Shaftless Spiral Conveyor Manufacturer in India
Shaftless Screw Conveyor Manufacturer in India
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Custom shaftless screw conveyors for sludge, municipal waste, food waste, biomass, organic waste, and sticky or fibrous bulk materials — where shafted screw conveyors block and fail. Open-helix spiral without central shaft. No hanger bearings. Self-cleaning. MS, SS304, SS316. PAN India installation.
What is a Shaftless Screw Conveyor?
A shaftless screw conveyor uses a continuous open-helix spiral screw without a central shaft — rotating inside a U-trough or enclosed casing lined with a replaceable wear-resistant liner. The absence of the central shaft is the fundamental engineering advantage that makes this conveyor type uniquely capable of handling materials that destroy shafted screw conveyors.
Why the shaft is the problem — and why removing it solves it
In a shafted screw conveyor, the helical flight is welded to a central shaft that runs the full length of the trough. This shaft is supported by hanger bearings at 2–3 m intervals along the trough. When conveying sticky, fibrous, or wet materials — sludge, food waste, paper pulp, biomass — material wraps progressively around the shaft between the flight edges. Material also packs into the hanger bearing housings, which then seize and require emergency shutdown for clearing.
The shaftless design eliminates both failure modes in one step: remove the shaft, remove the hanger bearings. The open-helix spiral simply rotates in the wear-lined trough with no shaft surface to wrap around and no hanger bearing housings to pack. The spiral is self-cleaning — material that would have built up on a shaft is simply pushed forward with each revolution.
When shaftless is the only correct choice
Shaftless screw conveyors are the correct and only reliable choice for: dewatered sewage sludge from belt presses, centrifuges, or filter presses (15–30% DS); municipal solid waste screen rejects; food processing waste (fat, gristle, food scraps); paper mill dewatered sludge; biomass with fibrous content; and any material where the word "stringy," "fibrous," "sticky," or "pasty" describes the material.
For free-flowing dry powders and granules — cement, fly ash, grain — a standard shafted screw conveyor is the correct and more economical choice. Our engineers confirm the correct type for your material at no charge with every enquiry.
✅ Shaftless — choose when material is:
⚡ Shafted screw — correct for:
How a Shaftless Screw Conveyor Works
Four stages from material inlet to discharge — driven by a motor through the spiral's end connection, without any intermediate supports in the conveying zone.
The open-helix spiral is driven from the inlet end via a geared motor connected to the spiral's end flange. Unlike shafted conveyors requiring hanger bearings along the length, the shaftless spiral is cantilevered — supported only at the drive end, running freely in the wear liner along its length.
Material (sludge, waste, biomass) enters through the inlet opening. The rotating spiral's leading edge engages the material and pushes it forward. Because there is no central shaft, fibrous or sticky material passes through the open helix without finding a surface to wrap around — it simply gets pushed.
The spiral rotates against the replaceable wear-resistant liner (typically UHMWPE — ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) on the trough floor. The liner provides a low-friction, self-cleaning surface that prevents material from building up under the spiral. The liner is replaced in sections when worn — no trough replacement required.
Material discharges at the outlet at the far end — into a waste skip, biogas digester, dewatering equipment infeed, or next conveyor in the process train. Multiple discharge points can be fitted along the trough for multi-point distribution. The fully enclosed cover plate option prevents odour emission from sludge and food waste.
Advantages of Shaftless Screw Conveyors
Five engineering advantages that make the shaftless type the only reliable screw conveyor for sludge, waste, and fibrous material handling applications.
Handles Sticky Materials Efficiently
No central shaft = no surface for sticky or fibrous material to wrap around. No hanger bearings = no bearing housings to pack with sludge. The open helix pushes material forward regardless of its stickiness or fibre content — reliably, continuously, without operator intervention to clear blockages.
Reduced Material Build-Up
The UHMWPE wear liner provides a non-stick low-friction surface that material does not adhere to — reducing the progressive build-up of material under the spiral that occurs with bare steel trough surfaces. The self-cleaning action of the rotating helix against the liner maintains consistent conveying cross-section throughout the shift.
Lower Maintenance Requirements
No hanger bearings to inspect, lubricate, and replace — the single biggest maintenance and breakdown cause in shafted screw conveyors handling wet or sticky materials. Maintenance is limited to the drive gearbox and the replaceable wear liner sections. Liner replacement does not require spiral removal.
High Conveying Capacity
The absence of a central shaft means the full cross-sectional area of the spiral opening is available for material — no shaft volume deducted from material-carrying space. For a 300 mm shaftless spiral, the open centre provides significantly more material volume per revolution than an equivalent shafted conveyor with a 60–80 mm shaft.
