The Conveyor Belt: A Masterpiece Invention

The wheel is hailed as the greatest invention

, but also deserved of accolade for reducing human effort in logistical transportation is the humble conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt can be found in all kinds of industries, but primarily in the manufacturing industry in assembly lines.

Functioning as modes of transportation and consisting of two end-pulleys and a loop of continuous metal rotating about them, primitive conveyor-type belts have been in use since as early as the 19th century, but it was in 1901 that engineering group Sandvik invented and began producing steel conveyor belts.

In 1905 the huge mining industry was revolutionised in Great Britain with the invention of the underground conveyor belt. Irish-born Richard Sutcliffe, an inventor and mining engineer, was a pioneer in the use and manufacture of conveyor belts in the mining industry, as well as the assemble line industries, and his efforts reduced the amount of man-labour required in the transportation of coal and other materials gathered from the ground on a huge level.

Belts have been built to grand scales, transporting massive amounts of materials. The longest single conveyor belt in the world stretches from Meghalaya, India, to Sylhet, Bangladesh. It runs for approximately 17km and moves 960 tonnes per hour of shale and limestone from the Indian quarry to a cement factory based in Bangladesh. There are maintenance vehicles that were created specially for the task, and the belt always resides a minimum if five meters above ground level so that it isn't flooded when monsoons strike.

Belts were also important for the mass-production of cars. Henry Ford utilised the invention in 1913 in his Ford motor factory. With the help of a conveyor belt-based assembly line, a car could be built in the factory in just 93 minutes; astonishingly fast for the time. By creating the first automobile assembly line, Ford was able to produce approximately 1 million vehicles every year, which is one vehicle every 24 seconds, and was therefore able to market the cars to the general public.

Recent revolutions have included the sushi restaurant industry, which has adopted conveyor belts as a novel way of serving customers quickly and at a low cost.

The idea for this was conceived by Yoshiaki Shiraishi, who opened his first 'revolving sushi' restaurant in Osaka, Japan, in 1958. Shiraishi is said to have had the idea after observing bottles moving around on a belt in a brewery, and realising that customers could pick sushi from a revolving belt themselves when dining, rather than being served by a waiter.

The idea has since been copied the world over, with Yo! Sushi being the most obvious UK example, where customers help themselves to dishes rotating on conveyor belts, and the bill is charges at the end depending on the amount of plates stacked on the table after the customer has eaten.

by: Dominic Donaldson

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