GRISLEY ASC

GRISLEY COMPONENTS Inc. designs and manufactures the true air-supported conveyor, as distinguished from the air-assisted conveyor. Through its use of up-to-date design and fabrication technologies, the GRISLEY ASC offers cost-effective and reliable air-supported conveyors that are unmatched in performance and quality. Because of their benefits, the grain industry now looks to air-supported conveyors as a more efficient alternative to traditional conveying methods. And the GRISLEY ASC now makes that alternative cost effective and reliable.

The GRISLEY Air Supported Conveyor is the industry's best conveyor.

The GRISLEY ASC is setting new standards for high performance.

The GRISLEY COMPONENTS GRISLEY Air Supported Conveyor is an engineered conveyor designed for new installation. The distinct advantage of the GRISLEY ASC is in its precisely-calibrated plenum design and air-tight fastening technique. Through its superior engineering our design has made a truly cost-effective air-supported conveyor a reality. Simplicity is the key to the GRISLEY ASC conveyor's cost-effectiveness:

A low horsepower fan forces air through a calibrated series of holes in the plenum. This film of air supports up to 200 pounds per foot at high speeds with no mechanical friction. (A single fan supports up to 600 feet of conveyor.)

This process creates a smooth and even cushion of air on which the conveyor belt glides with ease. Using a consistent airflow, rather than bumpy troughing rollers, the GRISLEY ASC's belt floats effortlessly in the plenum.

Figure 1. Section view of plenum shows how air supports the belt.

Unlike many other air-supported conveyors, whose inconsistent airflows create belt drag and load agitation, the GRISLEY COMPONENTS GRISLEY ASC is a true air-supported conveyor. In fact, because of their inconsistent air flows, not to mention their awkward and leaky section fasteners, it is more accurate to call these other conveyors "air-assisted," rather than "air-supported." This means that our conveyor is engineered precisely to promote even airflow in the plenum the only way to make a truly cost-effective air-supported conveyor. Do not be fooled by other conveyors. Only the GRISLEY ASC guarantees superior, consistent performance at a lower cost.

GRISLEY ASC's Unique Beneficial Features

Because the GRISLEY ASC makes the whole technology of idler conveyors obsolete, it yields substantial advantages over conventional conveyors. And while its initial cost is slightly higher than a troughing conveyor, the GRISLEY ASC more than makes up the difference in cutting installation, operating, maintenance and product costs. The GRISLEY ASC's specific advantages are as follows:

1. GRISLEY ASC Reduces Power Consumption

Since GRISLEY ASC uses a low-horsepower fan to supply the air, it reduces power consumption to a fraction of the cost of other conveyors. The user can appreciate this advantage quickly especially if the conveyors work around the clock. At the same time, the GRISLEY ASC's elimination of mechanical friction eliminates a major source of power consumption in conventional conveying, which is the mechanical drag generated from supporting the belt on hundreds of friction-intensive rollers.

2. GRISLEY ASC Maintains Longer Unsupported Spans

High beam strength is inherent in the GRISLEY ASC's box plenum architecture, which utilizes the plenum's own construction for support. This architecture produces spans up to 45 feet without the need for additional support structure. GRISLEY ASC's longer span not only cuts construction costs, but frees up work space under the conveyor in ways not possible with conventional conveyors.

3. GRISLEY ASC Supports Greater Conveyor Inclinations

Because they agitate their loads, conventional conveyors can only operate safely at angles up to 16 degrees otherwise their loads start falling down the belt. By solving the problem of load agitation, the GRISLEY ASC can move loads safely at angles up to 25 degrees.

4. GRISLEY ASC Eliminates Walkways

The GRISLEY ASC's elimination of troughing rollers reduces the conveyor's maintenance to the routine inspection and replacement of the return rollers at its ends. In doing so, the GRISLEY ASC eliminates the need for cumbersome catwalks. Most current GRISLEY ASC users, for example, do not require such catwalks, but GRISLEY COMPONENTS makes them available when specifically requested.

5. GRISLEY ASC Ensures Product Stability

GRISLEY ASC's air-cushioned and smooth belt motion prevent product degradation even at higher speeds. This makes the GRISLEY ASC ideal for conveying friable loads such as grains, cereals, rice, candies, and other difficult-to-handle loads such as specialty chemicals, concrete, alumina, gypsum, coal and other minerals. Readers who are knowledgeable of these products can appreciate the substantial cost savings to which load stability amounts, even over short-term operation.

Furthermore, this product stability allows the GRISLEY ASC to be enclosed fully and safely (see illustration below). Equipped with air-tight and weather-resistant covers, the GRISLEY ASC can be filled with inert gasses, thereby reducing the risk of explosion in the conveying of, for example, highly-reactive chemicals. Simultaneously, this stable, enclosed environment reduces noise and pollution in the workplace at the same time that it provides greater product protection.

Figure 2: Perspective shows GRISLEY ASC's method of product protection.

6. GRISLEY ASC Simplifies Reversible Feed

By eliminating mechanical friction in the plenum, the GRISLEY ASC can make reversing the load a simpler task than with the conventional conveyor. This innovation has led to the development of a reversible dockside shuttle loader. The shuttle loader moves along the dock or railroad loading terminal on tracks, which allows the loading of multiple barges or railroad cars without having to move them.

Conclusion: Simplicity is the GRISLEY ASC Advantage

The GRISLEY ASC's engineering solves many of the problems associated with conventional conveyors because it eliminates their source: mechanical friction. Indeed, GRISLEY ASC renders conventional conveying methods, which rely upon inherently inefficient friction-based conveying principles, obsolete. Using air, instead of moving parts, its smoother operation makes the GRISLEY ASC a better conveyor precisely because it brings the costs of conveying product loss, maintenance time and parts, pollution under control. The GRISLEY COMPONENTS GRISLEY ASC is a sound investment because it really takes the expense out of the conveying process.