Sanitary Flat-Top Belt Conveyors
A flat-top belt conveyor (flat belt conveyor) carries packaged product on a smooth, continuous belt surface, so cartons, pouches, trays, and bottles ride stable between process stages without the belt itself marking, snagging, or draining the product.
AQS builds flat-top conveyors on continuous TIG-welded 304 or 316 stainless frames designed to 3-A Sanitary Standards, with FDA-approved belting from Intralox, Habasit, or equivalent. The belt runs on UHMW wearstrips or a sanitary slider bed, tensioned at the tail so the drive end stays clean, and the frame is sloped so washdown water leaves instead of pooling under the return.
Flat-top is the general-purpose belt: the choice for anything with a flat base that has to arrive upright and in the same orientation it left. It runs straight, through gentle curves, and up moderate inclines, with speed set by a VFD-driven gear motor or a One Motion Mag-Drive that has no gearbox to leak.
Where a flat-top belt conveyor earns its place
Carry sealed packages from a thermoformer, flow wrapper, or filler to a checkweigher, metal detector, or VeriPak inspection station.
General transport of cartons, trays, and pouches anywhere a stable, level surface matters more than drainage.
Straight runs with adjustable guide rails, including auto-adjusting rails for container changeovers.
Deliver product to gapping, collation, and case packing at a metered speed.
How AQS builds it
Urethane or PVC flat belts, or a flat-top modular belt where a hinged surface is preferred, from Intralox, Habasit, or equivalent.
The belt rides on a polished stainless slider bed or UHMW wearstrips chosen for the load and the speed.
Belt tension is taken at the tail with a sanitary take-up, so the drive stays fixed and the belt tracks true.
Continuous TIG welds on 304 or 316 stainless with sloped members and open sides for washdown — designed to 3-A Sanitary Standards.
Gear motor with VFD for adjustable speed, or One Motion Mag-Drive: no gearbox, no oil, IP69K sealed.
Sanitary stainless guide rails, fixed or adjustable — including automatic rail adjustment for lines that change container size.
Typical ranges
Every AQS conveyor is engineered to order around the product, the rate, and the room. The ranges below are typical, not limits — tell us what the line needs and we size to it.
| Belt | Smooth FDA-approved flat belt (urethane, PVC) or flat-top modular belt |
|---|---|
| Configurations | Straight, gentle curve, moderate incline or decline |
| Frame | 304 or 316 stainless, continuous TIG-welded, sloped for drainage, mirror polish |
| Temperature | Ambient; freezer-rated build to −40 °F available |
| Protection | IP65 washdown standard; IP69K available |
| Controls | Gear motor with VFD or One Motion Mag-Drive; Allen-Bradley controls on request |
| Rating | Protects against |
|---|---|
| IP54 | Dust-protected, splash-resistant |
| IP65 | Dust-tight, low-pressure water jets |
| IP66 | Dust-tight, high-pressure water jets |
| IP67 | Dust-tight, temporary immersion |
| IP69K | Dust-tight, high-pressure/high-temp |
Size It Yourself
The free calculators our engineers use to size conveyors — belt pull, speed, throughput, and drive selection. No login; your inputs stay in your browser.
Free conveyor speed calculator: belt speed in ft/min from packages per minute, product length and gap, or solve for rate or gap. Gap time and transit time.
Free belt pull calculator for modular plastic belt conveyors: straight, incline, L, Z, radius and S paths, startup pull, belt check, and drum motor pick.
Free conveyor throughput calculator: lb/hr, lb/day or kg/hr to packages per minute, belt speed, and belt load in lb/ft, plus bulk bed sizing.
Free UHMW wearstrip span calculator: support spacing and end overhang from point-load deflection, washdown temperature knockdown, and creep check.
Common Questions
Tell us about your line
Send us the product, the rate, the room it runs in, and how it gets washed down. An AQS engineer comes back with a layout sketch and a budgetary range — no catalog, no sales script.
Tell Us About Your Line →