Frequently Asked Questions

B.W. Sinclair designs and fabricates custom dry bulk material handling equipment, including screw conveyors, screw feeders, bucket elevators, belt conveyors, live bottom bins, diverters, and slide gates. Every system is engineered around the customer’s specific material, layout, and process rather than pulled from a standard catalog.

No. B.W. Sinclair builds every system to order rather than offering catalog equipment with custom options added on. This approach fits non-standard plant layouts and materials that standard equipment often can’t handle well.

B.W. Sinclair has designed and fabricated custom bulk material handling equipment since 1985, based in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Yes. B.W. Sinclair has experience serving Fortune 100 manufacturers and engineering procurement contractors on complex, multi-stage projects, from application engineering through installation support.

Yes. B.W. Sinclair specializes in materials that are sticky, abrasive, friable, or prone to bridging and packing, including products like peanut butter, filter cake, dewatered sludge, and contaminated soil. This is a core specialty that many fabricators decline.

Yes. Sanitary configurations are available for food-grade applications, including screw conveyors manufactured from stainless steel with no cracks or crevices, which are easier to clean. We can also offer clean-in-place systems as an option on some conveyors to help automate cleaning. Mechanical polishing is available down to 32 micro inches to remove pits, cracks and crevices on the surface. Consult with B.W. Sinclair for other options.

Materials become difficult to convey when they bridge, pack, carry high moisture or viscosity, easily fluidize, or are sluggish. B.W. Sinclair designs each system around the specific characteristics of the material being handled.

Yes. B.W. Sinclair builds heavy-duty belt conveyors, flexible sidewall conveyors, and bucket elevators with abrasion-resistant components for mining and aggregate applications involving large ore chunks and abrasive bulk solids.

Yes. For dust-sensitive materials, B.W. Sinclair builds enclosed systems designed to control dust.

Yes. Friable products (including prills, pellets, and other products where size and material composition are important) require careful handling. We can adjust the design of a screw conveyor or bucket elevator to reduce product degradation. Please let us know if your product is friable when consulting with us on a new project.

A screw feeder meters bulk material at a controlled, consistent rate from storage into a process. B.W. Sinclair builds custom screw conveyors and feeders up to 36 inches in diameter, engineered for precise metering and low-maintenance operation.

A screw conveyor moves bulk material from one point to another and is typically fed at a controlled rate. A screw feeder is flood fed from a hopper or bin and is specifically designed to meter material at a controlled discharge rate. A screw feeder is best limited in length to 12 feet or less in most cases. A good way to extend the length of a feeder is to discharge from a screw feeder into a screw conveyor. Screw conveyors can span 100 ft or more.

A live bottom bin uses multiple screws at the base of a hopper to actively withdraw material that won’t flow by gravity alone because it bridges, packs, or interlocks. Live bottom bins can support wider hopper openings for “difficult” material. B.W. Sinclair engineers live bottom systems matched to the hopper’s geometry and the material’s specific flow behavior.

Equipment is available in carbon steel or stainless steel, with sanitary finishes for food-grade use and abrasion-resistant options for abrasive materials, including for mining and aggregate service.

A belt conveyor moves material from one point to another, while a belt feeder controls the rate of discharge, often using an adjustable shear gate for metered flow. B.W. Sinclair builds both, along with enclosed and open-channel configurations for different material and dust-control needs.

Yes. B.W. Sinclair fabricates centrifugal, continuous, and mill-duty bucket elevators for elevating bulk material across food, mining, and industrial applications, custom built to the required capacity and discharge configuration.

Configurations vary by product and application. Screw conveyors and feeders are available up to 36 inches in diameter, and other equipment (belt conveyors, bucket elevators, live bottom bins) is sized and configured around the specific material, throughput, and layout requirements of each project.

Yes. B.W. Sinclair designs conveying systems to fit existing plant footprints rather than requiring a layout redesign around the equipment, making it a strong fit for brownfield expansions and space-constrained retrofits.

Most projects start with details on the material being handled (including its flow characteristics), the required throughput or capacity, the plant layout or available space, and any elevation or metering requirements. B.W. Sinclair’s engineering team will work through the specifics during the initial technical discussion. You can also start with our quote request form.

Projects typically begin with a technical consultation and material evaluation, followed by application engineering to specify the system, custom fabrication, and coordinated delivery. B.W. Sinclair also provides arrangement drawings on new equipment.

B.W. Sinclair provides maintenance and service guidance, including design considerations for cleaning and inspection, along with support during startup and ongoing servicing. B.W. Sinclair stands behind all of their work and provides support for the lifetime of the equipment.