Fully Enclosed Odour Control
For sludge and food waste applications where odour emission is a regulatory concern or a community issue, fully enclosed shaftless screw conveyors with bolted cover plates and sealed inlet/outlet connections contain odours throughout the conveying path — critical for urban STPs and food processing facilities.
Long Conveying Distances
Without hanger bearing spacing constraints, shaftless screw conveyors can be built in longer single sections than shafted type — typically up to 15 m per section without intermediate supports. For longer conveying distances, connected sections are used with end drive arrangements on each section.
Materials Handled by Shaftless Screw Conveyors
Every material listed below is either unsuitable for or destructive to standard shafted screw conveyors — the shaftless design handles them all reliably.
Sludge
Municipal Waste
Industrial Waste
Biomass Materials
Food Waste
Organic Waste
Sticky Materials
Fruit & Vegetable Waste
Industries Using Shaftless Screw Conveyors
Shaftless screw conveyors are the standard equipment specification for waste and sludge handling across water treatment, municipal waste, food processing, paper, and biogas sectors in India.
Wastewater Treatment Plants
STP and ETP sludge conveying from dewatering equipment (belt filter press, centrifuge, plate-frame press) to sludge hoppers, trucks, or biogas digesters. The primary application for shaftless conveyors in India — every municipal STP requires this equipment.
Municipal Corporations
MSW (municipal solid waste) handling at solid waste management facilities — screen reject conveying, organic fraction conveying to composting, and residue conveying to landfill transfer stations.
Biogas Plants
Food waste, organic waste, and agricultural wet waste conveying from reception pit to biogas digester infeed. Shaftless conveyor handles the heterogeneous, fibrous, wet input without pre-processing that shafted conveyors would require.
Food Processing Industry
By-product and waste conveying from food processing lines — fruit and vegetable press cake, meat trim reject, brewery spent grain, fish meal reject — to waste treatment or co-product recovery equipment.
Paper Mills
Dewatered paper sludge, pulp reject, and fibre waste conveying from paper machine white water treatment to sludge disposal or co-product recovery. Highly fibrous, wet material that blocks shafted conveyors within hours.
Chemical Plants
Chemical sludge, process waste, and semi-solid by-products from chemical manufacturing — where stickiness and chemical compatibility require SS316 shaftless conveyors with chemically resistant liner materials.
Biomass Processing Facilities
Wet biomass chips, press cake, sugarcane bagasse, green crop, and wet agricultural waste at biomass power plants and biofuel processing facilities — where fibrous material prevents shafted screw conveyor use.
Fish & Meat Processing
Wet fish processing waste, meat trim, blood sludge, and rendering by-products — among the most difficult materials for conventional conveyors. SS316 shaftless conveyors with sealed odour control for regulatory compliance.
Healthcare & Pharma Waste
Biomedical sludge, pharmaceutical process waste, and wet laboratory waste handling at autoclave and treatment facilities — SS316 enclosed shaftless conveyors for hygiene and regulatory compliance.
Technical Specifications
All shaftless screw conveyors are made-to-order. Spiral diameter, pitch, and motor power are calculated from your material's bulk density, required TPH or m³/h, and conveyor length.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Conveyor type | Shaftless — open-helix spiral, no central shaft |
| Spiral diameter | 200 mm / 250 mm / 300 mm / 400 mm / 500 mm |
| Conveyor length | Up to 15 m per section (no intermediate bearings) |
| Inclination | 0° (horizontal) to 45° inclined; vertical with special spiral |
| Spiral pitch | Standard pitch (80% of diameter) or variable pitch |
| Spiral material | MS (standard) / SS304 / SS316 |
| Wear liner | UHMWPE (standard) / rubber / ceramic tile — replaceable in sections |
| Trough construction | MS (standard) / SS304 / SS316 |
| Cover plate | Flat bolted sections — optional full enclosure for odour control |
| Drive arrangement | Geared motor at inlet end — direct or V-belt connection |
| Filling degree | 35–60% of spiral cross-section |
| Power supply | 415 V, 3 Phase, 50 Hz |
Conveyor Diameter Options
* Capacity in m³/h depends on sludge consistency, spiral pitch, and RPM. Free calculation with every quotation.
Trough Construction
Drive Systems
Download Shaftless Conveyor Catalogue
Specifications, liner options, case studies — PDF, free.
Download PDFHow to Select the Right Shaftless Screw Conveyor
Five parameters our engineers use to specify spiral diameter, liner type, construction material, and drive for your sludge or waste handling application.
Capacity in m³/h depends on material filling degree and spiral speed. Free calculation included.
Shaftless Screw Conveyors — Live at Customer Plants
Real Neo Conveyors shaftless screw conveyor systems in operation — sludge handling, waste processing, and biomass installations across India.
