The paper presents a methodology for determining the volume of a batch of conveyed material located before a transverse partition of a certain height and the distance over which the batch of material extends on the working surface of the conveyor belt along its longitudinal axis. Knowing the geometric dimensions of the transported batch of material makes it possible to appropriately set the spacing of the belt cleats and thereby to optimally determine the conveying performance of the inclined belt conveyor. When the angle of inclination of a conveyor with a straight idler frame is equal to the angle of surcharge of the conveyed material, then no layer of material is carried on the surface of the belt. If the conveyor belt is guided along a trough idler frame, only the lower cross-section of the filling of material is used. An increase in the cross-section of the belt load of a conveyor inclined at an angle, which exceeds the angle of repose of the conveyed material, can be achieved by installing regularly spaced belt cleats around the circumference of the working surface of the endless loop of the conveyor belt. The volume of the batch of material retained by the belt cleat depends on the height and width of the cleat and whether or not the conveyor belt is provided with corrugated side edges. The paper presents theoretically determined relationships that can be used to determine the size of the transverse and longitudinal area and the volume of the batch of material spread on the surface of the conveyor belt in front of the cleat. The experiments performed provide the distances of the material distribution on the surface of the conveyor belt depending on the height of the cleat and the angle of inclination of the conveyor belt.

This article deals with the adjustment of a 3D printer for laser engraving and material cutting. The print head can be fitted with a solid laser diode module, which achieves a compact size while retaining its useful power. Two paths lead to the use of such a concept. It is possible to equip the existing print head with a module, which also brings a number of disadvantages such as, for example, the reduction of the printing space or the need for a suitable mounting design. A more elegant solution is to consider this in the design of a 3D printer and design a system to exchange the print heads for 3D printing and laser engraving. Such a solution allows full utilization of the workspace and simple installation of the effector for the required type of work. According to the installed power of the laser diode, it is possible not only to engrave but also cut material such as thin wood, veneer or acrylic glass. The use of such a machine is not only for graphic elements but for the creation of various stencils, boxes or simple models, which can be made up of plastic-burning pieces. The laser module is controlled by a driver, which is designed for the device. This is connected to a 3D printer control board. It is, therefore, necessary for the control board to have at least two pins, which can be controlled after adjusting the control firmware. Most laser modules are normally equipped with an adjustable lens, which is used to concentrate the focus of a laser for the given distance against the worktop. Thus, the modified 3D printer can perform its function as a multi-purpose CNC machine, while a basic platform similar for both devices is used.

The paper presents the measured values of tensile forces acting on transmission idlers in the upper and lower run of a conveyor belt placed on a laboratory machine designed at the Department of Machine and Industrial Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava. The tensile forces detected by two strain gauge load cells and recorded using DEWESoft software were used to calculate the friction coefficient, which acts on the surface of the driving drum casing and the conveyor belt. The friction coefficient at the slip point, or during the slippage of the conveyor belt on the rubber or steel casing of the driving drum, was determined for two states of the surfaces that are in contact. Experimental measurements on a laboratory machine determined four values of friction coefficients for two types of drum surfaces and for two states of contact surfaces, which were compared with the recommended standard values. The measured values reached higher values in comparison with the values given by the CSN standards. The highest deviation of 273.3% is achieved using a steel wet surface, and the lowest deviation of 106.3% is achieved when using a rubber dry lining for the driving drum casing. On the presented laboratory machine, it is possible to measure tensile forces for different speeds of movement, different belt angles on the driving drum, various types of belt surfaces, different types of drum casing linings, and different sizes of tension forces for the endless loop of the conveyor belt. For these characteristics of the conveyor belt, the magnitude of the friction coefficient acting between the belt and the drum surfaces can be determined.

This article deals with the problem of loose materials, i.e., wheat grain, when transported by belt conveyors with cover belts. For the purpose of further research, experimental measurements of the deflections of a conveyor belt with loose material were carried out on a self-built laboratory test device. The mechanical contact between the wheat and the belt could be suitably approximated using an elastic foundation. The measured data were evaluated and used to obtain functional relationships for the compressibility moduli of the bilateral Winkler elastic foundation. The obtained relationships were further stochastically processed using the Monte Carlo method.

One of the possible ways to transfer the tractive power of a drive unit to the traction element is to use fibre friction. When a steel rope is used as the traction element, there is a transfer of tractive power in the groove created on the perimeter of the rim of the driving rope sheave. The transmission capability of the drive is directly proportional to the size of the angle of wrap and the shear friction coefficient of the rope surface when the rope is in contact with the surface of the groove wall. The relationship for calculating the size of friction coefficient in the grooves is given by relevant technical standards. The coefficient of friction determined in this way does not take into account the state of possible operational contamination of the groove or the diameter of the rope used. Using a unique laboratory instrument, tensile forces were measured for both rope sides in the state of a non-rotating sheave or when the sheave started to rotate rope. Experimental measurements were carried out for two different diameters of steel ropes, which were guided by two types of grooves for the rope sheave under two limit operating states of the groove wall surface: clean and dirty with oil. By evaluating the measured tensile forces in the approaching and outrunning rope side girded with the groove of the rope sheave, it was found (using a measuring apparatus) that a rope of a larger diameter acquires a higher value of the friction coefficient for the groove than a rope of a smaller diameter. The coefficient of friction in the groove decreases with the increasing size of the sum of the acting tensile forces on both sides of the rope. Lower values of the coefficient of friction achieve semi-circular grooves, and V-shaped grooves show higher values. Lower values for the coefficient of friction, close to theoretical values which were calculated using the relevant relationships specified in the standards, were found for grooves contaminated with oil as opposed to dry and clean grooves.

The contribution deals with a device, which allows recording values of tensile forces acting on steel ropes. At the same time, this device allows setting of the same values of tensile forces in carrier ropes within multi-rope systems, which are initially unevenly subjected to tension by the...