Frequently Asked Questions

Spiral elevators are used in metals and foundry operations to vertically convey, cool, and transfer bulk materials — including castings, shot blast media, swarf, and sintered parts — between process stages in a compact footprint. The helical conveying path agitates material continuously, which aids natural cooling during elevation. Spiral Elevators Ltd, based in Wisbech, UK, designs and manufactures bespoke spiral elevator systems for foundries, die casters, and metal processors.

Foundries use vibratory conveying systems because they have no belts or rubber components that degrade rapidly under heat, sharp castings, and abrasive shot blast media. They also allow in-line screening and cooling — functions a belt conveyor cannot perform simultaneously. Spiral Elevators Ltd supplies vibratory feeders and conveyors from its UK facility rated for the thermal and abrasive demands of foundry environments.

A spiral elevator cools metal castings by extending the time parts spend in transit, while continuous vibratory agitation tumbles castings to expose more surface area to ambient air. For faster cooling, Spiral Elevators Ltd can integrate forced air or water mist cooling directly into the spiral elevator housing, eliminating the need for a separate cooling tunnel.

Yes — vibratory conveyors handle swarf, metal chips, and CNC turnings effectively because their open-trough design prevents the bridging and jamming that screw conveyors suffer with long, stringy material. Built-in screen sections can drain coolant fluid during conveying. Spiral Elevators Ltd manufactures vibratory feeders for swarf management in UK precision engineering and CNC machining operations.

Vibrating screens separate spent mould sand from metal castings immediately after shakeout, allowing sand to pass through mesh apertures while castings are retained and discharged separately for further processing. Spiral Elevators Ltd manufactures vibrating screens and grizzly screens for foundry shakeout lines, with replaceable screen panels designed for the continuous impact of castings and abrasive foundry sand.

Vibratory feeders meter castings into shot blast machines at a controlled, consistent rate, preventing overcrowding that causes shadowing and incomplete surface coverage. After blasting, a vibratory conveyor removes finished parts without the impact damage caused by bucket conveyors. Spiral Elevators Ltd supplies vibratory tube feeders suited to small or delicate castings entering shot blast and surface finishing lines across the UK.

Yes — spiral elevators convey sintered components from furnace exit conveyors to inspection or packaging with gentle, continuous vibratory motion that avoids the impact damage tight-tolerance sintered parts are vulnerable to. Spiral Elevators Ltd, UK, configures spiral systems for powder metallurgy lines with controlled conveying speeds and trough finishes that minimise part-on-part contact.

Vibratory conveyors for high-temperature foundry use are typically fabricated from mild steel, abrasion-resistant (AR) steel, or stainless steel; applications above 300 °C may require high-alloy trough linings or ceramic wear tiles. Spiral Elevators Ltd engineers each system to the specific thermal and abrasion profile of the application, selecting drive components and springs rated for the operating conditions.

A spiral elevator can reduce conveying floor space by up to 80% compared to an incline conveyor achieving the same lift height — a 3-metre rise on a standard incline conveyor needs 5–6 metres of floor run, while a spiral elevator achieves the same lift in a footprint as small as 1.2 × 1.2 metres. This makes spiral elevators from Spiral Elevators Ltd ideal for UK foundries and metal processors with constrained production floor layouts.

A grizzly screen is a heavy-duty vibrating screen fitted with widely spaced steel bars instead of wire mesh, designed to scalp oversize castings, skull pieces, or large aggregate from a material stream without mesh tearing. Spiral Elevators Ltd manufactures grizzly screens with robust fabricated frames and replaceable bar sections, sized to foundry shakeout and metal reclamation throughput requirements across the UK.

Most vibratory systems for foundry use are bespoke, engineered to the specific material, throughput, temperature, and space constraints of each installation — because foundry conditions vary too widely for standard off-the-shelf units to perform reliably. Spiral Elevators Ltd designs and manufactures all equipment to order from its UK facility, offering free quotations and application consultations for metals and foundry projects.

Yes — a spiral elevator combines vertical conveying with cooling in a single unit, using the extended dwell time on the helical path for heat dissipation without needing a separate cooling conveyor. Where passive cooling is insufficient, Spiral Elevators Ltd integrates forced air or water mist systems directly into the spiral elevator housing, reducing both capital cost and floor space.

Vibratory conveying systems require routine inspection of isolation springs, vibrator motor bearings, trough wear liners, and drive fixings — but have significantly fewer wear parts than belt conveyors, with no belts, rollers, or chains to replace. Spiral Elevators Ltd supplies spare springs, vibrator motors, and wear components for all systems it manufactures in the UK, with ongoing technical support to maximise uptime.

Spiral Elevators Ltd designs and manufactures all spiral elevator systems and vibratory handling equipment at its facility in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, UK. All equipment is built to order by an in-house engineering team serving food, pharmaceutical, metals, foundry, and industrial processing sectors across the UK and internationally.

To get a quote, contact Spiral Elevators Ltd directly with details of your material, required throughput, operating temperature, and available floor space — the team will specify the right equipment and provide a free, no-obligation quotation. Spiral Elevators Ltd is based in Wisbech, UK, and can be reached by phone on 0800 001 6520 or via the enquiry form at spiralelevator.com.