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Right-Angle Transfers: Jump Chains, Jump Rolls, and Lift-and-Transfer Units

In this article, a right-angle transfer is a conveyor station where a unit load leaves one line and moves off at 90° onto another; in the units covered here, it does so because a set of chains or rolls rises between the rolls or strands of the first line, lifts the load, and carries it across. UTEC Industrial designs, engineers, machines, fabricates, and installs custom material handling systems for aerospace and heavy industry from its Spokane Valley, WA facility, integrating Allen-Bradley PLC and motion control with in-house CNC machining, heat treating, and stress relief. The article maps the shop terms jump chain, jump roll, drop roll, jump case, and transfer deck to the terms public sources use, then covers how transfers work, are limited, controlled, and guarded, along the build chain design → engineering → parts machining → fabrication → assembly → weld fatigue → stress relief → drives → controls → tuning → monitoring.

What is a right-angle transfer, and what do the sources call it?​

The MHI glossary's chain conveyor entry says that short sections of double strand chain conveyors "are a common means of transferring loads at right angle to/from another straight section of roller conveyor". Kay's course notes describe a parallel chain configuration used as a chain pallet conveyor "or as a pop-up device for sortation". Sawmill sources use their own words: the federal sawmill rule, set out in the sawmill deck safety article, refers to lumber packages "on conveyors and transfers"; FAO's sawmill maintenance manual includes a "Transfer chain broken" stoppage in its sample lost-time report; Renold's catalogue lists lumber "transfer conveyors"; and a Swedish sawmill thesis routes logs and boards on "cross conveyers".

No citable source defines these shop terms, and the article claims nothing about which plants use them; they are defined here only to map them to source terms:

  • Jump chain. In this article, parallel chain strands between the rolls of a roll case that rise to lift the load off the rolls and carry it away at 90°: MHI's short double-strand chain conveyor, Kay's parallel-chain pop-up device.
  • Jump roll. In this article, a row of powered rolls that rises between chain strands or between the rolls of another line to carry the load off; MHI's term is pop-up rollers.
  • Drop roll. In this article, the reverse arrangement: the roll section lowers, so the load settles onto strands or supports that stay at a fixed height. No source cited here names it.
  • Jump case (or jump skid). In this article, the lift-and-transfer section built into a roll case: the frame that carries the rising chains or rolls and their lift, so the whole section 'jumps' the load across.
  • Transfer deck. In this article, the bank of parallel strands that carries loads sideways between two lines: the sawmill sources' transfer chain, transfer conveyor, or cross conveyer, and the air-spring application sheets' drive table.
  • Lift-and-transfer unit. In this article, the generic name for all of these, echoing an air-spring maker's description of an air spring used "to lift and transfer a log onto a conveyor" (MHI Glossary, Chain conveyor entry; Kay 2012, §5, item 4, p. 27; Firestone Problem Solver sheet 06; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.265-2016, paragraph c.31.iii; FAO Forestry Paper 94, 1990, p. 8; Renold REN2/ENG/07.14, 2014, p. 74; Lundahl 2007, pp. 147–148; Firestone EMDG0916, 2016, p. 29).

How does a chain transfer lift a load off a roller line and carry it across?​

Two air-spring application sheets describe the mechanism:

  • Vertical lift. As materials move down a roller conveyor to a transfer section, a multi-strand drive chain must raise to lift the materials up and off the conveyor rollers for transfer. Four actuators raise the drive chain into contact with the materials. The figure marks the top of chain in a high and a low position, fixed stops, and a transfer direction at right angles to the conveyor direction.
  • Hinged lift. Two actuators raise a hinged drive table through an arc, lifting the materials off the rollers at a right angle. The sheet says the hinged table is used "where strict vertical movement is not necessary, but where faster and more careful handling is required"; that comparison is the supplier's.

MHI's pop-up chain sorter entry gives the limits: the change in conveying direction "is limited to being perpendicular to the original flow"; such a system "is not suited to high- [sic] speed sortation and is mainly used for a load transfer or simple directional changes"; and it is "suited best to handling heavy loads such as full pallets".

Renold's catalogue shows two steel examples: a slab conveyor chain example, "Seven chains running parallel. Steel slabs are carried across the chains", at 600 mm pitch and 3,924 kN breaking load, and a steel-mill transfer chain with pusher attachment plates "to push steel sections along skidder bars or plates", at 12.0 in. pitch and 90,000 lbf breaking load. These are Renold examples, not typical values. As engineering reasoning, slabs ride on the chains while pushed sections slide on skids, so the pusher chain's pull includes the sections' sliding friction. The chain families are set out in the ASME B29 engineering-class chain article (Firestone Problem Solver sheet 06; Firestone Problem Solver sheet 07; MHI Glossary, Pop-up chain sorter entry; Renold REN2/ENG/07.14, 2014, pp. 62 and 76).

