Differences Between En‑masse Scraper Conveyor and Scraper Conveyor

People new to the machinery industry are often confused by the names of various conveying machines. Some devices have official names as well as common nicknames. For example, belt conveyor is also known as band conveyor; the screw conveyor is commonly called “auger”. A typical confusing case is the en‑masse scraper conveyor and the scraper conveyor. Differing by only one word, many beginners wonder whether en‑masse scraper conveyor is the full name of scraper conveyor, or if there are essential differences between them.

Simply put, the en‑masse scraper conveyor is sealed, while the ordinary scraper conveyor is non‑sealed.

The en‑masse scraper conveyor is a continuous conveying equipment that transports bulk materials such as dust‑like powder, small‑particles and small‑lump materials by means of moving scraper chains inside a closed rectangular housing. It gets its name “en‑masse scraper conveyor” because the scraper chains are buried within the material during operation.

During horizontal conveying, materials receive thrust from the moving scraper chains and become compacted, generating internal friction among material particles. Thanks to the closed housing, external friction occurs between materials, housing and scraper chains. When the combined force of these two types of friction exceeds the pushing force generated by material self‑weight, materials are driven to move forward or upward.

The en‑masse scraper conveyor features simple structure, light weight, compact size, excellent sealing performance and convenient installation & maintenance. It can perform horizontal, inclined and vertical conveying. Apart from standalone operation, it can also be arranged in combined units for series conveying. Multiple feeding and discharging points are supported for flexible process layout. Its closed housing greatly improves working conditions and prevents environmental pollution during material handling.

A scraper conveyor conveys bulk materials by scrapers fixed to traction chains within an open trough. It consists of an open trough, traction chains, scrapers, head drive sprockets and tail tension sprockets. The traction chain forms a closed loop running around the head and tail sprockets. Materials can be conveyed via the upper strand, lower strand, or both strands simultaneously. Round‑link chains are widely adopted as traction chains. One traction chain can be connected to the middle of each scraper, or two traction chains can be attached to both ends of each scraper. Scrapers are designed in trapezoidal, rectangular or strip shapes. Scraper conveyors are available in fixed and relocatable types.