ABSTRACT
The three types of overhead chain conveyors are free, power, and power and free (P&F). The names refer to how the carriers on the conveyors are moved.
All of these conveyor types have basic system design requirements that must be dealt with up front. The primary design requirement or consideration is carrier design: How is the product going to be supported by the conveyor? As the carrier follows the overhead track, the product must always stay on or in the carrier so the carrier must balance the load on the conveyor. In some applications the carrier must be able to orient the product, such as rotating a product in a paint booth or an interface to another piece of equipment.
