Health & Safety
PRAB conveyors minimize safety risks by decreasing forklift traffic and scrap contact with operators.
Low Maintenance
PRAB Pivot Belt Conveyors have the industry’s leading reputation as being dependable low-maintenance equipment with long service lives and no carry over issues.
Heavy-Duty
PRAB conveyors are built tough to withstand the harsh conditions and materials moved in the metalworking industry.
Value
PRAB conveyors reduce downtime by automating the scrap transfer process- maximizing machine operator production time.

PRAB Pivot Belt™ Conveyors – Reliable Conveyance of Oily, Thin-Gauge Scrap

 

PRAB Pivot Belt conveyors are specifically designed to handle oily, sticky, and stringy metalworking scrap. The overlapping steel belt pans pivot as they travel, reducing carryback and minimizing jamming from wet chips and tangled swarf. This design improves coolant retention, reduces cleanup, and delivers dependable performance in high-volume machining applications.

Our overbuilt design, featuring a reinforced framework and wear-resistant surfaces, excels in punishing environments where others falter.

The result is a system that delivers twice the service life of competing conveyors. All PRAB conveyors are engineered and assembled in the USA. For our global and EU clients, these products are manufactured and supported from our Poland facility, ensuring rapid parts access, responsive service, and consistent PRAB quality worldwide.

Our Pivot Belt conveyors excel in applications involving aluminum or steel stampings, chips, and other thin-gauge scrap, keeping your workspace cleaner and safer. Built with the same heavy-duty mindset as our other systems, the Pivot Belt features a rugged frame and belt construction that ensure reliable operation in high-volume, wet scrap conditions.

Advantages of the PRAB Pivot Belt Conveyor include:

  • Minimizes carryover of oily slugs, knockouts, and thin-gauge scrap
  • Keeps the plant floor clean and safe by collecting oily fluids in the seamless pan
  • Torque-limiting protection shuts down the conveyor when loads become too heavy, preventing damage to scrap handling equipment.

By effectively elevating oily scrap without carryover, PRAB Pivot Belt conveyors minimize maintenance downtime and improve coolant recovery. If your operation handles messy, hard-to-handle metal waste, the Pivot Belt offers an advanced, engineered conveying solution that’s durable and exceptionally efficient.

Pivot Belt Conveyor | Durable Metal Scrap Handling | PRAB
Pivot Belt Conveyor Hinges
Performantee -The PRAB Performance Guarantee | Pivot Belt Conveyors | PRAB
  • 2-1/2″ and 4″ pitch available
  • Rigidized, dimpled belt surfaces help to eliminate carryover of sticky, oily pieces
  • Overlapping hinged pans pivot for positive discharge
  • Raised pusher flights ensure a positive material flow
  • Extended life with replaceable bushings in heavy-duty side chain
  • Seamless one-piece pan construction for fluid accumulation
  • Side-wings and flights are integrally die-formed with pan
  • Heavy-duty side frames, track, and wear bars for precise belt tracking and longer life
  • Built-in automatic overload protection
  • Covered by PRAB’s metal scrap equipment Performantee
The Pivot Belt Conveyor’s Rigidized™, dimpled surfaces help eliminate carry-over | Prab.com
The Pivot Belt’s Rigidized™, Dimpled Surfaces Help Eliminate Carryover
  • Drive can be mounted above, below or on the side of the scrap conveyor
  • Custom skirts, chutes and hoppers to fit application requirements
  • Special side sections are available for height-restricted areas
  • Special support frames and casters
  • Flanged rollers available on both 2-1/2” and 4” pitch
  • Variable speed drive
  • Auto lube systems for automatic greasing of bearings.

Image Right: Auto lube systems are designed to automatically supply a small quantity of clean grease or oil to bearings on a regular basis-improving bearing performance and eliminating maintenance required for manual greasing.

Auto Lube Systems Conveyor | Prab.com

PRAB’s Pivot Belt Conveyors are available in 2 1/2″ to 4″ pitch, designed to convey materials ranging in a various weights and bulk densities. Multiple configurations are available.

Z-Style Conveyor Diagram

Z-Style Conveyors

  • Utilize plant space
  • Different elevation of discharging point
  • Filling of larger containers
  • Used in overhead layouts

L-Style Conveyor Diagram

L-Style Conveyors

  • Different elevation of discharging point
  • Cost-efficient setup for feeding small containers

Straight Style Conveyor Diagram

Straight Style Conveyors

  • Efficient processing
  • Used in horizontal or inclined layouts

Conveyor Terms: A = Lower Horizontal | L = Length | V = Discharge Height

To discuss your custom application

Top Content

Blog: How PRAB Conveyors Can Keep Slips and Falls to a Minimum

There isn’t an employer in existence that shouldn’t consider slips and falls to be a significant safety concern in its facilities. In an article about overlooked hazards and risk zones in the workplace, Facility Executive magazine cites some sobering numbers: Same-level slip and fall accidents are the leading cause of workplace injuries and totaled almost 200,000 in 2015, according to […]

May 3, 2018
Product Brochure: Stamping Scrap Conveyors & Systems

Proven to Raise Productivity Up To 60%Documented Results Achieved by PRAB Customers Enhanced Productivity Downtime Before PRAB: 3-4 hours Downtime After PRAB: 2 minutes Safer Workplace “Our process of disposing metal scrap has become more ergonomic and safer.” – Jack Rovan, Martin-Baker     Long Lasting Equipment: Conveyors Still Operating in the Field […]

August 15, 2018
Product Brochure: Conveyor Solutions

   Proven To Raise Productivity Up To 60%  Documented Results Achieved by PRAB Customers Decreased Downtime Downtime Before PRAB: 3-4 hoursDowntime After PRAB: 2 minutes Safer Workplace “Our process of disposing metal scrap has become more ergonomic and safer.” – Jack Rovan, Martin-Baker    Long Lasting Equipment: Conveyors Still Operating in the Field After 57 Years PRAB Conveyors […]

August 22, 2018

Two machines, two different jobs. Here is how to tell them apart and when to use each.

