Bunkers & Storage · Built in-house
Live Bottom Bunker
Storage that unloads itself — a slow moving-floor belt meters accumulated material back out on demand, typically straight to the baler.
The Sherbrooke OEM live bottom bunker is a storage bay whose floor is a slow sliderbed conveyor: sorted material drops in from above and accumulates, then the belt walks it out at a metered rate — typically around 10 FPM — when the baler calls. The floor belt is heavy 3-ply rubber on a structural-channel frame with welded cross members; doors are pneumatically actuated hinged HSS frames. Length, width, and capacity are engineered per fraction density and baler cycle, fabricated in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Where It Fits
- Buffering sorted fractions above or behind the baler in MRFs
- Decoupling sorting from baling — the line keeps running while the baler changes fraction
- Metered reclaim of light, compressible products that bridge in gravity bays
Configuration & Options
Every unit is engineered per project — these are the configuration choices and options we quote against, not limits.
| Length | Per storage volume; engineering default around 50 ft |
|---|---|
| Belt width | Per fraction; engineering default around 48 in |
| Floor speed | Metered discharge around 10 FPM, VFD-controlled |
| Doors | Hinged, pneumatically actuated discharge doors |
| Capacity | Engineered per fraction density and baler cycle |
Construction
| Floor design | Sliderbed — belt fully supported on a continuous steel deck |
|---|---|
| Belting | Heavy-duty 3-ply rubber (330 PIW class), bolt-hinged fasteners (Flexco 550 or equal) |
| Head pulley | Heavy-duty drum, crown-faced, diamond lagging, XT hubs and bushings |
| Tail & snub pulleys | Heavy-duty drums with XT hubs; flange-bearing snub |
| Frame | Structural channel with welded cross members |
| Return idlers | CEMA C rubber-disc return idlers |
| Take-up | Telescopic screw take-up — square tubing with ACME rod |
| Doors | Hinged HSS frames, plated, pneumatic-cylinder actuated |
| Supports | Bolted structural steel, braced and mechanically anchored |
| Guarding | All rotating parts guarded to OSHA requirements |
Live Bottom Bunker — Frequently Asked Questions
Why a moving floor instead of a simple gravity bay?
Light, compressible fractions — film, fiber, containers — bridge and rat-hole in gravity bays, then dump in surges that flood the baler feed. A live bottom walks the pile out bottom-first at a constant, VFD-set rate, so the baler sees steady feed regardless of how the pile sits.
How does the bunker coordinate with the baler?
Through plant controls: the baler infeed calls for material and the floor belt starts, meters, and stops on command. Multiple bunkers over one baler line let the plant switch fractions without ever stopping the sort line.
What wears, and how is it serviced?
The floor belt is the main wear item — full deck support and low speed keep that slow. Fasteners are bolt-hinged for fast field splicing, the take-up is screw-adjustable, and doors are serviced from outside the bay.
Need dimensions, capacity, or a budget price?
Send your material profile and layout — engineering answers with real numbers, from the team that will fabricate it in Sherbrooke.
Talk to Engineering