Curved conveyor systems are crucial in many production lines—particularly those dealing with delicate or complex materials that must navigate turns or changes in direction while maintaining accuracy. However, many traditional curved systems come with added complexities: (1) they often require large footprints with extra infeed/outfeed segments, (2) can cause product scuffing during turns, and (3) demand frequent maintenance to keep belts aligned. For industries handling fragile or easily damaged goods, these issues can translate directly into wasted product and added downtime.
Dorner’s new Compact Curve Conveyor (C³) is designed to reduce these complexities and meet the needs of industries looking for a trustworthy compact curved conveyor. Below, we’ll explore the key advantages of curved conveyors, comparing and contrasting them to modular conveyors. We’ll also explore the C³ specifically and compare it with Dorner’s existing modular belt conveyor lineup, including the AquaPruf and 3200 Series modular conveyors.
“The C³ was developed to fill a specific gap in our portfolio – a curved solution that fits into our small, low-profile conveyor line. Unlike our modular chain curves, this belted conveyor eliminates the need for straight sections before and after the curve, substantially reducing the system’s footprint.” – Marco Pardo, Product Manager
Comparing Curved Belt & Modular Conveyors
Dorner’s modular belt conveyors—like the AquaPruf and 3200 Series—are known for their flexibility, especially in wet, washdown, or heavy-duty environments. While these modular platforms excel in high-load or hygienic environments, curved conveyors (like the C³) meet a different set of needs.
Curved Belt Benefits
- Smooth Belt Surface: A fabric belted system is gentle on confectionery, bakery items, or any product that could be marred by an uneven belt surface.
- Low-Profile & Economical: Typically lower in cost and space requirements, offering a simpler, more compact design capable of tight turns without the need for extra infeed/outfeed segments.
- Accurate Product Positioning Through Turns: The C³’s patented curved belt and drive system keeps the product’s leading edge consistent, improving the ease of downstream processes.
- Small Pulleys: Small-diameter pulleys allow for greater accuracy and precision in transferring small, delicate products.
Modular Belt Strengths
- Tough in Demanding Environments: The interlocking plastic modules resist damage and can handle higher loads, making them ideal for applications like heavy product handling or extensive washdowns.
- Complex Layout Possibilities: Modular belts can create multiple curves in a single conveyor path, which is beneficial in space-constrained facilities.
- Wide Range of Belt Types: Cleated, open-grid, and friction inserts are just a few options available to support different product shapes, sizes, and processing requirements.
Key Takeaways:
- Choose Modular for Heavy Loads & Complex Washdown Applications: If you’re moving heavier items or need a belt that can stand up to repeated high-pressure washdowns, Dorner’s modular conveyors (AquaPruf and 3200) might be the best fit.
- Pick the C³ for Delicate Products & Tight Spaces: For small or delicate items that need gentle handling and precise transfers around curves, the C³’s smooth surface and compact design is ideal.
Curve Conveyance Made Simple with Dorner’s C³
Designing conveyor systems that effectively handle curves can be a major challenge in manufacturing and processing lines. Traditional curved conveyors often require larger footprints, additional infeed/outfeed segments, and careful coordination to maintain product orientation through turns. These complexities can lead to frequent adjustments, downtime for maintenance, or even product damage—especially when dealing with delicate goods like baked treats, confections, or lightly packaged items.
Curved conveyors like the C³ radically simplify curve conveyance. By combining a small-pulley design, a low-profile frame, and a patented side-driven sprocket system, the C³ ensures product integrity remains intact throughout a turn—without extra conveyors or large footprints.
Key Takeaways
- Small Pulley, Big Impact. By reducing the pulley size, the C³ can handle product as small as 2 inches, offering seamless transfers without product loss or damage.
- Eliminates Extra Conveyors. Unlike modular curved belts that typically require long straight infeed/outfeed conveyors, the C³’s design minimizes the overall footprint by reducing these additional segments.
- Designed for Delicate Goods. The gentle, curved belt design helps preserve product quality, making it ideal for confectionery, baked goods, and other fragile packaged products.
