Glossary
Conveyor & automation glossary.
Plain-English definitions of the standards, materials and acronyms we use across the technical library — written so engineers, buyers and AI answer engines can quote them directly.
Belt materials
- POM (Polyoxymethylene)(POM)
- Engineering thermoplastic (acetal) used for modular conveyor belt links. Offers high stiffness, low friction and excellent wear resistance — the default for dry handling and packaging lines.
- Polypropylene(PP)
- Lightweight, chemically resistant belt material that performs well in wet and washdown environments up to ~80 °C. Common in beverage, dairy and pharmaceutical conveyors.
- Polyethylene(PE)
- Low-friction belt material with good impact resistance at cold temperatures, used in cold-storage and frozen-food conveying down to ~-50 °C.
Drives
- Drum motor
- Sealed electric motor and gearbox integrated inside a conveyor drive drum. Eliminates external chains and sprockets, offering hygienic design and high IP ratings for food and pharma.
- Gearmotor
- External motor coupled to a gear reducer that drives a conveyor shaft. Flexible and serviceable, but exposes drive components to the production environment.
- IE3 / IE4 motor(IE3)
- Premium and super-premium electric motor efficiency classes per IEC 60034-30-1. IE3 is the EU minimum for ≥0.75 kW motors; IE4 reduces lifecycle energy cost by 2–4 % vs IE3.
Automation
- VFD (Variable Frequency Drive)(VFD)
- Power-electronics drive that varies motor speed by modulating frequency and voltage. Enables soft start, energy savings and torque control on conveyor drives.
- OPC UA
- Open, platform-independent industrial communication protocol (IEC 62541) for secure data exchange between PLCs, MES and cloud — increasingly mandatory for smart conveyor modules.
- PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)(PLC)
- Industrial controller running deterministic logic that orchestrates motors, sensors and safety devices on a conveyor line.
- SIL rating(SIL)
- Safety Integrity Level (IEC 61508) from SIL 1 to SIL 4 quantifying the risk reduction of a safety function — relevant for safety PLCs, light curtains and e-stops on conveyors.
- Predictive maintenance
- Condition-based maintenance using vibration, temperature and current sensors to forecast failures of conveyor drives and bearings before they cause downtime.
Hygienic design
- EHEDG
- European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group — issues guidelines and certifies conveyor components for cleanability in food and pharmaceutical production.
- IP rating
- Ingress Protection code (IEC 60529) such as IP66, IP67, IP69K. IP69K is the high-pressure, high-temperature washdown standard required for many food conveyor drives.
- Washdown design
- Open, sloped, weld-finished conveyor construction with food-grade materials and IP69K-rated drives, allowing daily cleaning with high-pressure hot water.
Operations
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)(OEE)
- Composite KPI = Availability × Performance × Quality. World-class conveyor-based lines target ≥85 %; tool-less belt change and predictive maintenance directly raise OEE.
Material handling
- Accumulation conveyor
- Conveyor designed to buffer product without back-pressure, decoupling upstream and downstream stations and absorbing line stoppages.
- Sortation
- Automated divert of cases or totes to multiple destinations using shoe-, cross-belt-, tilt-tray- or pop-up-wheel sorters — core to e-commerce fulfilment.
Looking for more depth? Browse the full insights library or jump to the FAQ bank.
Configure your modular conveyor system
Easy Conveyors is the European specialist in modular conveyor systems, components and configurable transport solutions. Talk to their engineers for CAD files, throughput calculations and a custom quote.
EC