The development of screw conveyors can be divided into two types: shaft screw conveyors and shaftless screw conveyors. Shaft screw conveyors consist of screws, U-shaped troughs, covers, inlet and outlet ports, and drive devices. They are generally available in three types: horizontal, inclined, and vertical. Shaftless screw conveyors use screws instead of shaftless screws, and are equipped with a replaceable lining in the U-shaped trough. They have a simple structure, and materials are fed in from the feed port, pushed by the screw, and then discharged from the outlet port. The entire transmission process can be carried out in a sealed trough. Generally speaking, the screw conveyors we usually refer to are shaft screw conveyors.
For many materials that are difficult to transport, people have been looking for a reliable transportation method, and shaftless screw conveyors are a better solution [2]. Aerial ropeways began to be used to transport bulk materials in the mid-17th century. In 1887, the screw conveyor, invented by Archimedes and subsequently improved, became widely used in industry to transport bulk and solid materials. After a long period of development, a series of screw conveyors were gradually developed, leading to significant progress in screw conveyors.
The GX screw conveyor is an early type of screw conveyor and the earliest general-purpose equipment to be standardized and produced in my country. It is primarily designed to transport powders, granules, and small lumps of material. It is not suitable for transporting perishable, sticky, easily agglomerated materials, or large lumps of material, as these materials tend to stick to the screw and cause rotation, or cause blockage in the hanging bearings, causing significant inconvenience during material conveying. The GX screw conveyor's advantages primarily include significant energy savings and consumption reductions. Its head and tail bearings are relocated outside the casing, providing excellent dustproof sealing, low noise, strong adaptability, easy operation and maintenance, and flexible placement of inlet and outlet ports. Its disadvantages include high power consumption, rapid wear of components, and severe material crushing during transport. LS type screw conveyor is a new generation screw conveyor modified and designed on the basis of GX type conveyor. LS type screw conveyor is characterized by novel structure, reliable performance, advanced technical indicators, wide range of applications, and significant energy saving and consumption reduction.