When do rolls rise or drop instead of chains?​

MHI defines pop-up rollers as "Rollers which rise up between chain or roller conveyors to move the item off the conveyor to the desired location". Kay describes pop-up devices as one or more rows of powered rollers, wheels, or chains that pop up above the surface of the conveyor to lift product and guide it off at an angle, and adds two conditions from his sortation entry: they are "Only capable of sorting flat-bottomed items", and pop-up rollers are "generally faster than pop-up wheels".

29 CFR 1910.265(b)(23), covered in the deck safety article, defines live rolls as cylinders of wood or metal mounted on horizontal axes and rotated by power, which are used to convey slabs, lumber, and other wood products. The 1952 USDA small-sawmill handbook gives historic small-mill figures: live rolls 6 to 12 in. across and 18 to 30 in. long, spaced about 4 ft apart, tops about 30 in. above the floor, rotated at about 300 lineal ft per minute. In the same handbook, boards generally pass through the edger and a single trimmer saw, or "drop onto conveyor chains" and pass through a gang trimmer to the sorting line. An air-spring maker's design guide says its air springs are "commonly found" in sawmills absorbing a falling log's shock and then lifting and transferring it onto a conveyor (the maker's frequency claim).

As engineering reasoning, a drop roll suits a load too heavy or too long to lift with the transfer section (MHI Glossary, Pop-up rollers entry; Kay 2012, §5, item 19b, p. 34; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.265-2016, paragraph b.23; Telford 1952, pp. 35–36; Firestone EMDG0916, 2016, p. 29).

How does a lift-and-transfer differ from a turntable, a lift table, or a transfer car?​

Three alternatives:

  • Industrial turntable. MHI's lift-equipment section lists ANSI MH29.3-2023, Safety Requirements for Industrial Turntables, for turntables designed to rotate in the horizontal plane, activated manually or by hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, or electro-mechanical means, stationary or movable, manual or powered. They are used to rotate, position, feed, transfer, load, or unload materials only, and are not intended to move personnel.
  • Lift table. The MHI glossary says lift tables are used to raise, lower, stack, convey and/or transfer material between two or more elevations. ANSI MH29.1-2020 covers industrial scissors lifts raised and lowered by hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical actuation, intended for commercial applications on firm and level surfaces, stationary or mobile, used to position, feed, transfer, load, or unload materials or personnel, including lift tables; its scope adds that some of these combinations are not covered.
  • Transfer car. The trade-off between a conveyor, a rail-guided transfer car, and a floor vehicle is set out in the transfer car comparison.

As engineering reasoning, a 90° turntable rotates the load as it changes direction, so the face that led on the first line still leads on the second, while a lift-and-transfer moves the load across without rotating it, so a former side face leads on the new line (ANSI MH29.3-2023; ANSI MH29.1-2020; MHI Glossary, Lift tables entry).

What does the underside of the load decide?​

The riding surface decides whether a transfer can carry the load:

  • Flat, rigid bottoms. Kay states that roller-conveyed materials must have a rigid riding surface and that a minimum of three rollers must support the smallest loads at all times.
  • Chains under pallets and long pieces. Tsubaki's chain guide says that for fixed-sized pallets conveyed directly on chain "you usually need two sets of chains. But if the pallet is not rigid enough, you should include a third chain between the two outer chains." For different-sized pipes or similar items, it says to consider the shortest length so that at least two chains are supporting the product, with the chains equally loaded.
  • Pallet bottoms. ANSI MH1-2021 is the current standard for pallets, slip sheets, and other bases for unit loads; its publisher page says a pallet is described by class, use, type, style, bottom deck, size, and design.
  • Pallet damage. A 2023 study of 48 × 40 in. stringer-class wooden pallets from the field found "high damage occurrence on the stringer notches and bottom lead deckboards". Its authors write that, by identifying the most vulnerable components, equipment manufacturers can "evaluate tolerance levels for the equipment that interacts with pallets". The study did not test transfers.

