A chip conveyor is an essential auxiliary system in CNC machining, designed to remove metal chips efficiently and continuously from the cutting area. By automating chip evacuation and coolant recovery, chip conveyors help improve machine uptime, tool life, and overall production efficiency in modern manufacturing environments.

What Is a Chip Conveyor?

A chip conveyor is an industrial conveying system specifically designed to remove metal chips generated during machining processes such as milling, turning, drilling, or grinding. These chips are a by-product of cutting operations and must be removed continuously to maintain machine performance and process stability.

Unlike standard material conveyors, chip conveyors are engineered to handle:

• Sharp-edged and abrasive metal chips
• Irregular chip shapes (stringy, curled, broken, fine)
• Chips mixed with large volumes of coolant
• High operating temperatures and continuous duty cycles

In modern CNC and automated machining environments, a chip conveyor is not an optional accessory but a critical auxiliary system that directly affects productivity, safety, and machine lifespan.

Why Are Chip Conveyors Important in Machining Operations?

Chip conveyors play a direct role in machining efficiency and reliability.

• Maintaining Stable Machine Operation: When chips accumulate inside the machining enclosure, they can obstruct tool paths, interfere with fixtures, or damage way covers and sensors. Continuous chip evacuation prevents these disruptions and keeps machines running smoothly.
• Protecting Cutting Tools and Workpiece Quality: Poor chip removal leads to chip recutting, which increases tool wear and negatively affects surface finish. A chip conveyor ensures chips are removed immediately after cutting, supporting consistent machining quality.
• Supporting Automation and Unmanned Operation: In automated CNC cells or lights-out production, manual chip removal is not possible. Chip conveyors enable long, unattended production runs without chip overflow or machine stoppage.

Chip conveyors play a direct role in machining efficiency and reliability

How Does a Chip Conveyor Work?

A chip conveyor operates as an extension of the CNC machine’s chip evacuation system.

Typical working sequence:

1. Chips fall by gravity or are flushed by coolant into the conveyor intake area
2. The conveyor mechanism captures chips while allowing coolant to drain
3. Chips are transported along the conveyor path at a controlled speed
4. Coolant is returned to the filtration system for reuse
5. Chips are discharged into collection bins or recycling systems

This continuous process ensures both chip management and coolant recovery are handled efficiently as part of a closed-loop system.

A chip conveyor operates as an extension of the CNC machine’s chip evacuation system

What Types of Chip Conveyors Are Commonly Used?

Each type of chip conveyor is engineered to handle specific chip forms, material properties, and operating conditions. Selecting the correct conveyor type is critical to ensure stable chip evacuation, prevent jamming, and minimize maintenance.

Hinged Belt Chip Conveyors

A hinged belt chip conveyor uses a continuous belt made of interlocking steel plates (hinges) to transport metal chips out of the machining area. The hinged design creates a strong and impact-resistant conveying surface.

• Designed to handle mixed chip types, including long, stringy, and bulky chips
• Hinged steel plates create a robust conveying surface
• Highly durable and widely used in CNC machining centers

Scraper (Drag) Chip Conveyors

A scraper chip conveyor uses fixed scrapers attached to a chain or belt to drag chips along the bottom of a sealed trough.

• Use scrapers to drag chips along a sealed trough
• Effective for fine, broken chips and heavy coolant flow
• Provide good sealing to reduce coolant leakage

Screw (Auger) Chip Conveyors

A screw chip conveyor uses a rotating helical screw to move chips along a trough or tube. The rotating screw pushes chips forward through its spiral motion. Due to its compact size, it is often installed directly inside the machine enclosure.

• Compact and space-saving design
• Best suited for short conveying distances and fine chips
• Commonly installed inside machine enclosures as a primary chip remover

Magnetic Chip Conveyors

A magnetic chip conveyor uses magnetic force to attract and transport ferrous metal chips without direct mechanical contact. Magnetic elements move beneath a stainless steel surface, pulling ferrous chips along while allowing coolant to drain freely.

• Use magnetic attraction to move ferrous chips
• Ideal for cast iron or steel fines
• Not suitable for non-magnetic materials like aluminum

Vacuum Chip Conveyors

A vacuum chip conveyor transports chips and coolant using negative pressure instead of mechanical movement. Chips are sucked into a vacuum line and conveyed to a central collection or filtration system. Coolant is separated and returned to the process.

• Transport chips and coolant using suction
• Suitable for centralized chip handling in large automated facilities
• Offer high flexibility for complex layouts

Selecting the correct conveyor type is critical to ensure stable chip evacuation, prevent jamming, and minimize maintenance

Which Industries Commonly Use Chip Conveyors?

Chip conveyors are essential in industries where metal cutting is a core process:

• CNC Machining and Metalworking – continuous chip generation
• Automotive Manufacturing – high-volume machining of engine and transmission components
• Aerospace Industry – precision machining with strict cleanliness requirements
• Mold and Die Production – complex machining with varied chip forms

What Are the Advantages of Using a Chip Conveyor?

Chip conveyors deliver both operational and economic benefits by addressing one of the most critical challenges in machining operations: effective chip management.

• Continuous and automated chip removal: A chip conveyor enables continuous evacuation of chips directly from the machining zone, preventing accumulation inside the machine enclosure.
• Reduced machine downtime and cleaning time: Without a chip conveyor, machines must be stopped periodically for manual chip removal, which directly reduces productive machining time.
• Improved coolant recovery and reduced coolant consumption: Most chip conveyors are designed to separate solid chips from liquid coolant during transport. Coolant drains back into the filtration system instead of being carried away with chips.
• Safer working environment with less manual handling: Manual chip removal exposes operators to sharp edges, hot chips, slippery coolant, and heavy lifting risks.
• Support for high-speed and unmanned machining: In high-speed CNC machining and lights-out production, chip generation rates increase dramatically.
  

Advantages of Using a Chip Conveyor

How Does DNC Automation Deliver Chip Conveyor Solutions?

DNC Automation delivers chip conveyor solutions using a system-integration mindset, ensuring each conveyor is engineered to match real machining conditions rather than selected as a standalone accessory.

• Detailed evaluation of chip characteristics and machining processes: Every project begins with a detailed analysis of the machining operation, including material type, chip shape, chip volume, cutting parameters, and coolant usage.
• Customized conveyor selection and engineering design: Based on the application analysis, DNC Automation selects and engineers the most suitable chip conveyor type, capacity, and layout.
• Seamless integration with CNC machines and coolant systems: Chip conveyors are designed to integrate seamlessly with CNC machines, coolant filtration units, and recycling systems.
• Professional installation, testing, and commissioning: Chip conveyors are designed to integrate seamlessly with CNC machines, coolant filtration units, and recycling systems.