A conveyor belt is the moving loop of material that carries goods or bulk material such as coal, grain or ore along a belt conveyor system, driven around a powered pulley and an unpowered idler pulley and typically built in three layers, a top cover, a strength-bearing carcass and a bottom cover. Joseph Thomas Parlour patented a grain elevator using a conveyor belt in 1868, Thomas Robins began a series of inventions from 1892 that led to the modern coal and ore conveyor, and the engineer Richard Sutcliffe invented conveyor belts built for use in coal mines in 1905; Henry Ford introduced conveyor-belt assembly lines at the Ford Motor Company in 1913. Conveyor belts became a basic tool of factories, warehouses and mines because they let material move continuously over long distances with far less manual labor than earlier methods.
Facts
SignificanceThe conveyor belt made possible Henry Ford's 1913 assembly line at the Highland Park plant, a method that became foundational to modern mass production. 1 FAQs
Did Henry Ford invent the conveyor belt?
No. Richard Sutcliffe introduced the first underground conveyor belt in 1905.
No. Mining engineer and inventor Richard Sutcliffe introduced the first underground conveyor belt in 1905.
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Associated With
Source Thomas Robins (inventor) (Wikipedia)
In Field
Source Conveyor Belt (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Conveyor Belt (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, Thomas Robins 1892 sentence
In 1892, Thomas Robins began a series of inventions which led to the development of a conveyor belt used for carrying coal, ores and other products.
History section, Ford 1913 assembly line sentence
In 1913, Henry Ford introduced conveyor-belt assembly lines at Ford Motor Company's Highland Park, Michigan factory.
Infobox: invented
1892
In Field: Mechanical Engineering, Article body
The belt is looped around each of the rollers and when one of the rollers is powered (by an electrical motor) the belting slides across the solid metal frame bed, moving the product.
View the Source Thomas Robins (inventor) (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Thomas Robins, Lead or Career section [associated-with]Quote, Associated With: Thomas Robins, Lead or Career section [associated-with]
His conveyor belt received the grand prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900
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