BEND PULLEY
A bend pulley is a non-powered conveyor drum that simply redirects the belt path — around a gravity take-up, behind a drive arrangement, or past structural obstructions — without transmitting torque.
A bend pulley is a directional drum used to change the path of a conveyor belt without driving it. Typical placements include: ahead of a head drive pulley to increase wrap angle, behind the drive to lead the belt down to a gravity take-up, on either side of a snub configuration, and at counter-weight take-up assemblies. Because they only see the local belt tension and a partial wrap, bend pulleys are sized for static and dynamic loads from a single belt path rather than for torque transmission.
Standard bend pulley diameters run 200–1400 mm in 50 mm steps; shell wall thickness scales with shaft diameter and belt rating. Surface treatments include zinc-plated mild steel (general industrial), painted (low-cost light duty), hot-dip galvanised (corrosive ambients), and stainless cladding or all-stainless construction (food, port salt-spray, fertilizer chemicals). Lagging is usually plain rubber 8–12 mm thick or omitted entirely — bend pulleys do not need the friction grip that a [drive pulley](/glossary/drive-pulley-conveyor) requires, but a rubber face reduces noise and material build-up.
Designers must ensure that the wrap angle around a bend pulley is sufficient for the belt to seat against the drum (typically ≥30°), and that the local belt tension does not bend the carcass below its minimum drum diameter for the belt rating. Bend pulleys near the take-up also see dynamic loads during belt start-up and emergency stop, which the structural design must accommodate even though the bend itself is not driven.
Related products
Related terms
- Drive Pulley
The drive pulley is the powered drum of a conveyor that transmits torque from the gearbox to the belt by friction, generating the effective belt tension Te that overcomes all resistances.
- Snub Pulley
A snub pulley is a small-diameter pulley placed just before or after a drive pulley to deflect the belt and increase its wrap angle from 180° to 210–230°, boosting maximum transmissible Te.
- Take-up Pulley
A take-up pulley sits on the return strand and is moved by a gravity weight or a screw mechanism to apply the slack-side tension T2, absorbing belt elongation and preventing sag and slip.
- Tail Pulley
The tail pulley is the non-driven drum at the loading end of a conveyor that receives the return belt and reverses it 180° back onto the carrying side.