Life science labs often need to move large quantities of materials across their facilities. Doing this manually can be slow, exhausting, and potentially dangerous for technicians, with the added risk of contamination impacting the quality of results.
To address these challenges, many labs are switching to chain drag systems for bulk material handling. If you’re a lab owner looking for a safer, smarter, and more efficient way to manage materials, here’s why a drag chain conveyor system could be a worthwhile investment.
Understanding Chain Drag Systems
Chain drag systems consist of three main components:
- Motors that convey the drop-forged chain
- Flights (or discs) attached to the chain to push materials along
- An enclosed conveyor housing the entire system
Each element plays an important role in pushing materials safely along a pre-set path.
Due to their relative simplicity, chain drag conveyors are incredibly versatile and widely used across industries like food processing, manufacturing, and mining. In life science labs, they’re ideal for transporting soiled or clean, moist or dry material. The enclosed design ensures materials are not exposed during transit from the inlet to the discharge point.
For example, BetterBuilt’s S200 Sure-Flo Soiled Bedding Removal System transports moist, soiled rodent bedding from a cage wash facility to a disposal container- without manual intervention. Its key features include:
- A continuous chain with discs that moves bedding passively through enclosed pipes
- High capacity, moving up to 2,200 lbs (997 kg) of bedding per hour
- A 3 HP motor with optional ½ HP motors for extra conveying power
- A rubber-coated grill that protects cages and cuts down on noise during dumping
Our chain drag systems are part of a larger range of automated conveyor solutions designed to enhance worker safety and uphold the highest standards of lab sanitation. Feel free to reach out to our team to learn more!
Benefits of Drag Chain Conveyors: How They Help with Material Handling
With that covered, let’s look at how drag chain conveyor systems can make bulk material handling safer, faster, and more effective.
Efficient Bulk Material Transport
Physically moving heavy materials like housing or bedding is slow, tiring, and prone to mistakes. Additionally, these repetitive tasks often take lab staff away from more important work.
Automated material handling systems move items quickly and continuously. With this efficiency boost, labs can handle larger volumes of work without losing accuracy or quality.
Contamination Prevention
Contamination is a constant risk in life science labs. A single accident can ruin entire batches of research, compromise data, and jeopardize safety.
Manual handling can cause particles or microbes to transfer between batches. Exposed materials are also susceptible to dust and other impurities in the lab environment.
Enclosed drag chain conveyors keep materials secure and fully sealed off to ensure minimal product degradation. This is especially important when working with sensitive items like biological samples, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.
Enhanced Worker Safety
As a lab owner, keeping your team safe must be the top priority – this is non-negotiable. When technicians handle bulk materials by hand, they risk injuries like:
- Sprained tendons and ligaments
- Muscle strains and tears
- Herniated discs
- Musculoskeletal disorders
Approximately three of every four Canadians whose jobs involve manual material handling experience back pain from work-related injuries. Beyond physical strain, many materials in life science labs — such as toxic chemicals, biohazards, and combustible dust — pose serious health risks.
A drag conveyor helps reduce these risks by safely moving materials without the need for direct human contact. Not only does this lower health risks for your team, but also keeps your lab compliant with essential worker safety standards.
Cost Reduction
One of the biggest concerns people have with automated lab solutions is the upfront expense involved.
However, chain drag systems can help reduce ongoing operational costs in a few key ways.
- First, using a drag chain conveyor means you won’t need a large team to move materials, which cuts down on labor costs.
- Second, most modern drag chain systems are designed with energy-saving features. Over time, you’ll likely see lower utility bills.
In the long run, conveyors pay for themselves by making your lab safer and more efficient.
Smarter Space Utilization
Space is often limited in life science labs. Hence, bulk handling systems must fit into the existing layout without getting in the way.
Many drag chain conveyors are designed to work efficiently in small spaces. With the ability to move materials both horizontally and vertically, they help labs make the most of their floor space while streamlining workflows.
For instance, BetterBuilt’s S210 Sure-Flo Clean Bedding Delivery system is compact and efficient, consisting of:
- Piping
- UHMW disks
- A chain
- A main drive station
- A continuous tensioning station
- An inlet port
- A bedding dump station
- A discharge port
- A control panel
Best of all, this system doesn’t need a separate mechanical room, so you can easily integrate it into your current lab setup.
Flexibility and Scalability
One big advantage of drag chain conveyor systems is that they can be easily scaled and customized. Whether you’re moving small amounts of material or handling large volumes for production, these systems can adapt to your requirements hassle-free. In addition, they can be designed to pair with new and existing automated lab solutions.
Over to You
Smart bulk material handling is essential for meeting the high standards of safety, efficiency, and precision required in scientific research. Drag chain conveyor systems help optimize this process by offering reliability, organization, and contamination control.
If you’re interested in how chain drag systems can benefit your life science lab, our team at BetterBuilt is ready to assist. Contact us to connect with a sales representative or technical support — we’re here to help!