A drive drum (doh-jennes.de/trommeln.php) , sometimes referred to as a drum motor or a motorised pulley, is a simple geared motor that is used in the operation of conveyor belts. Drive drums are generally comprised of either an asynchronous or synchronous electric motor, and enclosed within a shell made of steel. Drum motors and conveyor technology in general is used in a wide range of different industries, from large scale mining applications through to small scale grocery stores and sushi bars. Drive drum technology is also used to assist the Aviation (www.fipart.com) sector, through the manufacture of aviation equipment within the factory environment.

The use of conveyor belts and other automated devices greatly assists the aviation industry, and this has a number of follow on effects to other areas of the economy.

The huge military industry and the agriculture industry are two examples of industries which are dependent on aviation, and they too are affected by advances in drive drum manufacturing techniques. For example, the agriculture industry is linked with aviation through its use of aircraft for transportation and crop spraying. Conveyor technology, including drive drums and conveyor belts, are used in the manufacture of most kinds of aircraft currently in production. Aircraft, like most other large items of machinery, are produced and assembled in small sections on the factory floor and then assembled into the finished product. Drive drums are essential to this process, and are often the engines that keep the entire production line moving. While the drum motor concept was first recorded in 1928, it was not actualised until much later in the early 1950′s, and manufacturing has never been the same since. The technology behind conveyor belts has been improved and refined since this time, and advances still continue to this day.

Large scale production, transportation, and manufacture are almost unthinkable without conveyor belt systems, as the vast majority of modern industrial applications that use this technology have normalised it into the very heart of operations. While the production of large machinery and the transportation of bulk materials is heavily dependent on conveyor devices, there are also a number of other industries that are supported indirectly by conveyor belts and machinery as well. Agriculture, warehousing, and retail are thee other sectors that are heavily dependent on conveyor belts, as are many other industries around the world.