More installation videos: youtube.com/@neoconveyors
Shaftless Screw Conveyor vs Shafted Screw Conveyor
The shaftless design was specifically developed to solve the problems that shafted screw conveyors cannot — understanding the differences prevents costly specification errors.
| Feature | ✅ Shaftless (This page) | Shafted Screw Conveyor |
|---|---|---|
| Sticky material handling | Excellent — no shaft to wrap around | Poor — shaft wrapping causes blockage |
| Sludge handling (15–30% DS) | Excellent — the standard choice | Poor — hanger bearings pack and seize |
| Fibrous material | Excellent — no shaft to tangle with fibres | Poor — fibres wind around shaft |
| Hanger bearings | None — no bearings in conveying zone | Required every 2–3 m — failure point |
| Material build-up | Minimal — UHMWPE non-stick liner | Progressive — material builds on shaft |
| Maintenance | Lower — liner replacement only | Higher — hanger bearing pack and failure |
| Free-flowing dry powder | Less efficient — centrifugal force not used | Excellent — standard, most economical |
| Capital cost (same spiral dia.) | Slightly higher — UHMWPE liner, robust spiral | Lower — standard shaft and flights |
| Best applications | Sludge, waste, biomass, fibrous, sticky | Cement, fly ash, grain, fertilizer, sand |
Need shafted screw for dry powders? U-Trough Screw Conveyor → | Tubular Screw Conveyor →
Recent Shaftless Screw Conveyor Installations
Four recent projects — STP sludge, food waste, biogas, and municipal waste — with full engineering parameters and problems solved.
Municipal STP needed dewatered sludge (20% DS, highly sticky, foul odour) conveyed 12 m from two belt filter presses to a covered sludge holding hopper for truck loading. Previous shafted screw conveyor had failed twice in 3 months — shaft wrapping and hanger bearing seizure. SS304 fully enclosed shaftless conveyor with odour-sealed cover plate installed. VFD to match press discharge rate.
Food waste processing facility needed mixed catering waste (vegetable scraps, cooked food, packaging-free organic waste) conveyed 8 m from shredder discharge to biogas digester infeed at 6 m³/h. Material highly heterogeneous, fibrous, sticky — temperature up to 60°C from cooking waste. SS304 enclosed shaftless conveyor with food-safe UHMWPE liner.
Farm-scale biogas plant needed paddy straw, vegetable trim, and cattle dung (mixed) conveyed 10 m inclined at 15° to biogas digester infeed at 4 m³/h. Fibrous paddy straw + sticky dung combination was destroying conventional shafted screws within weeks. MS enclosed shaftless conveyor with UHMWPE liner and high-pitch spiral for 15° incline. VFD for batch-mode operation.
Municipal solid waste processing facility needed screen reject (mixed organic fraction, plastics, fibres) from rotary trommel screen conveyed 6 m to waste skip at 10 m³/h. Heterogeneous waste with wire, fibres, and plastics — completely unsuitable for shafted screw conveyor. Heavy-duty MS shaftless conveyor with 8 mm robust spiral and UHMWPE liner. No VFD — fixed speed, continuous operation.
Why Choose Neo Conveyors?
Every shaftless screw conveyor is engineered from your material data and sludge characteristics — spiral diameter, pitch, liner type, and construction material specified for your specific waste or sludge application.
We specify spiral diameter, pitch, liner type, and enclosure based on your sludge dry solids content, material fibrousness, and throughput. Not a standard conveyor adapted for waste — designed from the ground up for your application.
18+ years of screw conveyor projects across wastewater treatment, municipal waste, food processing, biogas, paper mills, and biomass plants. References from clients in your sector available on request.
All trough construction materials and UHMWPE, rubber, and ceramic liner options supplied in-house. The correct combination for your sludge chemistry and temperature specified at no charge.
Installation, spiral fitting, liner installation, drive alignment, and commissioning by Neo Conveyors' own engineers. We understand STP installation constraints, site hygiene requirements, and municipal project timelines.
GA drawing showing spiral diameter, trough cross-section, cover plate arrangement, inlet/outlet connections, and drive layout included with every quotation at no charge.
Replacement UHMWPE liner sections, spiral sections, and drive components stocked. Liner replacement services and Annual Maintenance Contracts available PAN India — critical for continuous STP operations.
Related Conveyor Solutions
Explore the shafted screw, drag chain, and belt conveyors that connect to or form part of complete waste and sludge handling systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Shaftless Screw Conveyor — Service Locations Across India
Manufactured at our Ghaziabad facility — installed and commissioned by our own engineers at STPs, ETPs, food waste plants, biogas facilities, paper mills, and municipal waste projects across all Indian states.
Request a Free Quote — GA Drawing Included
Share your material type, dry solids %, required m³/h, conveyor length, inclination, and odour/hygiene requirement. Our engineers size the spiral and specify the liner — GA drawing at no charge within 24–48 hours.
