- Overview
The Ryson Slat Conveyor and Curves are ideal for inclines or declines in tight quarters and can handle multiple curves with one drive.
Ryson Slat Conveyors move products through short turns, curves, inclines and declines while helping reduce transfer points, drives and controls complexity. Built from Ryson’s proven overlapping slat-style chain technology, these flexible conveyor systems are ideal for industrial manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, and food and beverage lines that need reliable product flow in tight spaces.
What Is a Ryson Slat Conveyor?
A Ryson Slat Conveyor is a flexible chain slat conveyor designed to carry products through compact, complex layouts. It can follow a custom frame from point A to point B, moving in straight runs, curves, inclines, declines, or a combination of these paths.
The Ryson proprietary chain slat arrangement uses the same proven technology and design principles as Ryson Spiral Conveyors. When used outside a spiral conveyor, the overlapping slat-style chain becomes a versatile conveyor surface for short turns, tight spaces and layout changes that would otherwise require multiple conveyors or transition points.
Only one drive is required for each 250 feet of conveyor. This helps minimize transition points and can reduce the cost and complexity of controls, system integration and ongoing operation.
Where Are Ryson Slat Conveyors Used?
Ryson Slat Conveyors are a strong fit when a facility needs to move packaged products, containers, cartons or other stable items through turns, elevation changes or short routing challenges without interrupting product flow. They are especially useful where floor space is limited or where several conventional conveyors would otherwise be required.
- Warehousing and distribution: route cartons, cases and packaged goods through compact conveyor layouts.
- Food and beverage: move packaged foods, beverage containers and secondary packaging through curves, inclines or declines.
- Consumer packaged goods: handle varied package formats while reducing transfers and preserving product orientation.
- Industrial and manufacturing: connect production cells, packaging areas or work zones with a stable conveying surface.
- Integrated spiral systems: extend a Ryson Spiral Conveyor infeed or discharge as one continuous piece with a single drive.
You can read some slat conveyor application stories on our weekly blog. More details on the Ryson Chain Slat arrangement are available under the spiral conveyors page.
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- Features & Benefits
How Does Ryson Simplify Complex Conveyor Layouts?
The Ryson Slat Conveyor can make sharp turns while also inclining or declining. This allows product to transition through a shorter area than many conventional conveyor arrangements and may reduce the number of ancillary conveyors needed in the line.
- Supports straight, curved, inclined and declined sections.
- Can handle multiple curves with one drive.
- Can reduce transfer points that create product handling risk.
- Can help fit conveyor routing around existing equipment or structural constraints.
Our Slat conveyors use the same tried-and-true technology and design as our Spiral Conveyors. Instead of a helical incline, this conveyor follows a custom specified frame from point A to point B. Be it in a straight line, or curvy, or inclining or declining – or all of the above.
It is also possible to extend this from one of our Spiral Conveyors – as one piece, requiring a single drive to operate.
The proprietary design of our spiral conveyor and it’s overlapping slat-style chain allows the slats to flex in either direction, so infeed extensions can curve in any direction as far as 30 feet.
Because a Ryson Slat Conveyor can accomplish line transportation, orientation and routing with fewer drives, it can simplify controls and reduce integration complexity. Fewer drive points may also reduce energy use and maintenance touchpoints compared with layouts that require several separate conveyors.
The smooth conveying surface is designed to handle products gently. Ryson Slat Conveyors can move many different product sizes and shapes without frequent change parts or adjustments, making them useful for operations with mixed packaging formats or changing production needs.
Choose a Ryson Slat Conveyor when your line needs to move product through tight turns, compact routing, inclines, declines or multiple direction changes while maintaining reliable product flow. It is often a good fit when reducing transfer points, simplifying controls or preserving floor space is more important than using a simple straight conveyor.
- Your current layout requires several short conveyors and transfers.
- You need to route product around equipment, columns or space constraints.
- You need to combine a curve with an incline or decline.
- You want a smooth, stable conveying surface for varied product sizes.
- You need an extension from a Ryson Spiral Conveyor infeed or discharge.
Ryson Slat Conveyors can also be configured as an oval-shaped spiral to create a space-efficient dynamic buffer storage device.
- Specs & Configurations
Most Common Models
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Why Choose Ryson?
Ryson is a vertical conveying specialist with conveyor solutions used across industrial manufacturing, food and beverage, CPG and distribution environments. The Slat Conveyor extends Ryson’s spiral conveyor chain technology into compact routing applications where layout efficiency, product handling and integration simplicity matter.
- Proprietary overlapping slat-style chain technology.
- One drive for each 250 feet of conveyor.
- Multiple curves with fewer transfers.
- Available in five slat widths from 8 to 24 inches.
- 1,600 lb total weight capacity at any one time.
- Integration with Ryson Spiral Conveyors.
- Support for custom conveyor layouts and quote review.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a slat conveyor?
A slat Conveyor uses a proprietary chain with connected slats to create a stable conveying surface for moving products along straight, curved, inclined, or declined conveyor paths.
When should a slat conveyor be used?
Use a Slat Conveyor when products need a stable conveying surface, controlled curves, compact incline or decline movement, or smooth transitions in tight production layouts.
How is a slat conveyor different from a belt conveyor?
A belt conveyor uses a continuous belt, while a slat conveyor uses individual slats that can provide durability, controlled product support, and flexibility for curves or inclines.
What products can Ryson Slat Conveyors handle?
Ryson Slat Conveyors can support cartons, containers, cases, packaged goods, and unitized loads needing incline, decline, or curved conveying.
Can slat conveyors handle curves?
Yes. The Ryson Slat Conveyor is useful for inclines or declines in tight quarters and able to handle multiple curves with one drive. This reduces power consumption and simplifies controls and integration.
Where do slat conveyors fit in a Ryson system?
They can support product transfer into or out of Spiral Conveyors, connect packaging equipment, handle curves, or solve layout challenges where a conventional belt conveyor is not ideal.
Is the conveying surface the same design as a Spiral Conveyor?
Yes, the chain-slat arrangement and rails are the same technology as the Ryson Spiral Conveyor – in fact, it is possible to extend a Spirals conveying path with it, reducing the need for an extra motor.