Precision Flow Handling & Salt-Chemical Process Equipment
Explore our integrated fleet of heavy-duty material conveyance, corrosion-resistant fluoropolymer valving, and continuous industrial thermal processing units.
Engineering Superiority in Custom Screw Conveyor Flighting Design
In modern process industries—spanning salt-chemical refining, continuous hydrometallurgy, bulk cement production, municipal sludge drying, and advanced bio-waste handling—the continuous flight is the single critical wear boundary determining total operational availability. While standard catalogue screw conveyors operate under idealized non-abrasive conditions, severe process regimes rapidly induce flight thinning, pitch deformation, torque spikes, and catastrophic drive-shaft seizure.
Custom screw conveyor flighting is not merely a replacement component; it is an engineered hydrodynamic and mechanical flight envelope tailored to fluid dynamic shear zones, bulk density variations, and abrasive boundary kinetics. Our precision manufacturing integrates high-yield cold continuous rolling, heavy-gauge sectional press forming, computer-modeled variable pitch profiles, and automated robotic hardfacing to ensure unyielding mechanical life in high-load bulk transport.
Comprehensive Flight Formations & Tailored Configurations
Selecting the optimal flight geometry directly controls feed rates, aeration, dewatering efficiency, and boundary layer degradation.
Continuous Helicoid Flighting
Fabricated through precision cold-rolling dies from strip coils, helicoid flights provide a joint-free, smooth helical structure with a thickened inner edge for high root attachment strength and superior material flow.
- Thickness taper: Crest is approx. half the inner root
- Ideal for non-packing powders, grains, fine salts
- Economical, rapid continuous production output
Sectional Heavy-Plate Flighting
Individually pressed blank discs welded together into single-pitch sections. Maintains uniform gauge thickness across the complete radial profile from flight root to outer edge, delivering extreme structural rigidity.
- Thickness range: 3 mm up to 40 mm plate steel
- Hardox 450/500, Manganese, Stainless Alloys
- Resists deflection under crushing abrasive loads
Ribbon & Cut-Flight Screws
Constructed with an open radial clearance between inner flight diameter and central pipe, ribbon flighting stops cohesive, sticky, or viscous materials from caking or bridging on the central rotor during conveyance.
- Open-core geometry eliminates inner core clumping
- Excellent for asphalt, sewage cake, wet chemical salts
- Optional paddle inserts for in-transit blend mixing
Shaftless Spiral Flighting
Massive, high-tensile coreless helical coils running inside low-friction liners. Because there is no center pipe or internal hanger bearings, bulk materials transfer completely unobstructed.
- High-torque carbon alloy or stainless steel spring-grade
- Handles fibrous screenings, rags, wet sludge, bulk refuse
- Eliminates maintenance points from hanger bearings
Variable & Stepped Pitch Feeders
Engineered feeder screws with progressive pitch spacing (e.g., 1/2 pitch expanding to full standard pitch) under inlet hoppers. Pulls material evenly across the entire hopper opening to avoid dead zones.
- Prevents material packing and funnel-flow rat holing
- Conical tapering root shafts for volumetric compression
- Accurate gravimetric feeding into processing reactors
Hardfaced & Composite Flights
Substrates built from mild steel or duplex stainless, reinforced on working faces and perimeters with automated plasma transferred arc (PTA) or sub-arc weld overlays loaded with Chromium Carbides.
- Wear life extended by 300% to 700% over bare steel
- Tungsten carbide matrix options for quartz / silica slurries
- Selective edge-facing protects peak velocity radial tips
Metallurgical Selection Matrix for Flighting Substrates
Aligning raw mechanical tensile strengths, abrasive wear resistance, and electrochemical corrosion barriers for process uptime.
