Conveyors
Load zones, skirting and impact beds — the basics
Reviewed August 2026
Short answer
A load zone should support the belt on impact beds or slider bars through the impact area, seal the sides with an adjustable skirting clamp and a soft sealing strip, and give the material stream enough settled length to centre before it leaves the skirts. Getting those three right stops most spillage and dust at source.
A transfer point is the highest-wear, highest-spillage location on a conveyor. A well-built load zone has three parts working together.
1. Belt support
- Impact beds — rows of bar-type cushioned supports that take the drop and hold the belt flat and sealed
- Slider (centre) bars — low-friction bars between the wing idlers that keep the belt line true under the skirts
2. Sealing
- Skirting clamp — an adjustable external clamp holding the sealing strip; re-set as the strip wears
- Primary and secondary seal strips — a soft strip on the belt and an outer dust strip
3. Settled length
The skirted section must run far enough past the impact point for the material to stop bouncing and centre on the belt before it leaves the seal. Too short and it spills the moment the skirts end.
What to send us
The belt width, speed and troughing angle, the chute and skirt dimensions, the material (lump size, bulk density, moisture, abrasiveness), the drop height, and photos of the current load zone. We specify the beds, bars, skirting and seals.
