The portal of an FAM portal scraper fully spans the stockpile. It rests on two opposite undercarriages, allowing stockpiles of up to 75 m wide to be spanned. The scraper boom is moved by a hoist.
The bulk material is transferred to the discharge conveyor via a transfer trough (located outside the portal) or a feed table (inside the portal).
When used in outdoor stockyards, portal scrapers often have one or two main booms arranged in parallel. In their raised position, the booms extend beyond the contour of the portal.