If we could climb into a time machine and visit manufacturing facilities in the 1950s, we might be surprised at what we’d see in terms of conveyor belts: rather rudimentary conveyors simply moving parts from point A to point B through packaging and assembly (and just two kinds of conveyor belts—dirty and dirtier).

Today, however, manufacturing sites have changed, with conveyors becoming critical components for complex material handling applications, both for packaging and assembly. And engineers have developed a wide variety of belt and conveyor options, each designed for moving, inspecting, and processing specific products.

Recent trends in conveyor design and belting have increased throughput and productivity as systems are being tasked with performing much more diverse functions than their early predecessors.

Read more: Moving Along with High-Tech Conveyor Systems