Sizing a Spiral Step 1

The first thing needed for any spiral is to find how long the belt has to be. Use the questions below to help gather the information you will need.

What is Needed:	Why:
Product to be conveyed	This helps with belt selection
Length of product as it will travel in the spiral	Needed for formula, changing product orientation affects belt length needed
Pieces of product per minute	Needed for formula, contact us if this can’t be easily determined
Dwell time in spiral	Needed for formula, contact us if this is an unknown factor
Pieces across Belt	Needed for formula

Ok now it is time to use the information you have just collected above. Put the information into the formula below.

Belt Length Formula:

Example:
This example will be used throughout the Spiral Help steps.

Product:	Pizza Crust
Size:	12" diameter
Rate:	100 pieces per minute
Dwell Time:	30 Minutes (cooler)
Pieces Across Belt:	Want 3 (makeup line feeding this cooler is 39", want to use 36" wide belt to save floor space, will put 3 across on slight diagonal to accomplish smaller belt width).

12x30x100x1.45 36	= 1450 ft of active belt length needed

Notes on This Example:

The Collapse factor of 1.45 is a standard mathematical number based on a standard spiral belt running on a standard cage diameter. If you are running on an oversize cage, contact us for the collapse factor. This 1.45 factor will apply to more than 90% of spirals made.

Now for Step 2: Determine Belt Width >>