For large, curly, or mixed chips, start with a hinge-belt conveyor. For short chips and fines, a scraper usually makes more sense. Magnetic conveyors are for fine ferrous chips. Augers work well when space is tight and the chips stay short enough not to wrap around the screw.
If the conveyor gets the big chips out but fine particles keep coming back with the coolant, that is a filtration problem. A bigger conveyor will not fix it.
| Conveyor Type | Best Fit | Main Strength | Main Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinge belt | Large, curly, stringy, or mixed chips | Handles different chip shapes well | Fines can pass through or collect below the belt |
| Scraper | Short chips, fines, settled swarf | Moves material along the conveyor bed | Long chips can tangle around scraper parts |
| Magnetic | Fine ferrous chips | Separates magnetic material directly | Does not separate non-ferrous chips magnetically |
| Auger / screw | Short chips where space is limited | Compact layout | Long chips can wrap or bridge |
| Conveyor + filtration | Bulk chips plus fine coolant contamination | Handles chips and coolant contamination separately | More components to maintain |
If you are ordering a new vertical machining center, decide the chip-removal layout before the coolant tank, discharge side, chip bin, and service space are locked in.
Start With the Chips You Actually Make
“We machine steel” does not tell a supplier much about the conveyor you need.
The same steel can come off the tool as small broken pieces, tight curls, long ribbons, or a tangled bird's nest. Tool geometry, chipbreaker design, feed, depth of cut, and the operation itself all change the chip shape.
Before asking for a conveyor, record:
- the normal chip shape;
- the longest chip you see regularly;
- whether the chips tangle into nests;
- whether fine particles end up in the coolant.
Photos are useful here. A handful of real chips tells the supplier more than saying the machine produces “medium chips.”
Hinge-Belt Conveyor
A hinge-belt conveyor carries chips out on linked metal plates. It is usually the safer all-round choice when the chips are bulky, curled, fairly long, or different from job to job.
The LJ-855 vertical machining center, for example, supports milling, drilling, boring, tapping, and thread milling. One machine can therefore create several very different chip forms depending on the job.
Where hinge belts have trouble
Fine particles are the weak point. They can fall through the belt, collect underneath it, or stay in the coolant.
If the belt is carrying the main chips out but the coolant still looks dirty, do not just order a bigger belt. Look at filtration.
Already have chip samples from your current process?
Send the chip photos and machine conditions. The conveyor type and discharge layout can be checked before the machining-center specification is fixed.
Discuss the Chip Removal SetupScraper Conveyor
A scraper conveyor does not carry chips on top of a belt. Scraper bars drag them along the bottom of the conveyor.
That works well for short chips, fines, and swarf that settles.
Long stringy chips are another story. They can catch around scraper parts, bunch together, and block the channel.
Tell the supplier what the normal chips look like, but also show the longest chips the machine produces. Those occasional long pieces are often the ones that cause trouble.
Magnetic Conveyor
Magnetic conveyors are for ferrous chips such as steel or iron-based material.
They are useful when fine magnetic particles need to be pulled away from the coolant or moved through the conveyor without relying only on belt openings.
Aluminum, brass, and copper are non-ferrous. A magnetic conveyor cannot separate those chips by magnetic attraction. If one machine cuts both ferrous and non-ferrous materials, magnetic separation alone is not enough.
Auger Conveyor
An auger uses a rotating screw to push chips through a trough.
It is compact, so it fits well in smaller machines or crowded production cells. Short, controlled chips are the easy case.
Long ribbons can wrap around the screw or bridge across the trough. Once that starts happening, a larger auger is not always the answer.
Check the cutting process first. Tool geometry, feed, depth of cut, and coolant delivery all affect whether the chip breaks cleanly.
Deep holes create another headache. The chips may never reach the conveyor at all. They can stay packed around the tool or inside the bore. The deep-hole machining guide covers chip packing, coolant return, and recutting inside deep bores.
Size the Conveyor for the Worst Normal Chip Load
Do not size the conveyor from the average chip weight for an entire shift. Use the heaviest normal cutting cycle.
Give the supplier:
- peak material removal rate, if you know it;
- peak chip mass in kg/h;
- measured loose-chip volume in L/h;
- how long the heavy cutting cycle lasts;
- daily operating hours;
- planned unattended runtime.
Turn material removal rate into mass flow
NIST lists aluminum at about 2.70 g/cm³ at 295 K.[1] NIST lists pure iron at about 7.874 g/cm³.[2]
Approximate solid-metal removal (kg/h) = material removal rate (cm³/min) × material density (g/cm³) × 0.06.
At 1 cm³/min, that works out to about 0.162 kg/h for aluminum and 0.472 kg/h for pure iron.
For real steel work, use the density of the actual alloy. Pure iron is only a reference point.
Also, do not use solid density to size the chip bin. Loose chips have plenty of air between them. Big aluminum curls can fill a bin surprisingly fast even when the total weight is not that high.
If bin size or unattended running matters, measure the loose chips in L/h.
Conveyor and Filtration Are Two Different Jobs
The conveyor gets the bulk chips out. The filter deals with smaller particles left in the coolant.
NIOSH notes that metalworking fluids reduce heat and friction and help remove metal particles during machining and grinding.[3]
- Define what kind of chips the conveyor must remove.