As engineering reasoning, a transfer's strands run at 90° to the roll line, so the same pallet bottom meets the rolls one way and the strands the other, and both have to be checked against the bottom-deck layout and the damaged boards the line will see (Kay 2012, §5, item 3, p. 26; Otoshi and Kanehira 1997, p. 48; ANSI MH1-2021; Masis Ulloa, Horvath, and White 2023, abstract and research objectives).

How many strands does a transfer need, and how is chain pull estimated?​

No source cited here gives a strand count or spacing for a heavy unit-load or board transfer beyond Tsubaki's rules above. The 1952 USDA handbook gives one historic small-mill arrangement: lumber sorting chains for material up to 16 ft long, with "one chain in the center and one located 5 feet 8 inches to either side of the center-line", running at about 25 ft per minute. Sawmill strand spacing is covered in the sawmill chain transfer article.

Renold's 2010 designer guide gives the pull method:

  • Inputs. Basic requirements include the number of chains and chain speed, the attachment type and spacing, and the material's weight, size, and quantity; the preferred method considers each section of the conveyor that has a different operating condition.
  • Formula. For chain rolling with material carried (Layout C), Cp = 9.81 × µc × [(2.05 × Wc × L) + W] N, where L is the centre distance in m, Wc the chain mass in kg/m, and W the total carried load in kg; Layout D, chain sliding with material carried, has the same form.
  • Friction. Between bush and roller bore, a sliding coefficient µF of 0.15 is used for well-lubricated clean conditions and 0.25 for poor lubrication approaching the unlubricated state; µF enters the overall coefficient µc, not the formula directly.
  • Factor of safety. As a general rule, Renold suggests 8 on breaking load for most applications, increased in anything other than a clean, well-lubricated environment if a loss of chain life is to be avoided.

For the chain that drives the transfer, Rexnord's 2014 drive-chain selection table, labelled "AGMA Recommendations" and extracted from AGMA 150.02, lists Lumber Industry service factors for 10 h and 24 h service: "Chain & Craneway Transfer" 1.50/1.75, "Transfer Conveyor & Rolls" 1.25/1.50, and "Roll Cases, Slab Conveyor" 1.75/2.00. They are minimums for electric motor drives and normal conditions, with 0.25 added for extremely wet or abrasive environments, and assume that the system is free from serious critical and torsional vibrations and that maximum momentary or starting loads do not exceed 200% of the normal load. They are drive-chain service factors, not factors for a conveyor-chain pull (Otoshi and Kanehira 1997, p. 48; Telford 1952, p. 37; Renold REN16/ENG/10.10, 2010, pp. 25–27, 34, and 35; Rexnord 5050, 2014, p. 92).

How is the lift actuated, and how far does it rise?​

The air-spring maker's design guide states that its actuators range from 2.2 to 37 in. across, with force capability up to 100,000 lb and strokes of up to 14 in.; those are the product family's ranges, not a transfer's. Its application sheets use four actuators for a vertical lift and two for a hinged lift, and the vertical-lift figure marks fixed stops. For the falling-log case, the guide claims that without the air spring "the mechanism and surrounding structure would suffer fatigue and fail prematurely"; that is the maker's claim.

ISO 4414:2010 gives general rules and safety requirements for pneumatic fluid power systems and components used on machinery as defined by ISO 12100; it does not apply to air compressors and the systems associated with air distribution as typically installed in a factory, including gas bottles and receivers. Air preparation for pneumatic lifts in cold, dusty plants is covered in the pneumatics air-preparation article.

No source cited here states how far a transfer's chains or rolls should rise above, or drop below, the roll tops. As engineering reasoning, that stroke is a specification question with three parts: the clearance between load bottom and roll tops once lifted, which depends on how much the load sags between strands; the clearance below the load path once lowered; and what holds each end of stroke (Firestone EMDG0916, 2016, pp. 3 and 29; Firestone Problem Solver sheet 06; Firestone Problem Solver sheet 07; ISO 4414:2010).

How fast can a transfer cycle, and where does it limit the line?​

The only published transfer rates found here are package-scale. The 1998 CICMHE equipment-selection guide lists maximum sorts per minute: wheel transfer 5–10, roller transfer 15–20, V-belt (belt and chain) transfer 15–20, and pop-up belt and chain 30–120, none maintaining package orientation. The table is for packages, its load-range column carries no unit, and it gives no rates for pallets, coils, or logs.

A transfer can also buffer. In the Swedish sawmill Lundahl modelled, a log cross conveyer "is connected to a Log Step Feeder (2) that jointly acts as a buffer". One federal rule ties a roll case's speed to the machine it serves: under 29 CFR 1910.265(e)(5)(iv), live rolls and tailing devices in back of an edger shall operate at a speed not less than the speed of the edger feed rolls. The edger outfeed and its rules are set out in the sawmill material flow article.

