• 17 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Screw Conveyor

A screw conveyor closed, then with the side of its trough taken away.

Parts of a Screw Conveyor

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Trough
  2. Cover
  3. Inlet
  4. Discharge
  5. Trough end
  6. Feet
  7. Gear reducer
  8. Motor
  9. Screw
  10. Flighting
  11. Drive shaft
  12. Coupling shaft
  13. End shaft
  14. Hanger
  15. Hanger bearing
  16. Shaft seal
  17. End bearing

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 17 parts on the diagram

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Closed, from the side 8

  1. Trough A U-shaped steel channel. It holds the material while the screw pushes it along. It is made in sections bolted end to end.
  2. Cover It is fastened over the trough to shut the material in. It also keeps people away from the turning screw.
  3. Inlet A spout on top of the cover, at one end. The bulk material enters the conveyor through it.
  4. Discharge A spout in the bottom of the trough, at the other end. The material drops out of the conveyor through it.
  5. Trough end A heavy steel plate bolted to the end of the trough. The shaft passes through it, and the seal and end bearing are mounted on it.
  6. Feet They are bolted through the trough flanges where two trough sections meet. Then they are fastened to the floor or to steelwork.
  7. Gear reducer It slows the motor's turning down to the speed of the screw. It drives the drive shaft.
  8. Motor An electric motor, mounted here on top of the gear reducer. Together they are the drive unit.

Inside the trough 9

  1. Screw A length of pipe with flighting wound round it. A long conveyor has several screw sections joined end to end. It is also called an auger.
  2. Flighting A helical blade fixed round the pipe. As the screw turns, the flighting pushes the material along the trough.
  3. Drive shaft It carries the turning force from the gear reducer into the screw. It passes through the trough end.
  4. Coupling shaft It joins one screw section to the next. It passes the turning on. It runs in the hanger bearing.
  5. End shaft It supports the tail end of the screw. That is the end away from the drive. It runs in the end bearing.
  6. Hanger A support bracket set between two screw sections. It holds the hanger bearing, so a long screw is supported partway along.
  7. Hanger bearing A plain bearing fitted in the hanger. It is replaced when it wears.
  8. Shaft seal It stops material leaking out past the shaft. It keeps dirt from getting in.
  9. End bearing It supports the end of the screw. It is mounted on the trough end.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two independent sources use it. (1) A maker's Screw Conveyor Component Guide and Engineering Guide, https://www.kwsmfg.com/component-guide/ and https://www.kwsmfg.com/engineering-guides/screw-conveyor/ (PDF texts read): screws and flighting, center pipe, coupling shaft, drive shaft, end shaft, hangers, hanger bearings, trough ends, seals, end bearings, troughs, covers, inlet spouts, discharge spouts, saddles, feet, drive unit, gear reducer and motor, and what each is for. (2) A second maker's list of stock components, https://www.conveyoreng.com/stock-components/ : coupling bolts, discharges, end bearing, end plate, inlet, hangers, drive shafts, coupling shafts, end or tail shafts, shaft seals, troughs, trough covers, trough mounting feet, hanger bearings, flighting, gearbox. (3) Wikipedia, Screw conveyor, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw_conveyor : trough or tube, the helical screw blade called flighting, shaft, auger, electric motor. (4) A US Army technical report that describes a screw conveyor as built, https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA178692 : trough, cover, trough ends, flights, screw shaft, drive shafts, shaft seals, hanger bearing, reducer, motor. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's machine, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A screw conveyor, or auger conveyor, moves loose material such as grain along a trough with a turning screw. Here it is closed, from the side, then with the side of the trough taken away.

Read the full guide

How the material moves

Material drops in through the inlet. The motor and gear reducer turn the drive shaft, which turns the screw, and the flighting pushes the material along the trough to the discharge. The faster the screw turns, the more it moves.

What holds the screw up

An end bearing supports each end. A long conveyor is built from several screw sections: a coupling shaft joins each pair, and it turns in a hanger bearing held by a hanger.

  • The drive usually goes on the discharge end, so the screw pulls the material toward it.
  • Farmers call a screw conveyor in a tube a grain auger.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a screw conveyor?

A trough with a cover, an inlet and a discharge; a screw with flighting; a drive shaft, coupling shafts and an end shaft; hangers with hanger bearings; trough ends with shaft seals and end bearings; feet; and a motor with a gear reducer.

What is flighting on a screw conveyor?

It is the helical blade wound round the pipe of the screw. As the screw turns, the flighting pushes the material along the trough.

What does a hanger bearing do?

It supports the screw partway along a long conveyor. It is a plain bearing held in a hanger between two screw sections, and the coupling shaft that joins the sections turns in it. It is replaced when it wears.

What is the difference between a screw conveyor and an auger?

They are the same mechanism. The turning part is often called the auger, and a screw conveyor is also called an auger conveyor.

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