C³ Highlights
- Compact, Low-Profile Frame. Similar to Dorner’s 2200, 2700, and AquaGard LP lines, the C³ features a low-profile structure that easily fits into tight spaces to transport product between or through production equipment.
- FDA & BISSC Approved. Equipped with stainless steel bed plates and FDA-approved belts and plastic components, the C³ meets BISSC standards—perfect for baked goods, candy, and other packaged food products.
- Quick Belt Change & Minimal Downtime. Easy maintenance is built into the C³ with fast belt-change features (such as the toolless disassembly) and readily available spare parts, ensuring you can maximize uptime in your production line.
By redesigning how curves are managed on a conveyor, Dorner’s C³ addresses common pain points—reducing space requirements, protecting delicate products, and cutting maintenance time—to create a simpler, more efficient curved conveying solution.
“The small pulley design was critical for handling the delicate, lightweight items common in confectionery, baked goods, and beauty products industries. Smaller pulleys provide more consistent transport at high speeds, especially for items as small as 2 inches that you don’t want bouncing around on a conveyor belt.” – Marco Pardo, Product Manager
Supporting Production Line Integration
The C³ is fully compatible with Dorner’s other belted conveyor lines—2200, 2700, and AquaGard LP. This interchangeability simplifies maintenance and ensures spare parts are consistent across multiple conveyor types.
Key Takeaways
- Standardized Components & Fast Shipping: Dorner’s modular approach ensures parts are in stock, minimizing downtime and spare parts lead times.
- Consistent Controls & Accessories: The same Dorner design philosophy ensures smooth integration, from guiding accessories to motor mounting options.
- Cross Compatible: The C³ is compatible with Dorner’s other low-profile conveyor lines, including the 2200, 2700, and AquaGard LP series conveyors.
Key Benefits of Dorner’s Compact Curve Conveyor (C³)
The Compact Curve Conveyor (C³) is a game-changer in curved conveyor technology. Offering a variety of unique benefits, the C³ ensures a smooth and efficient material handling process while maintaining product integrity, especially for delicate goods. Here are the key advantages:
Space Optimization
- Compact Design: The low-profile frame of the C³ reduces the conveyor’s overall footprint, making it an ideal solution for tight spaces. This space-efficient design enables the integration of the C³ into existing lines without requiring extensive modifications, maximizing valuable floor space.
- Reduced System Footprint: Unlike traditional modular belt curves that often require long straight infeed and outfeed conveyors, the C³’s seamless design reduces the infeed and outfeed, streamlining the system and further reducing the overall space needed.
Gentle Product Handling
- Smooth Belt Surface: The C³’s fabric-belted system is designed for gentle handling, preventing scuffing, breakage, or deformation of delicate items. This makes it especially suitable for handling confectionery products, bakery items, or any fragile goods that need to maintain their integrity through the curve.
- Precise Product Positioning: The C³’s patented curved belt and drive system ensure that the leading edge of the product and separate lanes remain consistent throughout the curve, preventing misalignment and ensuring the product is correctly positioned for the next step in the processing line.
- Tight Product Transfers: Small pulleys allow the C³ to gently transfer delicate products as small as 2 inches.
FDA & BISSC Compliant
- The C³ is equipped with FDA-approved belts and plastic components and stainless steel bed plates, making it compliant with BISSC (Bakery, Snack, and Confectionery) standards. This ensures that the C³ is food-safe, making it ideal for baked goods, confectionery, and packaged food applications where dry environment wipedowns are required.
Ease of Maintenance
- Quick Belt Change: Designed for minimal downtime, the C³ features a side-driven sprocket system that allows the conveyor to be easily removed and replaced from the system, making maintenance fast and easy. With Dorner’s fast shipping of spare parts, maintenance is far less of a headache, keeping production lines running smoothly with ease.
- Minimal Operational Wear: The low-tension design also reduces wear and tear on the system, ensuring long-lasting reliability and performance.
