# Custom Hoppers, Chutes & Troughs

https://kdisplay.com/products/panels-covers/hoppers-chutes-troughs

K-Display in Chicago forms and welds feed hoppers, chutes, slides, diverter bodies, and troughs from carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum sheet to your model and flange drawings. They are delivered as bare weldments or as powder coated assemblies with lids and hardware fitted.

## Overview
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.

## Process
- 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.

## Typical parts
- 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.

## Design considerations
- 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.

## Related pages
- [Laser Cutting](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/cutting-forming/laser-cutting)
- [Sheet Metal Forming & Bending](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/cutting-forming/forming)
- [MIG & TIG Welding](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/welding/mig-tig-welding)
- [Powder Coating](https://kdisplay.com/capabilities/finishing/powder-coating)
- [Carts & Racks](https://kdisplay.com/products/carts-racks-bins)
- [Frames & Weldments](https://kdisplay.com/products/frames-weldments)