A removable rim makes unblocking a stalled Floveyor very easy
- The rope assembly can be replaced from the feed housing or discharge assembly.
5. Tri-clover connections and SS304 tubes: better sealing, less downtime
Legacy Floveyor with laser-cut flange
New generation Floveyor with tri-clover flange
Legacy Floveyor conveyor design used a simple laser-cut flange with a foam gasket. Over time, the foam seal deteriorates, allowing product and dust to escape. It’s a common issue that requires frequent manual cleaning as the equipment ages.
The new generation Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyor design uses tri-clover flanges, resulting in improved sealing, which means less downtime because the need for cleaning is reduced.
6. New clamp design: Noise reduction and better operator access
Legacy Floveyor with metal-on-metal bracket
New generation Floveyor with rubber bracket insert
New generation Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyors use clamps with a rubber bracket insert. It dampens the noise emitted, and provides better support from external brackets when compared to the legacy Floveyor AMCs.
7. Streamlined standard base: Smaller profile, modular design
Legacy Floveyor AMC standard base
New generation Floveyor AMC standard base
The base on legacy Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyors (1973–2015) was large and complicated to clean. All new generation Floveyor AMCs use a standard base design for hopper support and hinging arrangements. This is part of Floveyor’s modular approach to machinery design and overall equipment effectiveness.
The new generation design of Floveyor’s AMC base arrangement is much smaller in profile, allowing better access to the feed housing while keeping the hopper secure. The new base is fully open and easy to clean. Operators can swing the hopper out to the left or right, as required, for maintenance. The hopper can be easily swapped, as needed.
8. Direct drive as standard: Smaller footprint, cleaner, less maintenance
Legacy Floveyor AMC with custom belt and pulley
New generation Floveyor AMC with standardised direct drive arrangement
Read more about a legacy AMC upgrade at an industrial coatings plant.
Legacy Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyors used a belt and pulley arrangement. Each set was unique to the motor size, voltage, frequency (Hz), base configuration, drive size, conveyor size, and pulley availability at the time. This resulted in many different combinations, presenting challenges when replacements were needed.
Over the past 40 years, a lot of changes and improvements have occurred in technology, which Floveyor has leveraged into the new generation AMCs. The new design implements a direct drive arrangement, which can be easily swapped to the top or bottom drive, if required. The new design is far cleaner, requires less maintenance, and has a smaller footprint.
Legacy vs new generation aero-mechanical conveyor: what changed
| Component | Legacy <br>(1973-2015) | New generation (2015–present) | Operational gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hopper | Smaller aperture; fabricated interface to feed housing | Larger aperture; cast and machined interface | More material fed, especially low-density products that aerate; improved sealing |
| Feed housing | Fabricated | Cast and machined legs, rear hub, post-welding machined hopper connection | Up to 10% higher feed rates on lighter products; 20–25% less residue in both housings |
| Discharge housing | Fabricated with top access hatch | Cast legs and hub; hatch removed; upgraded nameplate arrangement | Reduced sealing issues during wet washing and with fine powders |
| Tensioning | Metal-on-metal interface, jacking bolt; prone to jamming and misalignment | PU inserts in a cast and machined sliding interface; electric up/down buttons | Single-operator tensioning; no working at heights; tensioned more often, extending rope life |
| Sprockets and shaft | Six flat webs; press-fitted with keys and interference fits; industrial press needed | Web-free; square drive with sprocket cap, reverse-thread cap | Removal with a single spanner, onsite, without dismantling the shaft assembly; less breakage of fragile materials |
| Tube connections | Laser-cut flange with foam gasket that degrades | Tri-clover flanges, SS304 tubes | Improved sealing; less cleaning downtime |
| Clamps | Metal-on-metal bracket | Rubber bracket insert | Noise damping; better external bracket support |
| Base | Large, complicated, hard to clean | Standard modular base, smaller profile, fully open, hopper swings left or right | Easier cleaning and feed-housing access; hopper swappable |
| Drive |
Belt and pulley, unique per motor/voltage/frequency/ base/drive/conveyor/pulley combination | Direct drive as standard, swappable top or bottom | Smaller footprint, cleaner, less maintenance, far simpler spares |
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Check the feed and discharge housings. Legacy Floveyor aero-mechanical conveyors, sold from 1973 to 2015, have fabricated housings, a top access hatch on the discharge housing, and a belt-and-pulley drive. Machines built between 1958 and 1972 are early models. Anything from 2015 onward is the new generation design.
OEE is availability multiplied by performance multiplied by quality, expressed as a single percentage. On an aero-mechanical conveyor, availability improves when tensioning and sprocket changes no longer require long shutdowns. Performance improves with feed rate — up to 10% higher on lighter products. Quality improves when gentler handling and better sealing reduce product damage and residue.
Three problems tend to show up first. The foam gasket in the laser-cut flange connection degrades and begins leaking, particularly with fine powders and wet washdown. The metal-on-metal tensioning interface jams or drifts out of alignment. And worn sprockets need an industrial press to replace, so they often get left longer than they should.
Legacy machines tension with a jacking bolt against a metal-on-metal interface. The new generation uses PU inserts in a cast and machined sliding interface, operated by electric up and down buttons — a single operator, at floor level, with no working at heights. Because it’s easier, it gets done more often, which extends rope life.
Usually, and often in less space. Direct drive replaced the belt-and-pulley arrangement as standard, which reduces the drive footprint, and the drive can be mounted top or bottom to suit your layout. The streamlined modular base is smaller than the legacy base, and the hopper swings to either side for access.
The mounting method changed. Legacy sprockets have six flat webs and were press-fitted to the shaft with keys and interference fits, so replacing one meant an industrial press. New generation sprockets are web-free and use a square drive with a sprocket cap and reverse-thread cap — removable with a single spanner, onsite.
How to upgrade your legacy aero-mechanical conveyor
If you need to upgrade your conveying machinery and bulk material handling equipment for your manufacturing operation, a Floveyor with FloDisc® Technology will optimise your powder handling and improve overall equipment effectiveness. See what support services we offer or contact us to learn more.
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