Testing · 02
Friction test
Confirms the idler turns freely under load by measuring running resistance and bearing efficiency.
Products
Conveyor Idlers
Idler frames and rollers that support, align and cushion the belt, from light handling to the heaviest mining service.
The Lorbrand standard
Refined since 1985
An idler holds the belt true and keeps turning through dust, impact and weather. The geometry is simple. Service life in the field is where the engineering goes.
Our core design has proven itself in the field for decades. Over that time, we have continuously refined what dictates service life: tighter manufacturing tolerances, better seal arrangements and improved coatings, each change tested before it reaches a conveyor.
The result is a design operations already rely on, and every frame meets the same standard before it leaves the floor.
The range
Idler types for every part of the conveyor
Precise, repeatable frame dimensions from one idler to the next keep the belt line true, limiting the loads that belt deviation causes and helping the belt track.
Carry side
Standard
3-Roll Inline Carry
Supports and profiles the loaded belt on three equal rollers in line, the most widely used carrying idler. It carries high loads in a compact frame that is practical to transport and handle.
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Belt training
3-Roll Self-Aligning Carry
Steers a wandering belt back to centre on its own. When the belt bears against a guide roller at either end, the pivoting frame swivels and the angled rollers correct its path, with no manual adjustment.
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Maintenance access
3-Roll Retractable Carry
Carries the belt on a standard three-roller trough whose frame retracts, drawing the rollers out to the side for inspection and change-out without lifting the belt or working above or below it. It keeps rollers serviceable where stoppages must be short or the structure is hard to reach.
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Standard
3-Roll Offset Carry
Supports the belt continuously across its full width, with three rollers staggered along the direction of travel so their ends overlap at the wing-to-centre junctions. The overlap closes the gap between roller ends and lets the idler sit lower than an equivalent inline frame.
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Belt-friendly
5-Roll Offset Carry
Forms a deep, smoothly curved trough for wide, high-capacity belts, with the load shared across five staggered rollers and a smaller change of angle at each roller junction.
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Belt-friendly
3-Roll Underslung Offset Carry
Supports the belt on continuous, overlapping rollers in a low-profile frame: three offset rollers on a single bent tube, staggered fore and aft.
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Banked alignments
3-Roll Horizontal-Curve Carry
Keeps the loaded belt centred through horizontal curves. The idler is banked with its inner side raised, so the weight of the belt and load pushes outward against the inward pull of belt tension.
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Head and tail sections
3-Roll Adjustable Transition Carry
Eases the belt between flat at the pulley and fully troughed, with a wing-roller angle set by bolt position for the transition zone.
Learn moreReturn side
Standard
2-Roll V-Return
Keeps the empty return belt centred on two rollers set in a shallow V, which give it a gentle trough.
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Standard
1-Roll Flat Return
Supports the empty belt on its run back to the tail on a single flat roller, the simplest return idler.
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Belt-friendly
2-Roll Offset V-Return
Lowers the overall height of a symmetric two-roller V-return by offsetting both rollers clear of the frame's cross-member.
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Belt training
2-Roll Inverted V-Return
Steers the return belt back to centre from above. Belt tension holds the clean side of the belt up against two rollers set in an inverted V, which form a channel that tracks the belt positively.
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Banked alignments
2-Roll Horizontal-Curve V-Return
Keeps the return belt centred through horizontal curves. The V-return idler is banked with its inner side raised, so the weight of the belt pushes outward against the inward pull of belt tension.
Learn moreLoading zones
Standard
3-Roll Impact
Absorbs the energy of material falling onto the belt, with cushioned impact rollers in a troughed carrying idler.
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Maintenance access
3-Roll Retractable Impact
Absorbs material impact in the loading zone on a cushioned trough whose rollers pull out on a retractable frame for replacement, with the belt left in place.
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Maintenance access
3-Roll Dual Drop-Down Impact
Absorbs impact across an extended bed of six rubber-cushioned rollers, two three-roller troughs in line, on a frame that lowers as one unit so the rollers change out without dismantling the structure around them.
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Loading zones
Impact Bed
Cushions lump impact under loading and transfer chutes and keeps the belt sealed against the skirting, in garland, impact bar and roller, and slider bed designs.
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Process verification
Quality control and testing
Dimensional inspection, weld integrity, coating adhesion and roller running checks, following the inspection and test plan for each order.
Inspection · 01
Critical dimensions, measured against the drawing
We check frame and roller dimensions to confirm fit, mounting centres, roller spacing and installation accuracy before dispatch.
NDT · 03
Magnetic particle testing
Non-destructive inspection of frame welds to find hairline cracks before dispatch.
Coating · 04
Paint adhesion test
Verifies the bond between coating and steel so the finish protects the frame through its service life.
Welding · 05
Macro etch test
Polished, etched cross-sections of sample roller welds confirm full penetration and sound structure.
Rotating components
Low-friction precision rollers
Accurate bearing seats and multi-stage seals give long bearing life and low running resistance, across steel, composite, lined, hybrid, stainless and impact constructions. The full range, internal construction and test data are on the Rollers page.
Sensor Seal dashboard
49T3
Carry
12% health
6 min ago
Temperature
57.2°C
Vibration
1.131g
Speed
452rpm
Sensor Seal
Explore Sensor Seal
Condition monitoring from inside the roller
A self-powered sensor built into the roller seal, driven by the roller's own rotation, reads bearing temperature, vibration and speed and transmits without wiring. It flags a failing roller early enough to replace it before it damages the belt.
TemperatureBearing temperature at 0.1 °C resolution
SpeedRotation measured to ±0.05 %
RangeOver 1 km line of sight on the S1; mesh coverage on the S2
SoftwareOn-premises or cloud, with no subscription for the life of the product
References
Idlers in service
Lorbrand carry idler frames and rollers on the 13 km overland conveyor that moves in-pit-crushed ore to the Greater Tom Price hub.
2020Western Turner Syncline 2
Pilbara, Australia
Lorbrand idlers run in what is widely called the most powerful conveyor belt installation on Earth, carrying ore from the block cave beneath the world's largest open-pit copper mine.
2016Chuquicamata Subterránea
Antofagasta, Chile
The world's longest single-flight conventional belt conveyor, with Lorbrand the sole idler and pulley supplier.
2015Impumelelo
Secunda, South Africa
Lorbrand idlers, more than 90,000 rollers, for a greenfield 10 Mt/y iron ore mine in the Northern Cape, originally the Bruce, King and Mokaning (BKM) project.
2008Khumani
Northern Cape, South Africa4 of 10 references. All projects