A magnetic conveyor and a magnetic separator both use magnets to handle ferrous material, but they perform opposite functions. A magnetic conveyor is a material handling device that transports solid ferrous chips and parts. A magnetic separator is a fluid filtration device that pulls ferrous fines out of coolant. One moves metal. The other cleans fluid.

Quick Comparison

Magnetic Conveyor Magnetic Separator
Primary job Transports solid ferrous scrap Removes ferrous fines from fluid
Acts on Chips, slugs, turnings, small parts Coolant or cutting oil
Category Material handling and conveying Fluid filtration
Typical position Machine side, feeding downstream processing In the coolant loop, often as a pre-filter
Output Scrap delivered to a bin or processor Cleaner fluid returned to the process

 


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a magnetic conveyor and a magnetic separator?

The difference is what they act on. A magnetic conveyor transports solid ferrous scrap such as chips, stamping slugs, turnings, and small parts from the machine to downstream equipment or a container. A magnetic separator removes suspended ferrous fines and sludge from a fluid stream so the coolant or oil runs cleaner. A conveyor is used for material handling. A separator is fluid filtration.

What does a magnetic conveyor do?

A magnetic conveyor moves ferrous material cleanly and without carryover. PRAB uses a beltless slide design, with permanent magnets on a chain beneath a stationary stainless steel slider bed that grip the material and carry it to the release point, including up inclines. It is the right tool when the goal is to reliably move fine or thin ferrous scrap to a wringer, centrifuge, briquetter, or bin. See the full magnetic conveyor product page for models and configurations.

What does a magnetic separator do?

A magnetic separator removes ferrous contaminants from liquid. PRAB separators use a rotating drum fitted with ferrite or rare-earth magnets. As contaminated coolant or cutting oil flows across the drum, ferrous particles are captured and carried out of the fluid stream, and the cleaned fluid continues on. It is commonly used in grinding, honing, and gear cutting, and often runs as a pre-filter ahead of other fluid filtration equipment. PRAB ferrite models remove up to 97 percent of ferrous particles larger than 40 microns, and rare-earth models capture down to 15 microns, per PRAB published specifications.

Do I need a magnetic conveyor or a magnetic separator?

Choose based on the problem you are solving. If solid ferrous chips are piling up at the machine and need to be moved away cleanly, you need a magnetic conveyor. If your coolant is loaded with fine ferrous particles that hurt tool life and surface finish, you need a magnetic separator. Many operations end up using both because moving the scrap and cleaning the fluid are two separate goals.

Can I use a magnetic conveyor and a magnetic separator together?

Yes, and they often work as a pair. A magnetic conveyor handles the solid scrap leaving the machine, while a magnetic separator keeps the coolant clean in the same cell. Both feed the larger goal of recovering fluid and scrap value, which is where coolant recycling systems complete the loop.

Is a magnetic conveyor a type of filtration?

No. A magnetic conveyor is a conveying and material handling device, not a filtration device. It can help the coolant drain off the scrap as it moves, which reduces fluid carried away with the chips, but it does not filter the fluid itself. Removing particles from the fluid is the job of a magnetic separator or other fluid filtration equipment.

What kind of magnets does each one use?

Both use permanent magnets, but are configured differently. A PRAB magnetic conveyor uses ceramic magnets, with rare-earth available, mounted on a moving chain under a fixed slider bed to grip and carry solid scrap. A PRAB magnetic separator uses ferrite or rare-earth magnets inside a rotating drum to attract fine particles out of flowing fluid. The conveyor holds and transports. The separator attracts and extracts.

Which industries use each?

  • Magnetic conveyors: CNC machining, stamping, and grinding operations that generate ferrous chips, fines, and thin scrap that must be moved without spillage.
  • Magnetic separators: centerless and heavy stock removal grinding, honing, and gear cutting, where fine ferrous particles end up suspended in coolant.

For non-ferrous or mixed scrap that a magnet cannot hold, a steel belt conveyor is the appropriate transport choice instead of a magnetic conveyor.

How do I choose the right one for my operation?

Start by separating the two questions: how do I move the scrap, and how do I keep the fluid clean. For the scrap side, use PRAB’s conveyor selection tool or browse the full conveyor lineup. For the fluid side, the surest path is to test your actual coolant. PRAB offers free fluid testing for separator sizing and free materials testing for conveyor selection, so the equipment is matched to your real material rather than a generic profile.

Talk Through Your Application

Not sure which one fits, or whether you need both? Contact an expert at PRAB, or explore magnetic conveyors and magnetic separators to compare them side by side.