A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow quick and efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials, which make them very popular in the material handling and packaging industries. Many kinds of conveying systems are available and are used according to the various needs of different industries. There are chain conveyors (floor and overhead) as well. Chain conveyors consist of enclosed tracks, I-Beam, towline, power & free, and hand pushed trolleys.
This article needs additional citations for. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2015) A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow quick and efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials, which make them very popular in the and industries. Many kinds of conveying systems are available and are used according to the various needs of different industries.
There are chain conveyors (floor and overhead) as well. Chain conveyors consist of enclosed tracks, I-Beam, towline, power & free, and hand pushed trolleys. Contents. Industries that use conveyor systemsConveyor systems are used widespread across a range of industries due to the numerous benefits they provide. Conveyors are able to safely transport materials from one level to another, which when done by human labor would be strenuous and expensive.
They can be installed almost anywhere, and are much safer than using a forklift or other machine to move materials. They can move loads of all shapes, sizes and weights. Also, many have advanced safety features that help prevent accidents. There are a variety of options available for running conveying systems, including the, mechanical and fully automated systems, which are equipped to fit individual needs.Conveyor systems are commonly used in many industries, including the Mining, electronic, and canning, print finishing. Although a wide variety of materials can be conveyed, some of the most common include food items such as beans and nuts, bottles and cans, automotive components, scrap metal, pills and powders, wood and furniture and grain and animal feed.
Many factors are important in the accurate selection of a conveyor system. It is important to know how the conveyor system will be used beforehand. Some individual areas that are helpful to consider are the required conveyor operations, such as transportation, accumulation and sorting, the material sizes, weights and shapes and where the loading and pickup points need to be.Care and maintenance of conveyor systemsA conveyor system is often the lifeline to a company’s ability to effectively move its product in a timely fashion. The steps that a company can take to ensure that it performs at peak capacity, include regular inspections and system audits, close monitoring of motors and reducers, keeping key parts in stock, and proper training of personnel.Increasing the service life of a conveyor system involves: choosing the right conveyor type, the right system design and paying attention to regular maintenance practices.A conveyor system that is designed properly will last a long time with proper maintenance. Here are six of the biggest problems to watch for in overhead type conveyor systems including I-beam monorails, enclosed track conveyors and power and free conveyors.
Overhead conveyor systems have been used in numerous applications from shop displays, assembly lines to paint finishing plants and more.Poor take-up adjustment: this is a simple adjustment on most systems yet it is often overlooked. The chain take-up device ensures that the chain is pulled tight as it leaves the drive unit. As wear occurs and the chain lengthens, the take-up extends under the force of its springs. As they extend, the spring force becomes less and the take-up has less effect. Simply compress the take-up springs and your problem goes away.
Failure to do this can result in chain surging, jamming, and extreme wear on the track and chain. Take-up adjustment is also important for any conveyor using belts as a means to power rollers, or belts themselves being the mover. With poor-take up on belt-driven rollers, the belt may twist into the drive unit and cause damage, or at the least a noticeable decrease or complete loss of performance may occur. In the case of belt conveyors, a poor take-up may cause drive unit damage or may let the belt slip off of the side of the chassis.Lack of lubrication: chain bearings require lubrication in order to reduce friction. The chain pull that the drive experiences can double if the bearings are not lubricated.
This can cause the system to overload by either its mechanical or electrical overload protection. On conveyors that go through hot ovens, lubricators can be left on constantly or set to turn on every few cycles.Contamination: paint, powder, acid or alkaline fluids, abrasives, glass bead, steel shot, etc.
Can all lead to rapid deterioration of track and chain. Ask any bearing company about the leading cause of bearing failure and they will point to contamination. Once a foreign substance lands on the raceway of a bearing or on the track, pitting of the surface will occur, and once the surface is compromised, wear will accelerate.
Building shrouds around your conveyors can help prevent the ingress of contaminants. Or, pressurize the contained area using a simple fan and duct arrangement.
Mechanical Conveyors Selection And Operation Pdf Merger
Contamination can also apply to belts (causing slippage, or in the case of some materials premature wear), and of the motors themselves. Since the motors can generate a considerable amount of heat, keeping the surface clean is an almost-free maintenance procedure that can keep heat from getting trapped by dust and grime, which may lead to motor burnout.Product handling: in conveyor systems that may be suited for a wide variety of products, such as those in distribution centers, it is important that each new product be deemed acceptable for conveying before being run through the materials handling equipment. Boxes that are too small, too large, too heavy, too light, or too awkwardly shaped may not convey, or may cause many problems including jams, excess wear on conveying equipment, motor overloads, belt breakage, or other damage, and may also consume extra man-hours in terms of picking up cases that slipped between rollers, or damaged product that was not meant for materials handling. If a product such as this manages to make it through most of the system, the sortation system will most likely be the affected, causing jams and failing to properly place items where they are assigned. It should also be noted that any and all cartons handled on any conveyor should be in good shape or spills, jams, downtime, and possible accidents and injuries may result.Drive train: notwithstanding the above, involving take-up adjustment, other parts of the drive train should be kept in proper shape.