- Define how clean the returning coolant needs to be.
If pumps, through-spindle coolant passages, tooling, or the process require a certain particle limit, put that micron value in the machine specification.
Do not ask for finer filtration just because the number looks better. Finer filtration only makes sense when the process needs it.
Planning the conveyor and coolant system at the same time?
ASIATOOLS can check the chip-removal layout together with the machining center, coolant system, and chip-bin position before production starts.
Send the Machine SpecificationHow the Material Changes the Choice
| Material / Chip Behavior | What to Watch |
|---|---|
| Carbon steel | It may produce short broken chips, curls, or long swarf. Choose from the real chip shape, not the material name. |
| Stainless steel | Long, tough chips can nest, wrap, and bridge. Check chip breaking before choosing conveyor capacity. |
| Cast iron | Short fragments and ferrous fines often suit scraper or magnetic-assisted handling. |
| Aluminum | Bulky curls can fill the bin quickly even when chip weight is modest. Measure loose-chip volume if bin capacity matters. |
| Brass | Short chips can work well with a scraper. Magnetic separation does not apply. |
VMC and HMC Chip Paths Are Different
On a vertical machining center, chips can sit in upward-facing pockets, holes, fixtures, and corners of the enclosure.
The coolant flow, enclosure slope, and chip channels have to move them toward the conveyor. If they never get there, the conveyor cannot do much about it.
On a horizontal machining center, gravity helps chips fall away from many exposed cutting surfaces. That is one practical difference when comparing horizontal machining centers with VMCs.
Match the Chip Bin to the Runtime You Need
A conveyor can keep up perfectly and the machine can still stop because the bin is full.
Approximate bin runtime (h) = usable chip-bin volume (L) ÷ measured loose-chip output (L/h).
Use the chip output from normal peak production if you plan to run unattended.
Do not use the original solid-metal volume for this calculation. Loose chips take up much more space.
Check the Factory Layout Before the Machine Ships
Confirm these dimensions:
- conveyor body width and length;
- chip discharge side;
- discharge height;
- chip-bin height and width;
- aisle clearance;
- distance to nearby machines;
- maintenance access;
- space needed to pull the conveyor out for service.
A conveyor can fit the machine drawing and still block the chip cart, electrical cabinet, service aisle, or the machine next to it.
Check the layout together with nearby CNC accessories and workshop equipment before the floor plan is fixed.
Check the Conveyor Controls
For production work, especially unattended machining, ask whether the conveyor has:
- motor overload protection;
- manual forward and reverse;
- automatic reverse after overload;
- programmable intermittent running;
- CNC program control;
- fault feedback to the CNC control.
If automatic reverse is included, ask what actually happens after an overload. Check how the system detects the jam, how long it reverses, whether it restarts automatically, and what alarm reaches the CNC.
If the conveyor keeps overloading, something upstream is probably wrong: too many chips, chips that are too long, poor chip breaking, or the wrong conveyor geometry.
Make Sure You Can Clean and Service It
Before approving the machine, check how maintenance staff will reach:
- chips below a hinge belt;
- scraper bars and wear surfaces;
- an auger blockage;
- drive chains and guides;
- the conveyor motor;
- sludge inside the conveyor body.
If routine cleaning means taking half the machine apart, that conveyor is going to cost you time later.
Lock Out the Conveyor Before Clearing a Jam
OSHA's hazardous-energy standard covers service and maintenance where unexpected startup, energization, or stored energy can injure a worker. OSHA specifically includes cleaning and unjamming when hazardous energy is present.[4]
Follow the machine manufacturer's isolation procedure and the rules that apply at your workplace before manually clearing a jam.
Be careful with compressed air too
For U.S. workplaces covered by OSHA, compressed air used for cleaning must be reduced to less than 30 psi and used with effective chip guarding and personal protective equipment.[5]
If operators have to keep blowing chips toward the conveyor by hand, check the coolant flow, enclosure slope, chip path, and conveyor position. The machine should be doing more of that work itself.
What to Put in the Conveyor RFQ
Skip vague phrases such as “large chips” or “heavy production.” Give the supplier numbers and real chip information:
- workpiece materials and grades;
- photos or samples of normal and worst-case chips;
- maximum recurring chip length;
- whether chips form nests;
- peak chip mass in kg/h;
- measured loose-chip volume in L/h;
- peak material removal rate, if available;
- fine contamination entering the coolant;
- required coolant filtration level, if the process specifies one;
- daily operating hours;
- required unattended runtime;
- conveyor discharge side and height;
- chip-bin dimensions and usable capacity;
- available floor and service space;
- required overload, reverse, alarm, and CNC-control functions.
Set these details while configuring the dual-tool-magazine vertical machining center. Fixing the conveyor after the machine is already installed usually gives you fewer choices.
Ready to define the chip-removal system?
Send the chip samples, production data, and machine layout. The conveyor can then be specified with the machining center instead of being corrected after installation.
Request a Configuration ReviewWhich Chip Conveyor Should You Choose?
Choose from the chips you actually make, not just the material name or CNC model. Then check peak chip output, coolant filtration, bin capacity, discharge position, controls, and service access before the machine specification is signed off.
If you already run a similar process, send real chip samples and production data with the RFQ. They are far more useful than guessing from a conveyor catalogue.