Improper belt tensions, either high or low, can severely damage key components of your conveyor system. We offer a range of take-up options, including winches, gravity take-ups, and hydraulic take-ups, designed for your specific application.

Gravity take-up options

Our gravity take-up systems utilize a counter-weight to achieve proper belt tension. This type of take-up offers an economical, simple and predictable option for taking slack out of the belt and is a suitable option for many belt conveyor applications.

Hydraulic take-up options

Hydraulic Cylinder

Our hydraulic cylinder take-up sections are designed to pull slack out of the belt for a smooth conveyor start.  The hydraulic take-ups are available in arrangements ranging from 10 feet to 60 feet of travel.

Hydraulic cylinder sizes range from 4” to 12”, with take-up belt tensions ranging from 1,000 lbf to 17,000 lbf.

Hydraulic winch

Hydraulic winches are also available for take-up and belt storage unit applications. The Joy hydraulic winch allows for increased take-up belt tension up to 60,000 lbf for users who prefer hydraulics.

Hydraulic power units

The Joy hydraulic take-up power unit provides an accurate, reliable system for proper tensioning of your conveyor belt. All units are factory set and tested based on your tension requirements prior to delivery.

This system provides an on/off motor and pump operation as opposed to a continuous operating system, resulting in reduced maintenance, wear, and electrical requirements.

All hydraulic unit components, including the accumulator, are mounted on a common weldedsteel, skid-type base. The unit is designed to be compatible with either standard hydraulic, synthetic, or water-in-oil type fire resistant fluids.  Our power units are available in 25, 40, 60, 75, 100 and 125 horsepower.

Immersion heater element and controls are available for cold-climate operations.

All-Electric take-up options

Pony Winch

The Pony version of our full-size winch is designed for conveyor systems that require lower take-up tensions. With line pull ranging from 20,000 lbf – 30,000 lbf, Pony winches are designed to provide the efficiency, reliability, and savings of all-electric winch technology, but in a smaller package.  The Pony winch utilizes direct line pull to the take-up carriage, so there is no need to grease and maintain sheaves, change hydraulic filters, or replace hydraulic fluids.  Plus, the Pony winch makes tension adjustments quick and easy.

Pony winches are available with control options similar to the control options for our full-size versions, including enhanced intelligence and communication capabilities.

Constant tension winch

The Joy all-electric constant tension winch is our best available option for take-up carriage control in higher tension applications.  Our winch and controller combination provides a very responsive system that can quickly adjust to dynamic load conditions found in many complicated conveyor systems.

All-electric winch technology dramatically simplifies and improves take-up system capabilities when compared to traditional hydraulic cylinder systems with their array of ropes, clamps, thimbles and assortment of sheaves.  Our state-of-the-art design consists of an AC electric motor, electric brake, encoder, planetary reducer and a grooved winch drum. All hydraulics are eliminated. The Joy all-electric constant tension winch technology uses a simple, rotating drum and single rope arrangement to maintain constant tension and improve take-up reaction time. The Joy all-electric winch is easy to install and simple to operate.

We have incorporated progressive engineering, dependability and ruggedness into our latest winch design.

  • The gearbox is internal to the winch drum for a more compact design, reduced maintenance and longer life for the equipment
  • Winches are shipped mounted, aligned and ready for installation, reducing set-up time
  • The winch brake is located on the high-speed input side (rear of motor) allowing for a smaller unit and ease of maintenance
  • More line pull with less horsepower results in savings in operational costs, compared to conventional hydraulic take-up systems
  • For ease of maintenance, the encoder is mounted on the rear of the winch brake, reducing encoder change-out time from hours to minutes

Properly equipped all-electric winches can maintain precise tension control by achieving full torque of an AC motor with zero shaft RPM. With single, direct line pull ranging from 30,000 lbf – 150,000 lbf, the Joy constant tension winch system is capable of satisfying a wide range of conveyor take-up tension requirements.

All-Electric Winch Controls

All-electric winch controls are designed and configured to allow our winch systems to maintain precise belt tension and improve take-up reaction times when compared to traditional hydraulic cylinder systems.

Control package options are based on installation requirements and customer preference. Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and Human Machine Interface (HMI) are available. Different levels of communication protocols are also offered to be compatible with your current communication requirements.