| Alloy / Designation | Material Classification | Hardness / Yield | Corrosion Index | Primary Industrial Application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q235B / Carbon Steel A36 | Standard Structural | 120-150 HBW / 235 MPa | Standard (Atmospheric) | Grain elevator transfer, non-corrosive aggregates, dry sawdust, cement raw meals. |
| Hardox® 450 / NM450 | Abrasion Resistant | 425-475 HBW / 1200 MPa | Moderate (Uncoated) | Crushed granite, iron ore fines, clinker, bottom ash, mineral sands conveying. |
| SS304L / SS316L | Austenitic Stainless | 160-200 HBW / 240 MPa | High (Acid / Chloride) | Food salt washing, edible grain flour, dairy processing, mild chemical slurry handling. |
| 2205 Duplex Stainless | Austenitic-Ferritic | 290-320 HBW / 450 MPa | Exceptional (PREN ≥35) | Bromine-bearing brine extraction, high-salinity marine salt, magnesium chloride cake. |
| Hastelloy® C-276 / Inconel | Nickel Superalloy | 210-240 HBW / 355 MPa | Extreme (Chlorine / HCl) | Wet chlorine gas reaction streams, active acid digestion circuits, severe caustic evaporation. |
| Chromium Carbide Overlay (CCO) | Bimetallic Cladding | 58 - 64 HRC | Moderate-High | High-velocity coal pulverizer feeds, cement kiln bypass dust, sintered metal swarf. |
Technology Roadmap: Future Innovations in Helical Systems
How digital twins, additive wear surfacing, and embedded IIoT diagnostic arrays are transforming passive flighting into smart assets.
Finite Element Stress Simulation (FEA)
Every custom sectional flight geometry undergoes computerized non-linear finite element modeling to analyze root fillet stresses, harmonic natural frequencies, and axial buckling thresholds under full stall loads.
Robotic Laser Powder Cladding
Moving beyond coarse submerged-arc welding to ultra-precise robotic direct energy deposition (DED). Micro-engineered metallurgical bonds minimize dilution, creating pore-free tungsten wear bands down to 0.8 mm tolerances.
Embedded IIoT Wear Sensor Studs
Integrating passive RFID and thin-film piezo ultrasonic resonance transducers within the secondary flight layer. Conveyor operators receive real-time telemetry on flight thinning before outer shell breakthrough occurs.
Self-Lubricating Nanocomposite Liners
Development of ceramic-metal self-healing surfaces and low-friction fluoropolymer matrix overlays that lower coefficient of friction under heavy moisture, dropping unit motor power draw by up to 35%.
Tailored Engineering for Demanding Global Industrial Sectors
Specific bulk handling engineering across severe process applications.
Brine, Bromine & Salt Processing
Wet coarse salt, calcium chloride, and magnesium cake trigger severe pitting and crevice corrosion. We provide precision SS316L, 2205 Duplex, and titanium-reinforced flight assemblies paired with PTFE-lined valve systems to prevent downtime.
- Continuous wash dewatering configurations
- Polished food-grade finishes (≤ 0.4 μm Ra)
Heavy Mining, Ore & Cement Plants
Moving abrasive aggregates, copper tailing cakes, and hot clinker demands high structural fatigue capacity. We deploy 25mm to 35mm thick sectional Hardox 500 flights with reinforced center pipes to resist radial bending and shock loads.
- Tungsten carbide matrix perimeter capping
- High-temperature thermal expansion allowances
Municipal Dewatered Sludge & Biosolids
Viscous, fibrous sewage sludge forms clumps around traditional central shafts. Our shaftless spiral designs, cold-formed from high-yield Swedish alloys, convey municipal screenings smoothly along replaceable UHMW-PE trough beds.
- No hanger bearings to trap fibers
- High torsional deflection resistance
China Factory 4.0: Modern Manufacturing & Supply Chain Resilience
Operating from the industrial manufacturing core in Shandong, our smart manufacturing infrastructure delivers fast turnarounds, high material traceability, and competitive unit economics.
Advanced CNC Roll Forming & Stamping
Our facility runs high-tonnage multi-roller continuous cold rolling mills and specialized hydraulic spiral presses. We can cold-form flight plates up to 40mm thick with tight pitch accuracy and no localized strain micro-fractures.
Verified Raw Material Provenance
Direct supply contracts with premier domestic and international steel mills ensure all raw plates (Baosteel, SSAB Hardox, Outokumpu) are delivered with EN 10204 3.1 Material Test Reports (MTRs) and complete ultrasonic flaw testing.
Vertical Integration & Cost Efficiency
From initial CAD modeling and plasma plate cutting to robotic welding, hardfacing, heat treatment, and dynamic balancing, all operations are managed under one roof to reduce lead times and pass savings to global EPC contractors.
Global Compliance Standards & Comprehensive Engineering Verification
Fabricated strictly to international manufacturing codes, our conveyor flights match your local facility requirements.
