Product · Conveyors & material flow
Overhead and power-and-free conveyors
When the floor is full and the part has to be carried through a process, conveying goes overhead. Enclosed track and power-and-free systems move parts through paint, curing, washing and assembly without occupying the floor the operators work on.
At a glance
- Types
- Enclosed track, I-beam chain, power-and-free
- Load per carrier
- Sized to the part and carrier — typically 25–500 kg
- Speed
- Typically 1–8 m/min, set by process dwell time
- Accumulation
- Power-and-free where parts must stop, buffer or be sequenced
- Lead time
- Indicative 10–20 weeks depending on track length
Overview
Overhead & Power-and-Free built to your application
An overhead conveyor is the only sensible answer when a part has to pass through a process that occupies space the floor cannot spare — a paint booth, an oven, a washing tunnel — or when the part is awkward enough that putting it down and picking it up again costs more than carrying it.
The engineering decisions that matter are carrier design, track layout and where the part is allowed to stop. Get the carrier wrong and the part swings, marks or falls. Get the stops wrong and you build a line that cannot buffer, which means one stoppage anywhere stops everything.
Variants
Types of overhead & power-and-free we build
Enclosed track overhead conveyor
Lighter parts on a continuous loop — finishing, assembly feed and inter-process transfer.
I-beam chain conveyor
Heavier carriers on structural track for paint and heavy assembly.
Power-and-free conveyor
Parts stop, accumulate and sequence independently of the chain — the only option when dwell times differ station to station.
Monorail and manual track
Hand-pushed track for low volumes and maintenance handling.
Specification
Technical specification
Typical build parameters. Final specifications are fixed with you at design freeze.
| Track | Enclosed track for lighter loads; I-beam with trolleys for heavy carriers |
|---|---|
| Chain | Forged rivetless or bush-roller chain, selected from load and track length |
| Drive | Caterpillar or sprocket drive with VFD; take-up unit for chain tension |
| Carriers | Part-specific hangers and fixtures, designed so the part hangs stable and masked where needed |
| Power-and-free | Free track with stops, accumulation zones and transfer to and from the power line |
| Layout | Horizontal and vertical curves, inclines and declines sized to chain and carrier |
| Process interfaces | Booth openings, oven seals, wash tunnel entries and drip zones |
| Safety | Anti-runback on inclines, catch trays, pull cords and guarded drive and take-up units |
| Controls | VFD speed control, zone interlocks, carrier counting and process dwell verification |
| Finish | Track and structure painted or galvanised to suit the process environment |
Scope of supply
What is included
- Track layout designed against your building, process and part
- Carrier and hanger design with masking where the process needs it
- Chain, drive and take-up sizing with calculations shared at design review
- Fabrication, galvanising or painting, and supply of track and structure
- Installation, alignment and chain tensioning on site
- Commissioning with your parts through the full process
- Operation and maintenance manual with chain lubrication schedule
Need this quoted?
Send the part drawing or a photo with your volume and cycle time. An engineer responds within one working day.
Applications
Where it is used
- Paint shop carriage through pretreatment, booth and oven
- Powder coating and curing lines
- Washing and degreasing tunnels
- Heavy sub-assembly transfer between shops
- Plating and surface treatment lines
- Finished-goods transfer to packing
Industries
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View productFAQ
Overhead & Power-and-Free: common questions
Overhead or floor conveyor — how do we decide?
Floor space and process. If the part passes through a booth, oven or tunnel, or if the floor under the line is needed for something else, overhead wins. If the part is heavy, stable and handled at working height, a floor conveyor is simpler and cheaper to maintain.
What is power-and-free actually for?
Letting parts stop without stopping the chain. If every station has the same cycle time you do not need it. The moment dwell times differ — a booth that takes four minutes and an inspection that takes forty seconds — power-and-free is what stops the slowest step dictating the whole line.
Can you work around our existing building steel?
Yes, and that is normally the constraint that sets the layout. We survey the building first — clear heights, existing services, column positions — and design the track to what is there rather than to an ideal.
How is maintenance handled after handover?
Chain lubrication points, wear limits and inspection intervals are documented in the manual, with a spares list for chain, trolleys, bearings and drive components.
Start a project
Hand over your production challenge.
Tell us what the line has to produce, where, and by when. We will come back with a scoped approach, a realistic timeline and the questions that matter — usually after a site visit or a drawing review.
- +91 85959 55435 · Mon–Sat, 09:00–18:00
- WhatsApp an engineer
- info@mecwerx.com
- Detailed RFQ with drawings (PDF, DWG, STEP)