Broken O-rings on a Lineshaft, pneumatic parts in disrepair, and motor reducers should also be inspected. Loss of power to even one or a few rollers on a conveyor can mean the difference between effective and timely delivery, and repetitive nuances that can continually cost downtime.Bad belt tracking or timing: in a system that uses precisely controlled belts, such as a sorter system, regular inspections should be made that all belts are traveling at the proper speeds at all times. While usually a computer controls this with Pulse Position Indicators, any belt not controlled must be monitored to ensure accuracy and reduce the likelihood of problems. Timing is also important for any equipment that is instructed to precisely meter out items, such as a merge where one box pulls from all lines at one time. If one were to be mistimed, product would collide and disrupt operation.
Timing is also important wherever a conveyor must 'keep track' of where a box is, or improper operation will result.Since a conveyor system is a critical link in a company's ability to move its products in a timely fashion, any disruption of its operation can be costly. Most downtime can be avoided by taking steps to ensure a system operates at peak performance, including regular inspections, close monitoring of motors and reducers, keeping key parts in stock, and proper training of personnel.Impact & Wear-Resistant Materials Used in Conveyor SystemsConveyor systems require materials suited to the displacement of heavy loads and the wear-resistance to hold-up over time without seizing due to deformation.
In cases, where static control is a factor, special materials designed to either dissipate or conduct electrical charges. Example of conveyor handling materials include UHMW, Nylon, Nylatron NSM, HDPE, Tivar, Tivar ESd, and PolyurethaneGrowth of conveyor systems in various industriesAs far as growth is concerned the material handling and conveyor system makers are getting utmost exposure in the industries like automotive, pharmaceutical, packaging and different production plants. The portable conveyors are likewise growing fast in the construction sector and by the year 2014 the purchase rate for conveyor systems in North America, Europe and Asia is likely to grow even further. The most commonly purchased types of conveyors are Line shaft roller conveyor, chain conveyors and conveyor belts at packaging factories and industrial plants where usually product finishing and monitoring are carried. Commercial and civil sectors are increasingly implementing conveyors at airports, shopping malls, etc.Types of conveyor systems. Gravity conveyor. Gravity skatewheel conveyor.
Wire mesh conveyors. Plastic belt conveyors. Bucket conveyors. Belt driven live roller conveyors. or auger conveyor.
Chain driven live roller conveyor. Dust proof conveyors. Pharmaceutical conveyors. Automotive conveyors.
Overland conveyor. Drag ConveyorPneumatic conveyor systemsEvery pneumatic system makes use of pipes or ducts called transportation lines that carry a mixture of materials and a stream of air. These materials are such as dry pulverized or free flowing or light powdery materials like cement, etc.
These materials can be transported conveniently to various destinations by means of a stream of high velocity air through pipe lines.Products are moved through various tubes via, allowing for extra vertical versatility. Pneumatic conveyors are either carrier systems or dilute-phase systems; carrier systems simply push items from one entry point to one exit point, such as the money-exchanging used at a bank window. Dilute-phase systems use push-pull pressure to guide materials through various entry and/or exit points. It is important to note that either air compressors, vacuums, or blowers can be used to generate the air flow. This will all depend on what the engineers think will be the most efficient and economical way of developing the system.Three basic systems that are used to generate high-velocity air stream:.
Suction or vacuum systems, utilizing a vacuum created in the pipeline to draw the material with the surrounding air.The system operated at a low pressure, which is practically 0.4–0.5 atm below atmosphere, and is utilized mainly in conveying light free flowing materials. Pressure-type systems, in which a is used to push material from one point to the next.
The system is ideal for conveying material from one loading point to a number of unloading points. It operates at a pressure of 6 atm and upwards.
Combination systems, in which a suction system is used to convey material from a number of loading points and a pressure system is employed to deliver it to a number of unloading points.Vibrating conveyor systemsA Vibrating Conveyor is a machine with a solid conveying surface which is turned up on the side to form a trough. They are used extensively in food grade applications where sanitation, washdown, and low maintenance are essential. Vibrating conveyors are also suitable for harsh, very hot, dirty, or corrosive environments. They can be used to convey newly cast metal parts which may reach upwards of 1,500 °F (820 °C). Due to the fixed nature of the conveying pans vibrating conveyors can also perform tasks such as sorting, screening, classifying and orienting parts. Vibrating conveyors have been built to convey material at angles exceeding 45° from horizontal using special pan shapes. Flat pans will convey most materials at a 5° Incline from horizontal line.Flexible conveyor systemsThe flexible conveyor is based on a conveyor beam in or, with low friction slide rails guiding a plastic multi-flexing chain.
Products to be conveyed travel directly on the conveyor, or on pallets/carriers. These conveyors can be worked around obstacles and keep production lines flowing. They are made at varying levels and can work in multiple environments.
