Custom Hoppers, Chutes & Troughs
A custom hopper, chute, or trough carries bulk material from one machine to the next and meets each neighbor at a flange. K-Display forms and welds them from sheet to your model and interface drawings.
Hoppers, chutes, and troughs we build
We form and weld feed hoppers, chutes, slides, diverter bodies, and troughs from carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum sheet, with a flange at each end that meets the machine beside it. They are delivered as bare weldments or as powder coated assemblies with lids and purchased hardware fitted. Open containers that hold parts in storage are Metal Bins & Parts Containers.
The hopper's outlet flange and the chute's inlet flange have to share one bolt pattern to seat square. The chute then delivers to the trough, so that first joint sets the position of everything downstream.
Flow parts we make
- Feed hoppers
- Sloped-wall hoppers with an open top or a flanged inlet, and a flanged outlet that meets the feeder, conveyor, or machine.
- Chutes and slides
- Straight, angled, and transition chutes between machines, with mating flanges and clean-out openings.
- Diverter bodies
- Formed bodies with the cutouts and mounting holes for a purchased flap or slide gate.
- Troughs and feeder pans
- Open channels and pans that guide or drain material, including feeder pans built to the feeder maker's mounting interface.
- Flanges, lids, and sensor cutouts
- Inlet and outlet flanges, adapter collars, hopper lids, and cutouts for level sensors and viewing windows.
What material and welding do to the part
- Seams in the product path
- Material sliding over a joint catches on any step in it, and lap direction and weld side decide which way that step faces. A step that faces the flow holds material where it should pass.
- Material and wear
- Abrasive material wears the wall it slides across, and wet or sticky material builds on a step or a flat corner. The wall thins where the wear falls, and the opening narrows where the build-up lands.
- Thin sheet and flanges
- Long seams in thin sheet pull walls and flanges out of shape. A flange that leaves its bolt pattern no longer meets the feeder or conveyor below it.
- Washdown and drainage
- Water and cleaning residue collect in open seams and flat corners. A seam that is not closed holds residue between washes, and a flat corner keeps standing water.
How the flow surface is built
Powder coat covers the part except the flange faces and the product-path surfaces you name as bare.
Flat patterns and walls
We laser cut the flat patterns and form the walls and returns on the press brake.
Fit-up and welding
We fit up the body, weld the seams from the side the weld symbols mark in a sequence that accounts for distortion, and weld on the flanges.
Coat, fit, and pack
We mask the bare surfaces, powder coat, install lids and purchased hardware, and pack the part.
Review the joint from inside
An assembly drawing shows whether the flanges bolt together; a view along the material path reveals the seams, lap edges, and fasteners it will cross. Include both when defining which welds must be blended and which surfaces stay uncoated.
The flanges join the chute sections outside the material path. Inside, the floor surfaces meet without a raised fastener or step for passing material to catch on.
What to send for a hopper quote
- Part model or drawing
- STEP or DXF with material, grade, thickness, and weld symbols for each seam, its weld side, and any seam ground flush.
- Interfaces
- Mating flange drawings, the datum the part locates from, and part numbers for any purchased gate, sensor, window, or hinge.
- Bulk material
- The material, its temperature, any wear or sticking concern, and any liner or wear strip you supply.
- Hygiene standard
- 3-A, NSF/ANSI 2, EHEDG, or your own specification, for food-contact service.
- Bare surfaces
- The flange faces and product-path surfaces to leave uncoated, and the sheet finish.
- Quantity
- Hoppers or chutes per order and the delivery date.