Seamless Integration with Other Dorner Systems
The C³ is fully compatible with Dorner’s 2200, 2700, and AquaGard LP conveyor lines. This interoperability allows the C³ to be integrated into existing conveyor systems, creating a cohesive and efficient automated line. Whether you’re optimizing an existing line or building a new one, the C³’s flexibility in integration offers significant ease in scaling production.
“Meeting BISSC requirements involved using FDA-approved belts, stainless steel bed plates, and approved plastics in areas where food contact might occur. This design allows for easy wipedowns while ensuring the system won’t harbor bacteria, which is essential for bakery and confectionery applications.” – Marco Pardo, Product Manager
Applications and Industry Use-Cases
Confectionery & Baked Goods
- Gentle Handling: The C³’s smooth, low-tension belt prevents product scuffing or breakage—ideal for delicate confections like chocolates and pastries.
- Food-Grade Construction: Stainless steel bed plates and FDA-approved plastics align with BISSC requirements, ensuring hygienic transport of baked goods.
Snack Food & Packaged Items
- Accurate Transfers: With small pulleys and precise belt tracking, the C³ accommodates small packages or bags without snagging during turns.
- Reduced Footprint: By eliminating straight infeed/outfeed conveyors, the C³ helps maximize valuable floor space in fast-paced packaging lines.
Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical
- Smooth Belt Surface: Tablets, blister packs, and other fragile items remain intact as they transition around curves.
- Precision Through Curves: Consistent alignment and laning enables accurate dispensing or labeling downstream, reducing the risk of misfills.
Learn more about the Pharmaceutical industry
Learn more about how we serve the Nutraceutical industry
Health & Beauty Products
- Delicate Product Support: Bottles and lightweight packaging are handled gently, minimizing spillage or label damage.
- Compact Layouts: The C³’s smaller radius and flexible motor placement let you optimize limited production space or integrate into existing lines.
- High Speed: The C³ is capable of high-speed material handling and maintains accurate product positioning even with lightweight materials.
Pet Food & Treats
- Maintain Product Quality: With gentle handling capabilities and tight product transfers, the C³ reduces the risk of damaging product during transportation through the production line.
- Reliable Product Flow: The curved belt design prevents jamming or product loss, key for high-volume operations.
Contract Packaging & Co-Manufacturing
- Versatile Configurations: Whether it’s 45°, 90°, or 180° curves, the C³ adapts to multiple line setups and product types.
- Adaptable Handling Capabilities: With a range of sizes and configurations, the C³ seamlessly handles a wide range of product sizes and materials, from boxes and bottles to pouches and flexible packaging.
Key Takeaways:
- Gentle Product Handling: Ideal for items that must not be scratched, scuffed, or exposed to mechanical stress from belt edges or transfers.
- Sanitary-Friendly Construction: FDA/BISSC-approved construction with simple wipedown and easy accessibility for routine maintenance.
- Flexible Line Layouts: Whether you need a 45°, 90°, or 180° turn, the C³ can optimize workflow in tight spaces or when expanding an existing line.
By delivering gentle handling, precise belt tracking, and simple sanitation features, Dorner’s new Compact Curve Conveyor (C³) is poised to benefit a variety of industries—particularly those dealing with delicate, high-value, or small-form-factor products.
What Makes the C³ Truly Unique?
The C³ Compact Curve Conveyor isn’t just another conveyor system—it represents a step forward in conveyor technology, offering unique features that set it apart from both traditional conveyors and other systems in Dorner’s product lineup.
Innovative Curved Belt and Drive System
Unlike traditional curved conveyors, the C³ uses a patented curved belt and drive system that ensures smooth, accurate product transfers with minimal belt tension. The low-tension design reduces the need for excessive adjustments and prolongs the life of the system, making it a low-maintenance, high-performance solution.
The belt is specifically engineered to maintain product integrity as it transitions through turns, offering a more gentle approach compared to conventional modular belts. This makes it ideal for sensitive products such as confectionery, packaged foods, and poly mailer bags that require careful handling.
Compact Design Without Sacrificing Performance
The C³ combines a small footprint with powerful performance, enabling it to handle curved transitions with high efficiency while saving floor space. The compact, low-profile frame ensures it fits into tighter spaces without compromising on throughput or functionality.