As engineering reasoning, a transfer's cycle is the sum of the times for the load to arrive and stop, to lift, to cross at chain or roll speed, to lower, and for the cross line to clear; for heavy loads the rate is calculated from the actual drive, actuator, and load and shown at acceptance (Peters 1998, CICMHE equipment selection guide, Sortation Conveyors table, pp. 11–12; Lundahl 2007, p. 147; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.265-2016, paragraph e.5.iv).

What sensing and controls does a transfer need?​

Load-present sensing can use photoelectric sensors. Rockwell Automation's photoelectric data sheet lists sensing modes including retroreflective, diffuse, background suppression, and transmitted beam, with response times of 0.5 to 1 ms for the standard non-fiber-optic models. Its margin indicator shows that the sensor receives at least 1.5 times the signal needed to trigger an output, and the sheet says a higher margin is generally desirable to help overcome deteriorating conditions such as dust build-up on the sensor lens.

CEMA's e-stop guide, advisory and to be used with the applicable current B20.1 standard, places unit-handling e-stop actuators within 1.5 m (5 ft) of any designated work station that directly interfaces with powered conveyors, says resetting an activated e-stop must not automatically restart the equipment, and, among examples it does not mandate, lists cord protection for transfers if generally accessible.

The interlocks below are this article's engineering practice, not a requirement of these sources:

  • lift only when a load-present sensor shows the load stopped and centered and the cross line is clear;
  • confirm the up and down positions with proximity sensors before the chains or rolls are driven;
  • hold the roll case stopped while the transfer section is up, and lower only after a load-clear sensor confirms the load has left;
  • treat a lift or lower that does not reach its position sensor within a set time as a fault (Rockwell Automation 42EF-TD001C-EN-P, 2022, pp. 1, 2, and 5; CEMA SBP-002, 2016, Foreword, §3.1, §4.2, and §4.4).

Where are the pinch, crush, and shear points at a transfer, and how are they guarded?​

Under 29 CFR 1910.212(a)(1), one or more methods of machine guarding shall be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards such as those created by point of operation, ingoing nip points, rotating parts, flying chips and sparks. Under 1910.219(f)(3), all sprocket wheels and chains shall be enclosed unless they are more than 7 ft above the floor or platform; the paragraph does not apply to manually operated sprockets, and it does not say whether a conveyor's carrying strand is a power-transmission chain. In a 1999 letter about packaging and pelletizing machines, OSHA wrote that if a machine is sold without guards, the employer who purchases the equipment must provide adequate guarding.

As engineering reasoning, a chain or roll section that rises or lowers closes a gap against the fixed rolls, the frame, or the load, which makes a crushing zone. ISO 13854:2017 specifies minimum gaps relative to parts of the human body and applies when adequate safety can be achieved by this method; it covers crushing hazards only, not impact, shearing, or drawing-in. ISO 13857:2019 gives safety distances that apply when sufficient risk reduction can be achieved by distance alone, for people 14 years and older.

CEMA's supplemental-guarding recommendation for unit handling conveyors says manufacturers cannot always anticipate every installed configuration and that installers, integrators, and end users must consider the operational areas where personnel work. It calls for bottom guards where exposed moving hazard components are between 3 in. and 8 ft above a designated workstation and within 36 in. horizontal reach. In sawmills, 1910.265(c)(18)(ii) adds that spiked live rolls shall be guarded; the sawmill rules are set out in the sawmill conveyor and deck safety article (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.212-1974, paragraph a.1; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.219, paragraph f.3; OSHA Standard Interpretation, December 8, 1999; ISO 13854:2017; ISO 13857:2019; CEMA SBP-004, 2015, §3 and §5.1; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.265-2016, paragraph c.18.ii).

What stored energy does a raised transfer hold, and how is it isolated?​

A transfer held up by air springs or cylinders stores energy in the raised section and the trapped air. The federal lockout standard covers servicing and maintenance where the unexpected energization or start up of the machine, or release of stored energy, could cause injury. Its definitions count pneumatic and hydraulic energy as energy sources and list "a line valve; a block" among energy isolating devices, while push buttons, selector switches, and other control circuit type devices are not energy isolating devices. Under 1910.147(d)(5)(i), after lockout or tagout devices are applied, all potentially hazardous stored or residual energy shall be relieved, disconnected, restrained, and otherwise rendered safe.

