High-Speed Material Conveyor Having Direct Hydraulic Drive

A mobile material placer comprising:

• a body;
• a material hopper coupled to the body and configured to receive and store material;
• a feeder conveyor coupled to the body, the feeder conveyor configured to receive material stored by the material hopper;
• and
• a placer conveyor pivotally coupled to the body and having an in-feed end and a discharge end, the in-feed end of the placer conveyor alignable with a discharge end of the feeder conveyor, the placer conveyor including
• a frame,
• at least a drive axle and a secondary axle rotatably coupled to the frame, each axle having at least one roller mounted thereon,
• an endless belt extending around and frictionally engaged with the rollers, and
• a direct hydraulic drive mechanism configured to rotate the drive axle, the rotation of the drive axle causing the rollers to rotate thereby driving the endless belt;
• wherein the direct hydraulic drive mechanism is capable of driving the endless belt at a linear velocity of at least 3,000 ft/min.