The selection of the belt for Elevator is based on the capacity, material type and maximum allowable tension. For the fabric reinforced belt, 4 ply, 5 ply and 6 ply constructions are employed to match the tension requirement. The belt type (FBTS) may range from EP500/4 to EP1600/6. The belt joint could be either vulcanized spliced or with mechanical fastener depending on the capacity and the operating temperature. The alternative method is to use the chain (in place of belt) based on heavy duty application and hot material application. The belt does not have any significant wear during the operation thus the cover thickness selection demands no special selection criteria. Typical cover thickness of such belt is 2 mm (or 1.5 mm) on the top (Bucket side) and 3 mm or 4 mm on the bottom (Pulley side).

Belt elevators are designed to operate on the lower range of the speed starting with 0.5 m/sec to 1.5 m/sec. However, system to handle larger lumps and heavier materials operate on lower speed.

Sizes or shapes of the buckets are standardized on basis of length of projection and with variation to match capacity requirement. Basic material of construction is steel. However, light duty elevators may also use bucket of PU, PVC or such material. Buckets should be spaced at from two to two three times the bucket projection to ensure smooth movement of the material.

Capacity calculation of belt elevator depends upon buckets’ volume, bulk density of the material, belt velocity, bucket spacing and average degree of fill. Such system is used in elevating food material like flour, light granule such as oil seeds, viscous material like cane sugar, wet fine material and soil, heavy pulverized material such as sand, cement and coal.