Compact Chip Conveyor for Fine Turnings and Tight Machine Spaces
Not every chip conveyor application has room for a 2½” pitch belt. CNC Swiss-type lathes, screw machines, small machining centers, and secondary operation machines often have discharge points that sit too low or too close to the floor for a standard-depth conveyor to fit underneath. The NLECO SteelTrak™ 715 solves this with a 1½” pitch—the smallest pitch in the SteelTrak hinged steel belt lineup—and a 4⅛” deep infeed section that slides into spaces where larger conveyors simply cannot go.
Beyond the compact frame, the 715 is built specifically for the type of scrap that these machines produce: very fine chips, small turnings, tiny stampings, and the kind of sharp-edged scrap that jams wider-pitch conveyors. The smaller pitch means tighter apron spacing, which keeps fine material on top of the belt instead of falling through gaps or wedging between plates.
TruTrak Belt Tracking Technology
One of the most significant differences between SteelTrak conveyors and conventional hinged steel belt designs is NLECO’s TruTrak technology. Standard on all SteelTrak models, TruTrak uses flanged rollers built into the belt chain to eliminate the side-to-side belt movement that causes tracking problems on conventional conveyors.
When a belt sways off its track, it rubs against the conveyor frame. Over time, this wears the frame, damages axles and sidewings, loosens cotter pins, and eventually leads to unplanned downtime for repair or replacement. TruTrak prevents this cycle entirely. The belt stays centered in its track, reducing wear on every component that contacts the belt and extending the overall service life of the conveyor. For operations where preventing downtime is a priority, TruTrak is a meaningful engineering advantage over conveyors that rely on manual belt adjustment.
Liquid-Tight Construction
The Model 715 is built with a liquid-tight bottom pan as standard. In CNC machining environments where chips are mixed with cutting fluid, coolant, or water-soluble oil, the sealed pan contains liquid during transport and prevents coolant from leaking onto the shop floor. This reduces slip hazards, protects nearby equipment from coolant contamination, and makes coolant recovery easier by channeling fluid back toward the machine sump or a central collection system.
For applications that do not require liquid containment, the Model 716 offers the same 1½” pitch belt and TruTrak technology in a non-liquid-tight frame configuration.
Belt and Frame Specifications
The 715 belt is a 1½” pitch hinged steel construction with a one-piece conventional 14-gauge apron, ⅝” high cleats on 12″ centers, 12-gauge x ¾” high radial sidewings, ⅞” x ½” wide flat face rollers, and 12-gauge outside sidebars. The radial sidewing design provides the tightest possible fit between sidewing and apron, reducing the chip pinching that causes jamming and carryover on conventional conveyors.
The frame depth is 4⅛” at the infeed section and expands to 6⅝” from the lower curve through the discharge. This tapered profile allows the infeed to slide under low-clearance machine discharge points while maintaining the structural depth needed for the incline and discharge sections.
Standard widths range from 4″ to 24″, with custom widths available. Lengths range from 3 to 20 feet (infeed minimum 12″, discharge minimum 18″). Standard curves are available at 30, 45, and 60 degrees. The standard drive is ½ HP (230/460V, 3-phase, 60 Hz, TEFC), top mount on the right side, with a standard speed of 30 FPM. The discharge uses grease-sealed bearings, and the infeed uses press-in bronze bushings. The drive sprocket is a 10-tooth design with a 4.854″ pitch diameter.
Available configurations include Type 3 (Z-shape), Type 4 (L-shape), and horizontal layouts.
Where the SteelTrak 715 Fits in the Scrap Conveyor Lineup
Barron Equipment offers scrap conveyors from two manufacturers: Titan Conveyors and NLECO. The Titan lineup (Models 620–660) uses 2½” to 6″ pitch belts and targets medium to extreme-duty scrap applications with chain pull capacities up to 8,900 lbs. The SteelTrak lineup starts where Titan leaves off on the compact end—with the 715’s 1½” pitch handling the finest chips and tightest spaces, and the 2½” pitch SteelTrak models (720–727) covering the middle ground between mini-pitch and heavy-duty.
The 715’s unique combination of mini pitch, liquid-tight construction, TruTrak belt tracking, and a 4⅛” infeed depth makes it the go-to conveyor for precision machining applications where chip size is small, coolant is present, and machine clearance is limited.