Parts of a Conveyor – Labeled Belt Conveyor Diagram

All 13 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Side view 10

Conveyor belt The belt is one closed loop. Its top run carries the load; its bottom run comes back empty.
Head pulley The belt turns round the head pulley at the discharge end. On most conveyors it is also the drive pulley, the one the motor turns.
Tail pulley The belt turns round it at the loading end. The belt then starts back along the top.
Snub pulley The snub pulley sits close behind the head pulley. It bends the belt so that more of it wraps round the head pulley.
Take-up The take-up keeps the belt tight. On this conveyor it is a screw that moves the tail pulley back in a slot.
Loading chute The load drops through it onto the belt. It sits near the tail pulley.
Skirtboards Skirtboards keep the load on the belt while it settles. Makers also call them skirting.
Belt cleaner Scrapes off what sticks to the belt after the load has dropped. It is also called a belt scraper.
Speed reducer The speed reducer is a gearbox. It turns the fast spin of the motor into the slow, strong turn of the head pulley.
Motor The electric motor powers the conveyor. It drives the speed reducer through V-belts under a guard.

Section across 3

Carrying idlers Carrying idlers support the top run of the belt. Each has a level middle roll and two tilted side rolls, so they are also called troughing idlers.
Return idlers Hold up the bottom run of the belt on its way back. Each is a single flat roll.
Frame The frame carries the idlers and the pulleys. Its two long side members are called stringers.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) A maker's manual for portable belt conveyors, Masaba, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5661919 (conveyor belt, head pulley, tail pulley, snub pulley, troughing idlers, return rollers and return idlers, screw take-ups, belt cleaner, skirting, chute, speed reducer, motor, V-belts, frames). (2) A second maker's manual for channel-frame belt conveyors, Sweet Manufacturing, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6033441 (head and tail pulleys, snubbing pulley, carrying idlers, return idlers, take-up, belt scraper, load skirting, loading chute, shaft-mount speed reducer, motor, channel frame). (3) Indian Standard IS 11592:2000, Selection and Design of Belt Conveyors, https://archive.org/details/gov.in.is.11592.2000 (drive pulley, head pulley, tail pulley, snub pulley, take-up, carrying idlers, return idlers, belt cleaner, skirt boards, loading chute, gearbox). (4) Wikipedia, Conveyor belt, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conveyor_belt (the belt as a closed loop round two pulleys, the drive pulley, idler rollers and the troughed belt, the metal frame, scrapers, chutes, skirts, the take-up). Makers are named here only; the page names none. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a conveyor belt of the troughed kind that moves loose material such as gravel or grain. The first view is the whole conveyor from the side. The second is a section across it.

Read the full guide

Follow the load

The load drops through the loading chute onto the belt, and skirtboards hold it in. Carrying idlers support the loaded belt as far as the head pulley, where the load drops off. The motor turns the head pulley through the speed reducer. A belt cleaner scrapes the belt, the snub pulley bends it, and return idlers carry it back to the tail pulley. The take-up keeps it tight, and the frame holds everything.

Head is the end where the load leaves; tail is the end where it comes on.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a conveyor belt called?

The belt runs round a head pulley and a tail pulley. Carrying idlers hold up the loaded top run and return idlers the empty bottom run. A motor and speed reducer drive it, and a take-up keeps the belt tight.

What is the difference between the head pulley and the tail pulley?

The head pulley is at the discharge end, where the load drops off, and is usually the one the motor turns. The tail pulley is at the loading end, where the belt turns to start its loaded run.

What is an idler on a conveyor?

A set of rolls that holds up the belt between the pulleys and turns freely. Carrying idlers have three rolls that shape the belt into a trough. Return idlers are single flat rolls under the empty belt.

What does the take-up do on a conveyor?

It keeps the belt tight. A screw take-up, the kind drawn here, moves the tail pulley back in a slot. Other conveyors use a hanging weight, called a gravity take-up.