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Cascading Solutions of Grasshopper Conveyors in Bulk Material Handling

Time:2025-08-08 11:33:52 Number of Clicks:

Cascading of Grasshopper Conveyors refers to connecting multiple grasshopper conveyors end-to-end to form a continuous material conveying system, so as to realize long-distance and highly flexible material transfer. The cascading design of grasshopper conveyors is commonly used in scenarios such as mines, ports, and yards. Through the collaborative work of multiple devices, the conveying efficiency is significantly improved and complex terrains are adapted to.

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Characteristics of Grasshopper Conveyor Cascading

Flexible Layout

Generally, grasshopper conveyors adopt a wheel-type or crawler-type chassis structure. The length of a single unit can be customized to 15-40 meters, and the total length after cascading can reach hundreds of meters. The equipment is equipped with a foldable boom and a hydraulic lifting system, which can dynamically adjust the discharge height within an inclination range of ±18°, adapting to complex terrains such as mine tunnels and port terminals. It can also easily complete steering and docking in narrow areas, meeting the layout requirements in different working environments.

Intelligent Synchronization

The cascading system is controlled by PLC + frequency converter, which real-time monitors the speed, belt tension and material flow of each conveyor. With the PID regulation algorithm, when the load of a certain device in the cascade changes suddenly, the system can complete speed matching within 0.1 seconds to avoid material accumulation. For example, using Zoomry's independently developed low-noise idlers (operating noise < 45 dB) and wear-resistant conveyor belts (service life > 150,000 hours), combined with frequency conversion speed regulation technology, the energy consumption of the cascading system can be reduced by 18%-25% compared with traditional fixed conveyors, achieving energy saving while improving operating efficiency.

Rapid Deployment

The grasshopper conveyor adopts a modular pre-assembly design, with 80% of the components debugged in the factory. The on-site construction of the cascading system can be completed within 10-20 days. Key components such as the hydraulic winch system and the steel wire rope breakage protection device can automatically lock within 0.01 seconds in case of power failure or mechanical failure, ensuring system safety. Zoomry's global spare parts warehouse supports 72-hour emergency response, and with remote diagnosis function, unplanned downtime can be reduced by more than 60%, ensuring the continuous and stable operation of the system.

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Core Scenario Solutions

Mines and Quarries

Environmental Characteristics

The working environment of mines and quarries has complex landforms such as fragmented terrain, steep slopes (slopes often reach 15°-25°), narrow tunnels (width only 3-5 meters) and soft foundations. Secondly, the material characteristics are diverse, including ores with Mohs hardness grade 7 (such as granite), viscous slag with a moisture content exceeding 20%, and bulk materials with mixed particle sizes (0.5-500mm).

Targeted Solutions

  • Chassis selection: For steep slopes and soft ground, the main conveying section is equipped with crawler-type grasshoppers (ground pressure ≤ 80kPa), combined with retractable outriggers (adjustment range ±500mm) to realize the horizontal calibration of the machine body; wheel-type chassis (speed ≥ 10km/h) is used in flat areas to improve transfer efficiency.
  • Conveying system customization: For high-hardness materials, 12mm thick ST5000 grade tear-resistant conveyor belts + 168mm diameter impact-resistant idlers (impact resistance ≥ 15kJ) are equipped; for viscous materials, a 15° inclination design + polyurethane cleaning scrapers (cleaning rate ≥ 98%) are adopted to avoid bonding and blockage.
  • Cascading length planning: According to the advancing speed of the mining face (usually 30-50 meters/month), a "3+N" modular combination (3 fixed sections + N extended sections) is adopted, with a single-stage conveying length of 30 meters, and the total cascading length can reach more than 500 meters, meeting the long-distance transfer needs of large mines.

Solved Problems

  • Dust control: A closed guide chute (negative pressure ≤ -50Pa) + high-pressure spray system (fog particle diameter 5-10μm) is set at the transfer point, reducing the dust concentration in the working area to below 2mg/m³, which meets the EU OSHA standards.
  • Extreme temperature adaptation: In low-temperature environments, the conveyor belt is made of neoprene (brittleness temperature ≤ -55℃), and the motor is equipped with a PTC heating device (starting temperature ≥ -30℃); in high-temperature environments, EPDM rubber conveyor belts (temperature resistance ≤ 120℃) are used, and the drum has a built-in water cooling system (temperature difference controlled within ±5℃).
  • Equipment protection: All electrical components adopt IP65 protection level, and the bearing housing is equipped with an automatic grease injection system (grease injection every 8 hours) to reduce failures caused by dust and vibration.

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Ports and Logistics

Environmental Characteristics

The core contradiction in port and logistics scenarios lies in the "conflict between dynamic loading and unloading needs and the rigidity of fixed facilities": first, the operation areas are scattered, involving multiple nodes such as ship berths, yards, and railway lines (with distances often reaching 500-1000 meters); second, material turnover is highly frequent, requiring a single ship unloading efficiency of 2000 tons/hour, and continuous operation must be maintained during tidal changes (water level difference 3-5 meters); third, the environmental corrosion is serious, with salt spray concentration ≥ 50mg/m³ and metal corrosion rate reaching 0.1mm/year.