In a 2021 letter about a process pump, OSHA answered that a pneumatic fail-closed valve that could not be locked out was not an energy isolating device, and that disconnecting its air tubing did not meet the definition; applying that letter to a transfer is reasoning by analogy. As engineering reasoning, a transfer needs a lockable air isolation and exhaust point and a mechanical block for the raised section. Trapped pressure and gravity loads are covered in the stored-energy lockout article (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147-1989, paragraphs a.1.i, b, and d.5.i; OSHA Standard Interpretation, September 30, 2021).

Which rules and standards apply to a right-angle transfer?​

The general-industry rules above apply within their own scopes. The consensus documents, at standard level:

  • ASME B20.1-2024 is ASME's current conveyor safety standard; its publisher scope is quoted in the heavy-duty conveyor types article. In sawmills, 1910.265(c)(18)(i) incorporates the 1957 edition by reference (see the deck safety article).
  • ANSI/CEMA 404-2003 (R2020) establishes recommended design and application engineering practice for chain driven live roller conveyors.
  • The CEMA Application Guide for Unit Handling Conveyors, 2nd ed., is a 680-page guide whose product chapters cover definitions, design, application and selection, options, maintenance, and safety.
  • ANSI/CEMA 102-2022 lists and defines over 1,500 conveyor terms.

A specification should name the edition it invokes (ASME B20.1-2024; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.265-2016, paragraph c.18.i; ANSI/CEMA 404-2003 R2020; CEMA Application Guide for Unit Handling Conveyors, 2016; ANSI/CEMA 102-2022).

Where does a transfer sit in the design-to-monitoring chain?​

Each step sets something the transfer depends on:

  • Design and engineering. As engineering reasoning, the load bottom, strand count, stroke, and actuation are fixed from the load and the rate before the frame is drawn.
  • Parts machining and assembly. Renold's guide says two or more strands side by side may require matching and lists, among the conveyors where this is likely to have the greatest effect, those where load positioning or orientation at load or unload is important, which, as engineering reasoning, describes a transfer. Where chains are matched, it recommends boring and keywaying the drive sprockets as a set in relation to a tooth, with a machine-cut tooth form, to ensure equal load sharing.
  • Fabrication, weld fatigue, and stress relief. As engineering reasoning, the lift frame is loaded and unloaded every cycle, so its welds see repeated load cycles, and a frame that moves after machining moves the sprocket and roll lines with it; see the stress-relief article for machine bases and frames.
  • Monitoring. FAO's illustrative sample lost-time report lists "Live roll stopped" and "Transfer chain broken" as mechanical stoppages, and the manual's daily checks include lubricating the shaft or chain drives to live rolls and checking safety guards. Under 1910.219(p)(1), power-transmission equipment shall be inspected at intervals not exceeding 60 days.

UTEC Industrial machines to tolerances as tight as ±0.001 in, performs automated vibratory stress relief and CMM inspection, and builds UL 508A control panels, the steps where a transfer's sprocket alignment and interlock logic are set and checked (Renold REN16/ENG/10.10, 2010, p. 32; FAO Forestry Paper 94, 1990, pp. 8 and 12; OSHA 29 CFR 1910.219, paragraph p.1).

How do you choose a transfer type, and what should its specification state?​

As engineering reasoning drawn from the sources above:

  • Rising chains (jump chain) suit pallets, containers, and long or heavy pieces leaving on a chain line, resting on at least two strands, with a third where the bottom is not rigid.
  • Rising rolls (jump roll) suit flat-bottomed loads leaving on another roll line.
  • Dropping rolls (drop roll) suit loads the transfer section should not lift.
  • A turntable or transfer car suits a load whose original leading face must still lead on the new line (a turntable turns it with the change of direction) or that must reach more than one destination.

As engineering practice, a specification should have the builder state, with numbers: the load's mass, footprint, bottom-deck layout, and condition; the strand count and spacing and the shortest piece on two strands; the lift stroke above and below the roll tops and what holds each end; the cycle rate as a sum of arrive, lift, cross, lower, and clear times; the actuator's behavior on loss and return of air or power, with isolation and blocking points; and the sensors, interlocks, e-stops, guarding, and B20.1 edition (Otoshi and Kanehira 1997, p. 48; Kay 2012, §5, item 19b, p. 34; ANSI MH29.3-2023; CEMA SBP-002, 2016, §4.2; ASME B20.1-2024).

Related Articles

References​

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