Tandem belt conveyor system

A tandem belt conveyor system comprising an endless primary conveyor belt, an endless support conveyor belt and a synchronous drive for synchronously driving the primary and support conveyor belts. The primary conveyor belt is a flat wire belt having a carrier flight for transport of articles and a return flight. The support conveyor belt has a support flight for supporting the carrier flight of the primary conveyor belt, and a return flight. The support conveyor belt includes a pair of chains interconnected by transverse cross bars for supporting the primary conveyor belt. The synchronous drive includes an AC motor for driving one of the belts, a DC motor for driving the other belt, and a DC motor controller for controlling the AC and DC motors in master-slave relationship to synchronize the speeds of the belts. The tandem belt conveyor system of the invention avoids the production of metal fines in heating or cooling chambers through which articles such as cans are passed by the conveyor system for curing or other processing of coatings thereon.