Targeted Solutions

  • Multi-mode cascading combination: The ship docking section adopts a tiltable grasshopper (tilt angle ±30°), which real-time tracks the position of the ship's hold through a laser rangefinder (accuracy ±10mm); the yard transfer section adopts a wheel-type mobile conveyor (turning radius ≤ 8 meters), combined with a telescopic discharge arm (telescopic range 3-8 meters) to achieve full coverage within a stacking radius of 15 meters; the railway loading section integrates a weighing module (accuracy ±0.1%) to realize integrated metering, conveying and loading.
  • Intelligent control system: A central dispatching platform is built based on 5G Internet of Things, which real-time collects the speed (accuracy ±0.1m/s), material level (error ≤5%), and energy consumption data of each device. The conveying path is optimized through genetic algorithm, reducing the equipment no-load rate by more than 30%. The system supports docking with the port TOS system to realize automatic matching between ship arrival information and conveying plans.
  • Anti-corrosion design: All metal structures adopt hot-dip galvanizing treatment (zinc layer thickness ≥85μm) + fluorocarbon paint spraying (dry film thickness ≥120μm), and key components (such as drum bearings) are made of 316L stainless steel, making the salt spray resistance life of the equipment reach more than 5000 hours.

Solved Problems

  • Rapid transfer: The equipment adopts a hydraulic folding design (folding time ≤10 minutes) and is equipped with a towable chassis (towing speed ≥20km/h), realizing rapid switching between different operation areas within 30 minutes.
  • Overload protection: An ultrasonic level gauge is set at the feed inlet. When the material accumulation exceeds 120% of the rated value, the system automatically triggers the upstream equipment to reduce speed (by 50%) and starts the bypass material guide device to avoid blockage and shutdown.

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Advantages of Zoomry's Cascading Solutions

Full Range of International Certifications

Zoomry's grasshopper conveyors have passed CE (Europe), EAC (Russia), KCS (South Korea) and other certifications. Key components such as idlers and drums meet CEMA (USA) standards, and can be seamlessly integrated into the existing systems of global customers. The equipment can pass various stringent tests, such as the cold resistance test (-50℃) for EAC certification, meeting the environmental and regulatory requirements of different regions and ensuring compliant use worldwide.

Customized System Integration

Zoomry's EPC+M+O full-cycle services cover the entire process from scheme design to operation and maintenance. According to different material characteristics and operation needs, exclusive conveying schemes can be customized. For example, for scenarios where large-grained ores and fine powder materials are handled simultaneously, a dual-speed and dual-material conveying scheme can be designed. Through PLC control of the belt speed and hopper inclination in different sections, interference-free conveying is realized, and system efficiency is improved.

Ultra-Low Cost of Ownership

The whole life cycle cost of Zoomry's grasshopper conveyors is 20%-30% lower than that of similar brands. Taking conventional models as an example, their purchase cost is 15% lower than that of similar European and American products, and the maintenance cost is reduced by 40% due to modular design and localized spare parts warehouses. The equipment's 5-year warranty and 2-year guarantee policy further reduce customer risks and improve product cost performance.

Environmental Protection and Energy-Saving Innovation

Zoomry's low dust emission design (dust emission < 10mg/m³) and LED intelligent lighting system make the cascading scheme meet the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) requirements. At the same time, solar + diesel hybrid power can be adopted to realize partial energy self-sufficiency, reduce carbon emissions, meet increasingly strict global environmental protection standards, and help customers achieve green production.

Intelligent Operation and Maintenance System

Zoomry's remote monitoring platform can real-time collect more than 300 items of data such as equipment temperature, vibration, and energy consumption, and predict potential faults through AI algorithms. With predictive maintenance, worn parts can be replaced in advance, reducing annual maintenance costs, improving overall equipment efficiency (OEE), and ensuring long-term stable operation of the system.

Global Service Network

Zoomry has established 8 regional service centers in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia, equipped with bilingual technical teams and in-stock spare parts warehouses. Through 4G remote guidance and efficient spare parts distribution services, customer needs can be responded to quickly, shortening fault handling time, which is significantly faster than traditional service response speeds, providing timely and reliable support for global customers.

If you have any questions about the cascading solutions of grasshopper conveyors in the field of bulk material handling, please contact us using the following information:


Selection Suggestions

Accurate Demand Analysis

  • Material characteristics: Clarify parameters such as particle size, humidity, and density. For example, when handling wet clay, anti-stick conveyor belts and increased inclination design should be selected.
  • Terrain conditions: Crawler-type chassis is preferred for mountainous scenes, while wheel-type + self-driving modules can be used in flat areas to reduce costs.
  • Capacity planning: Design redundancy according to peak flow. It is recommended that the total capacity of the cascading system be 120%-150% of the theoretical demand.

System Design Key Points

  • Transfer section optimization: Adopt curved drums + buffer chutes to reduce material impact, reducing dust at the transfer point by 70%.
  • Power configuration: For long-distance cascading, distributed power supply is recommended. An independent diesel generator is configured for every 3-5 devices to avoid voltage attenuation.
  • Safety redundancy: Key nodes need to be equipped with dual-sensor monitoring and mechanical + electronic dual braking to ensure the system reaches SIL2 safety level.

Implementation and Training

  • Installation and commissioning: Zoomry provides 3D simulation pre-installation services, and verifies the spatial layout in advance through BIM technology, shortening the on-site construction period by 30%.
  • Personnel training: Provide customers with Chinese-English bilingual operation manuals and VR immersive training systems to ensure that operators master the whole process within 72 hours.
  • Continuous improvement: Collect feedback through the customer experience officer program and push system upgrade packages quarterly to maintain the technical leadership of the equipment.

The cascading solution of grasshopper conveyors represents the future direction of the bulk material handling field — efficient, flexible, and sustainable. With three core competencies of technological innovation, global certification, and full-cycle services, Zoomry Heavy Industry is helping global customers reduce operating costs while achieving a win-win situation between environmental benefits and production efficiency. Choosing Zoomry is not only choosing a set of equipment, but also choosing an intelligent conveying partner covering the whole life cycle.

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