This is especially useful in facilities with limited space where other conveyors might be too bulky or require more extensive alterations to fit. The design also allows it to achieve tight radius turns (45°, 90°, and 180°) with ease, making it a versatile solution for a wide range of applications.
Versatility in Belt Options and Customization
The C³ offers multiple belting options, including FDA-approved white and blue belts, providing flexibility for different production environments, from food processing to logistics. This allows users to tailor the system to their specific application requirements.
With the ability to configure product guides, high-side rails, and adjustable stands, the C³ can be customized for various product sizes, weights, and applications.
Hybrid Integration with Modular Systems
The C³ is designed to work seamlessly with Dorner’s other conveyor systems, particularly low-profile belted systems such as the 2200 and AquaGard LP. This hybrid approach enables users to integrate the C³ into both existing production lines and new automated systems, creating a tailored solution that meets a variety of handling needs.
Whether it’s moving product through tight spaces or handling delicate products, the C³ allows for flexible transitions between Dorner’s different conveyors, providing a unified material handling solution across a production line.
Cost-Effective, Efficient Solution
The C³ offers a cost-effective alternative to larger, more complex modular systems. While still delivering superior performance in terms of product handling and space efficiency, it is more economical than other modular belt curve conveyors. This makes it an ideal choice for industries that need a reliable yet affordable solution, such as confectionery, packaged food, and small-product manufacturing.
The reduced need for additional conveyors and its simplified layout help companies save on both upfront and operational costs while optimizing production processes.
With its unique design, gentle handling capabilities, and seamless integration with Dorner’s other systems, the C³ Compact Curve Conveyor represents a significant advancement in conveyor technology. It offers businesses across industries a reliable, cost-effective, and space-efficient solution for conveying delicate products around curves with precision and efficiency.
“We’re taking a customer-led approach to evolving the C³ technology. While we’ve launched with sizes we believe will be most popular, we’re investing in what we call ‘engineer to order’ capabilities, allowing us to integrate customer feedback and customize solutions for specific applications.” – Marco Pardo, Product Manager
Ready to Integrate the C³ or Compare Other Dorner Solutions?
If you’re looking for a cost-effective, gentle, and space-saving conveyor for curved transitions, Dorner’s new Compact Curve Conveyor (C³) is the perfect addition to your line. For higher load capacities, specialized washdown environments, or more aggressive application demands, modular belt conveyors like the AquaPruf, 2200, or 3200 Series may be the better match.
Curious about which conveyor is right for you? Contact us today to discuss your application requirements, compare options, and find the ideal solution for your production line.
FAQs
How do curved conveyors work?
Curved conveyors use a curved belt or modular belt that navigates tight turns within a production line, with the belt moving materials around corners or bends without the need for additional equipment, ensuring smooth and continuous movement while maintaining the leading edge.
What are the three types of conveyor belts?
The three main types of conveyor belts are flat belt, modular belt, and cleated belt.
Here’s some more information on those different types of conveyor belts:
- Flat Belt: A continuous loop that moves products on a flat surface. Ideal for light-duty applications.
- Modular Belt: Made of interlocking segments, this belt allows for flexibility in handling heavier loads and navigating curves.
- Cleated Belt: Features raised sections that help transport products on inclines or keep items in place.
What is a curve belt?
A curve belt is a specialized conveyor flat belt that allows the conveyor system to move materials along a curved path.
These belts are designed to transition smoothly around corners, reducing the need for additional straight sections and optimizing space. Curve belts are commonly used in food processing, packaging, and material handling to keep the flow of goods uninterrupted.
How to measure a curved conveyor belt?
To measure a curved conveyor belt, determine the length of the arc (the curved portion) and the radius of the curve. For example, if measuring for the C³ conveyor, you would select the appropriate arc degrees (45°, 90°, 180°) and the radius (e.g., 750 mm or 600 mm). Measure the width of the belt (150, 300, 450, or 600 mm options), and ensure that the belt size aligns with your system’s specifications.
