Using a conveyor belt, materials can be moved along a designated conveyor line—from the initial feeding point to the final unloading point—creating an efficient material-handling process. It’s capable of transporting both loose, bulk materials and finished, packaged items.

　　To enhance the machinability of conveyor belts, alloying elements that improve cutting performance can be added to the steel. Commonly used elements include sulfur, followed by lead and phosphorus. Sulfur forms spherical or punctiform manganese sulfide inclusions within the steel, disrupting the continuity of the metal matrix, thereby reducing cutting resistance and promoting easier chip breakage. In free-machining steels, the mass fraction of sulfur can reach 0.08% to 0.30%. Lead, on the other hand, is completely insoluble in steel and exists as ultra-fine particles measuring 2–3 μm, uniformly dispersed throughout the material. These tiny particles facilitate chip breakage while also providing lubrication, significantly improving the steel's machinability. In free-cutting steels, the mass fraction of lead is typically controlled between 0.10% and 0.30%. A small amount of phosphorus dissolved in ferrite can increase its hardness and brittleness, which helps achieve superior surface finish during machining.

　　Plastic processing of conveyor belts is divided into two types: hot working and cold working.

　　The hot-working processability of steel is typically evaluated based on its plasticity and resistance to deformation during hot working, as well as factors such as the applicable temperature range for processing, oxidation resistance, and specific requirements for forging heating and post-forging cooling. Alloying elements, whether dissolved in the solid solution or forming carbides within the steel, can significantly increase the material's resistance to hot deformation while markedly reducing its ductility—making it prone to cracking during forging. However, certain elements—such as vanadium plus niobium, titanium, and others—when their carbides are uniformly dispersed throughout the steel, have minimal adverse effects on the material's ductility. Additionally, alloying elements generally reduce the steel's thermal conductivity and enhance its hardenability. Therefore, to prevent cracking, both the heating and cooling processes during the forging of alloy steels must be carried out slowly.

　　Cold-working performance primarily encompasses two aspects: the steel's ability to undergo cold deformation and the surface quality of steel components. Alloy elements dissolved in the solid solution typically enhance the degree of work hardening in steel, causing it to become harder and more brittle rapidly after plastic deformation—this is highly detrimental to cold working. Therefore, for steels that require extensive plastic deformation during processing, the amounts of various residual alloy elements should be carefully controlled during smelting, with particular emphasis on strictly limiting elements like sulfur and phosphorus. Additionally, the influence of alloy elements on the cutting performance of conveyor belts is also significant. The cutting performance of conveyor belts refers to how easily the metal can be machined, as well as the quality of the resulting machined surface.