CEMA & ISO Dimensional Tolerances
Our custom screw flights follow CEMA Standard 300 and 350 for screw conveyors, as well as ISO 5353 mechanical specifications. Flight pitch, outer diameter circularity, and axial runout tolerances are checked using 3D laser arm scanning.
ATEX & Hazardous Location Safety
When operating in combustible dust environments (grain silos, coal mills, chemical handling), flights are designed with non-sparking bronze-faced perimeters or ground stainless configurations, meeting ATEX Zone 20/21/22 guidelines.
Comprehensive NDT & Balance Certification
Completed auger assemblies receive dynamic balancing up to ISO 1940 Grade G2.5 or G6.3. Welds undergo liquid penetrant (PT), magnetic particle (MT), and ultrasonic testing (UT) with certified inspection documentation.
Global Enterprise Sourcing Framework & TCO Analysis
Enterprise procurement teams look beyond baseline purchase price to evaluate total cost of ownership across uptime, service life, and maintenance cycles.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Unscheduled conveyor shutdowns frequently cost over $15,000 per hour in upstream production losses. Investing in hardfaced, premium-alloy flighting with longer service intervals lowers your annual operating costs per conveyed ton.
Accurate Specification Sheets
We work directly from your engineering criteria: inner shaft O.D., outer trough I.D., nominal pitch, flight hand (LH/RH), material feed volume, bulk density, operating temperature, and chemical composition for a drop-in replacement fit.
Export Packaging & Logistics
Finished flight components and welded auger assemblies are packed in anti-corrosion VCI barrier wrap, cradled in heavy structural steel support frames, and secured within ISPM-15 compliant sea crates to ensure safe long-haul delivery.
Technical & Commercial FAQ: Screw Conveyor Flighting
Key technical answers regarding flight sizing, pitch selections, wear resistance, and installation requirements.
Helicoid flighting is cold-rolled continuously from a straight steel strip. During rolling, the outer edge stretches while the inner edge compresses, producing a flight that is thicker at the root and tapers to roughly half that thickness at the outer tip. Sectional flighting is formed from individual, flat circular donut blanks pressed into single, full-pitch turns. As a result, sectional flighting maintains uniform gauge thickness from the inner root out to the extreme flight perimeter. Sectional construction is preferred for severe abrasion, heavy gauges (>6mm up to 40mm), large diameters, or exotic wear plate alloys like Hardox.
Standard pitch (where the pitch equals the screw outer diameter) works well for horizontal conveyors carrying free-flowing materials. Short pitch (e.g., 1/2 or 2/3 diameter) is typically used for inclines exceeding 15 to 20 degrees, as the tighter helical angle counteracts material rollback and increases throughput. Variable pitch screws feature pitches that expand progressively along the inlet opening; this draws bulk solids uniformly across the entire length of a hopper, preventing localized stagnation, surging, and rat-holing.
For salt and chemical processing, wet chloride exposure causes rapid pitting and stress corrosion cracking in carbon steels. Austenite-ferrite duplex stainless steels (such as 2205, with a PREN ≥35) or 316L provide a balanced baseline for chemical and chloride resistance. If fine, abrasive salt or chemical crystals are present, adding automated Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA) or laser cladding overlays containing fine Chromium Carbides or Tungsten Carbides on the leading face and outer edge will substantially extend wear life without compromising corrosion performance.
To determine the flight hand, stand at either end of the auger looking down the axis of the center pipe. A Right-Hand flight wraps around the pipe in the same clockwise direction as a standard bolt thread: the top of the helical crest slopes away from you toward the right. A Left-Hand flight slopes away from you toward the left. Selecting the correct hand is crucial: running a flight with the opposite orientation can cause material to back up into the drive seal and seize the equipment.
To size and price custom flighting accurately, please provide: 1) Flight Outside Diameter (O.D.), 2) Inside Diameter (I.D., matching your center pipe), 3) Flight Pitch, 4) Material Thickness at the root and tip, 5) Direction of Hand (LH or RH), 6) Steel Grade / Hardfacing requirements, and 7) Details on your bulk material (bulk density, operating temperature, abrasiveness, and moisture content).
High-Performance Bulk Transfer & Anti-Corrosion Valves
Complete your material processing train with heavy-duty screw auger feeders, fluoropolymer lined flow components, and expansion hardware.
