Knowledge · Selection guide · Belt cleaning
Conveyor belt scraper selection guide.
Belt speed, belt width, material behaviour, moisture, installation access, blade type — the six inputs that decide the right cleaner for the conveyor.
Direct answer
How to select a conveyor belt scraper.
The right belt scraper is matched to the operating envelope of the conveyor, not picked from a catalogue. Six inputs decide the specification: belt speed (drives blade dwell time at the pulley), belt width (drives blade segment length and tensioning size), material behaviour (moisture, stickiness, abrasiveness and temperature drive blade chemistry), pulley diameter (controls discharge trajectory and primary-scraper geometry), installation access (limits which scraper body and tensioner can be retrofitted), and maintenance access (drives the total cost of ownership through blade-change time). Most cleaning systems combine a primary scraper at the head pulley face, a secondary scraper past discharge, and a return-side plough — selection sizes each stage to the duty.
01 / Selection inputs
The six inputs that drive scraper selection.
Each input below is asked during a Tru-Trac belt-cleaning assessment. The output is a scraper specification matched to the conveyor.
| Input | Range / unit | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Belt speed | m/s | Blade dwell time at the pulley face. Faster belts limit primary cleaning time; secondary or multi-stage usually required. |
| Belt width | Standardised, mm | Blade segment length, mounting frame size, tensioning system size. |
| Material behaviour | Moisture, stickiness, abrasion, temperature | Blade chemistry (urethane vs tungsten-tipped), scraper geometry, specialist vs standard configuration. |
| Pulley diameter | mm | Primary-scraper working geometry, discharge trajectory angle, secondary-scraper position downstream. |
| Installation access | Site clearance / mounting | Which scraper body and tensioning system can be retrofitted into the existing structure. |
| Maintenance access | Blade-change clearance | Total cost of ownership — if blade changes require structural disassembly, downtime cost dominates. |
02 / Material behaviour
How material profile decides blade material.
Material drives the largest single decision in scraper selection — what the blade is made of and how it meets the belt.
01
General bulk handling
Standard urethane blades suit the majority of bulk-handling applications. Long blade life, moderate cleaning aggressiveness, broad material compatibility.
02
Abrasive materials
Tungsten-tipped or carbide-tipped blades resist wear on abrasive materials (iron ore, copper, hard rock aggregates). Higher cleaning aggressiveness but more attention to belt-cover compatibility.
03
Sticky materials
Specialist blade geometry — different rake angle and edge profile — designed to release sticky residue (clays, fines-heavy materials, moisture-bound carryback).
04
Hot materials
High-temperature applications need blade materials rated for the operating temperature; standard urethane softens above its rated range.
05
Chemically reactive materials
Acidic, alkaline or chemically reactive materials may interact with standard blade chemistry; specialist blade material specified case-by-case.
06
Fines content
Materials with a heavy fines fraction need finer secondary-cleaning blades to address the fine layer the primary leaves behind.
03 / Belt speed
How belt speed shifts the cleaning strategy.
Speed changes the dwell time the blade has at the pulley face. Faster belts need more cleaning stages.
Up to 3 m/s
Single-stage primary may be sufficient on dry, free-flowing materials. Secondary stage strongly recommended for wet or sticky materials.
3 to 6 m/s
Standard bulk-handling speed band. Primary + secondary configuration is the typical default; specialist materials may need multi-stage primary.
6 m/s and above
Faster belt speeds limit primary dwell time at the head pulley. Multi-stage cleaning + return-side plough becomes essential.
04 / Installation and access
Where the scraper goes is half the selection.
A correctly specified scraper installed in the wrong place won't clean reliably. These are the geometry constraints Tru-Trac checks during a site assessment.
A
Primary at the head pulley face
The primary scraper must mount against the belt where it curves around the pulley and is fully supported. Mounting too far past the pulley loses contact pressure.
B
Secondary past discharge trajectory
The secondary mounts on the straight return path far enough past the discharge that material has cleared the belt — but close enough that the residue layer is still accessible.
C
Clearance for blade replacement
Both scraper positions need access for blade segment replacement without structural disassembly. If not, total cost of ownership balloons.
D
Plough position before tail pulley
Return-side ploughs install close enough to the tail to catch material before it can wedge into the pulley, but far enough that the diverted material has a place to fall.
05 / Blade types
Blade chemistry and when to use each.
Three blade families cover most applications. The right choice is a function of the material profile and the cleaning stage.
Urethane
General-purpose primary and secondary blades. Long life, broad material compatibility, friendly to belt cover. Default for bulk-handling unless material profile demands otherwise.
Tungsten-tipped
Abrasive and hard-material applications. Higher cleaning aggressiveness, longer life on abrasive duty, more careful selection vs belt cover required.
Specialist blades
Sticky, hot, chemically reactive or fines-heavy materials. Specified case-by-case during a Tru-Trac assessment.
Related
Connected across the architecture.
Technical guide
Primary vs secondary belt scrapers
When to use each, where they install.
Read
Problem guide
What causes conveyor carryback?
The upstream problem belt cleaners address.
Read
Product
Belt Cleaners & Scrapers
Primary, secondary, ploughs and specialist cleaning.
Read
Zone page
Belt cleaning zone
Where cleaners sit in the five-zone Tru-Trac System.
Read
Take action
Request selection support
Site-led engineering review.
Read
Frequently asked
Practical questions, answered directly.
01How do I choose a scraper?
Start by gathering the conveyor's operating envelope: belt speed, belt width, the material being carried (and its moisture, abrasion and stickiness profile), pulley diameter, and the installation and maintenance access available. Match these to the scraper family (primary at the head, secondary past discharge, plough at the tail) and the blade chemistry (urethane, tungsten-tipped, specialist). A Tru-Trac assessment confirms the specification against the as-built conveyor and material data.02What information do I need?
Belt width and speed; the material carried and its key behaviour (moisture, stickiness, abrasion, temperature); pulley diameter at the head; photos or a sketch of the head-pulley area showing clearance and access; photos of the current cleaner if one is installed; and a note on the maintenance philosophy (how often can blades be changed). The more of this you can provide, the faster a useful specification can be returned.03Can you spec a scraper for a non-standard belt?
Yes. Wide belts, high-temperature applications, specialist material chemistries and unusual mounting constraints are routine for Tru-Trac engineering. Non-standard applications need an assessment up front rather than a catalogue order — the specification is built against the conveyor and the duty.
Tell us the conveyor and the material.
We'll specify the cleaning configuration matched to the duty — primary, secondary, plough, blade chemistry.