Comparing Types of Belt Conveyor Systems

Belt conveyor systems are one of the most common types of conveyors used in manufacturing, packaging, and food processing because they move products efficiently and reliably across production lines. Nercon designs and manufactures multiple belt conveyor types to handle everything from light-duty contact lens containers to heavy-duty bulk products, including applications that must meet clean room, FDA, and USDA requirements. Choosing the right belt conveyor system helps improve throughput, protect product quality, and reduce manual handling across your operation.​

Available in mild or stainless steel construction, belt conveyors can utilize many types of belting including smooth, rough or cleated. Highlighted in the video, are several design styles that are selected depending on the application:

• Belt on Roller Design
• Cleated Belt Conveyor
• Scoop Incline Belt Conveyor
• Roller Trough Conveyor Design
• Retractable Noser
• M – Trough Design
• 90 Degree Transfer Belt
• V – Guide Belt System

Key takeaways

• Different types of belt conveyor systems are optimized for specific product sizes, weights, and sanitation or inspection requirements.​
• Design details such as belt surface, support style, and troughing affect how well a conveyor handles inclines, accumulation, and elevation changes.​
• Comparing belt conveyor types side by side helps engineers select the best-fit solution and reduce long-term maintenance and downtime.​
• Partnering with an experienced conveyor manufacturer like Nercon ensures systems are tailored to your layout, line speeds, and regulatory standards.​

Overview of belt conveyor types

Nercon offers several belt conveyor types that can be configured in mild or stainless steel construction and paired with smooth, rough-top, or cleated belting. These designs support applications across industries such as food and beverage, consumer goods, dairy, and pharmaceuticals where consistent, controlled product movement is critical.​

Common Nercon belt conveyor types include:​

• Belt on roller conveyors
• Cleated belt conveyors
• Scoop incline belt conveyors
• Roller trough belt conveyors
• Retractable noser designs
• M-trough conveyors
• 90-degree transfer belt conveyors
• V-guide belt systems

Comparison of key belt conveyor types

Belt conveyor type	Best for	Key design features
Belt on roller design	Cartons, cases, and heavier products over longer runs	Belt rides on rollers to reduce friction and power usage at higher line speeds.
Cleated belt conveyor	Steep inclines, product spacing, and indexing	Raised cleats molded or attached to the belt prevent rollback and maintain gaps.
Scoop incline belt conveyor	Elevating small or irregular items between levels	Deep scoops or cleats capture product for controlled, vertical or steep movement.
Roller trough conveyor	Bulk materials or unstable items needing side support	Belt is formed into a “trough” to contain product and minimize spillage.
Retractable noser	Transfers to downstream equipment or intermittent flow	Nose section retracts to create a gap for drops, rejects, or access.
M-trough design	Higher volumes and better containment than flat belts	Multiple angled sections shape the belt into an “M” profile to cradle product.
90-degree transfer belt	Right-angle transfers within tight layouts	Special belt and pulley arrangement enables smooth, 90-degree product transfer.
V-guide belt system	High-speed, precise tracking applications	V-groove in the bed and matching V-guide under the belt help maintain alignment.​

Belt on roller conveyor design

Belt on roller conveyors are ideal when you need to move cartons, totes, or cases efficiently over longer distances with reduced friction and power consumption. In this belt conveyor type, the belt rides on rollers instead of a solid slider bed, which helps support higher speeds and heavier loads while minimizing wear.​

Engineers often select this type of belt conveyor system for:​

• Case-packing lines and end-of-line packaging
• Warehouse or distribution applications moving cases between zones
• Lines where accumulation or buffer zones are required before downstream equipment

Cleated belt conveyor systems

Cleated belt conveyors use raised cleats to keep products spaced and secure on inclines, declines, or during indexing operations. This belt conveyor type is especially effective when handling small, loose, or irregularly shaped items that might otherwise roll or slide on a flat belt surface.​

Typical uses for cleated belt conveyor systems include:​

• Elevating packaged food or ingredients to multi-level equipment
• Creating precise product spacing feeding fillers, baggers, or cartoners
• Reducing product slippage in washdown or high-moisture environments

Scoop incline belt conveyor systems

Scoop incline belt conveyors combine cleats or pockets with an incline design to move product between elevations while minimizing rollback and spillage. This type of belt conveyor system is common in food and consumer packaged goods operations where products must move from floor level up to hoppers, freezers, or mezzanine equipment.​

Scoop incline belts are a good fit when you need:​

• Gentle handling of small or fragile items during elevation changes
• Compact layouts that maximize vertical space instead of floor space
• Controlled transfer into weighers, fillers, or other processing equipment

Roller trough and M-trough belt conveyors

Roller trough and M-trough conveyor designs shape the belt to form a channel that contains product, improving control and reducing spillage. These types of belt conveyor systems are often used for bulk materials, pouches, and irregular shapes that need additional side support compared with a flat belt.​

Benefits of trough-style belt conveyors include:​

• Better containment of bulk or loose products through curves and elevation changes
• Flexible line layouts that handle both straight runs and gentle turns
• Improved product stability at higher speeds or when merging lines

90-degree transfer belt conveyors

A 90-degree transfer belt conveyor allows product to change direction at a right angle without manual handling, helping designers create compact production lines. This belt conveyor type can be engineered to maintain product orientation and spacing, which is important when feeding labeling, coding, or inspection equipment.​

Common applications include:​

• Right-angle transfers between parallel packaging lines
• Routing product to redundant or alternating machines for uptime
• Tight layouts where space constraints limit long-radius curves

V-guide belt conveyor systems

V-guide belt conveyor systems use a V-shaped guide on the underside of the belt and a matching V-groove in the conveyor bed to keep the belt centered. This type of belt conveyor system helps reduce edge wear, belt wandering, and unplanned maintenance, especially in long or high-speed runs.​

V-guide designs are particularly helpful when:​

• Precise product tracking is needed for inspection, printing, or vision systems
• Lines have frequent starts and stops that can affect belt tracking
• Tight tolerances or narrow belt widths make mis-tracking more likely

How belt conveyor types compare to other conveyor systems

While this page focuses on types of belt conveyor systems, engineers often evaluate them alongside other types of conveyors such as roller, screw, chain, and modular plastic conveyors. Belt conveyors remain a preferred choice for many packaging and processing lines because they offer a continuous conveying surface that supports a wide range of product sizes, shapes, and weights.​

Nercon’s broader conveyor portfolio includes MatTop modular plastic belt conveyors, sanitary washdown systems, and specialty solutions that complement traditional belt conveyor types when specific hygiene, accumulation, or curve requirements arise.​

Common applications for belt conveyor systems

Across industries, belt conveyor systems support critical functions throughout the production line. Applications for Nercon belt conveyors include:​

• Transporting, inspecting, and accumulating products
• Elevating, lowering, cooling, rinsing, and freezing items
• Sorting, diverting, assembling, sealing, and inverting containers

In many facilities, multiple belt conveyor types work together with other conveyor systems to create a complete, integrated material handling solution.​

When to partner with Nercon on belt conveyor types

Selecting the right belt conveyor type involves evaluating product characteristics, line speeds, sanitation requirements, and future flexibility. Working with an experienced conveyor manufacturer like Nercon helps ensure your conveyor belt systems are engineered for reliability, ease of maintenance, and seamless integration with existing equipment.​

If you are planning a new line, upgrading existing conveyors, or exploring different types of conveyors for a plant expansion, Nercon can help you compare options and design a system tailored to your specific goals.​