They are used in food packaging, case packing, and pharmaceutical industries but also in retail stores such as and.Vertical conveyor systems and spiral conveyors- also commonly referred to as freight lifts and material lifts - are conveyor systems used to raise or lower materials to different levels of a facility during the handling process. Examples of these conveyors applied in the industrial assembly process include transporting materials to different floors. While similar in look to freight elevators, vertical conveyors are not equipped to transport people, only materials.Vertical lift conveyors contain two adjacent, parallel conveyors for simultaneous upward movement of adjacent surfaces of the parallel conveyors. One of the conveyors normally has spaced apart flites for transporting bulk food items.
The dual conveyors rotate in opposite directions, but are operated from one gear box to ensure equal belt speed. One of the conveyors is pivotally hinged to the other conveyor for swinging the pivotally attached conveyor away from the remaining conveyor for access to the facing surfaces of the parallel conveyors. Vertical lift conveyors can be manually or automatically loaded and controlled.
Almost all vertical conveyors can be systematically integrated with horizontal conveyors, since both of these conveyor systems work in tandem to create a cohesive material handling assembly line.In similarity to vertical conveyors, spiral conveyors raise and lower materials to different levels of a facility. In contrast, spiral conveyors are able to transport material loads in a continuous flow.
Industries that require a higher output of materials - food and beverage, retail case packaging, pharmaceuticals - typically incorporate these conveyors into their systems over standard vertical conveyors due to their ability to facilitate high throughput. Most spiral conveyors also have a lower angle of incline or decline (11 degrees or less) to prevent sliding and tumbling during operation.Just like spiral conveyors also a that use forks are able to transport material loads in a continuous flow.
With these forks the load can be taken from one horizontal conveyor and put down on another horizontal conveyor on a different level. By adding more forks more products can be lifted at the same time.
Conventional vertical conveyors have the restriction that the input and output of material loads must have the same direction. By using forks many combinations of different input- and output levels in different directions are possible. A vertical conveyor with forks can even be used as a vertical sorter. Compared to a spiral conveyor a vertical conveyor - with or without forks - takes up less space.Heavy duty rear conveyorsHeavy Duty roller conveyors are used for moving items that are at least 500 pounds (230 kg). This type of conveyor makes the handling of such heavy equipment/products easier and more time effective. Many of the heavy duty roller conveyors can move as fast as 75 feet per minute (23 m/min).Other types of heavy duty roller conveyors are gravity roller conveyor, chain driven live roller conveyor, pallet accumulation conveyor, multi-strand chain conveyor, and chain & roller transfers.Gravity roller conveyors are extremely easy to use and are used in many different types of industries such as automotive and retail.Chain driven live roller conveyors are used for single or bi-directional material handling.
Large heavy loads are moved by chain driven live roller conveyors.Pallet accumulation conveyors are powered through a mechanical clutch. This is used instead of individually powered and controlled sections of conveyors.Multi-strand chain conveyors are used for double pitch roller chains. Products that can not be moved on traditional roller conveyors can be moved by a multi-strand chain conveyor.Chain & roller conveyors are short runs of two or more strands of double pitch chain conveyor built into a chain driven line roller conveyor.
These pop up under the load and move the load off of the conveyor.See also.
Difference between use of conveyors, cranes, and industrial trucks for transport with respect to their path and area of operation. Conveyors are used when material is to be moved frequently between specific points over a fixed path and when there is a sufficient flow volume to justify the fixed conveyor investment. Different types of conveyors can be characterized by the type of product being handled: unit load or bulk load; the conveyor’s location: in-floor, on-floor, or overhead, and whether or not loads can accumulate on the conveyor. Accumulation allows intermittent movement of each unit of material transported along the conveyor, while all units move simultaneously on conveyors without accumulation capability. For example, while both the roller and are unit-load on-floor conveyors, the roller provides accumulation capability while the flat-belt does not; similarly, both the power-and-free and trolley are unit-load overhead conveyors, with the power-and-free designed to include an extra track in order to provide the accumulation capability lacking in the trolley conveyor. Examples of conveyors include the magnetic-belt, troughed-belt, bucket, and screw conveyors.
A conveyor system is used for merging, identifying, inducting, and separating products to be conveyed to specific destinations, and typically consists of flat-belt, roller, and chute conveyor segments together with various moveable arms and/or pop-up wheels and chains that deflect, push, or pull products to different destinations. Jib craneare used to transport loads over variable (horizontal and vertical) paths within a restricted area and when there is insufficient (or intermittent) flow volume such that the use of a conveyor cannot be justified. Cranes provide more flexibility in movement than conveyors because the loads handled can be more varied with respect to their shape and weight. Cranes provide less flexibility in movement than industrial trucks because they only can operate within a restricted area, though some can operate on a portable base. Most cranes utilize trolley-and-tracks for horizontal movement and hoists for vertical movement, although manipulators can be used if precise positioning of the load is required. The most common cranes include the jib, bridge, gantry, and stacker cranes.Industrial trucks.
Pallet jackIndustrial trucks are trucks that are not licensed to travel on public roads ( commercial trucks are licensed to travel on public roads ). Industrial trucks are used to move materials over variable paths and when there is insufficient (or intermittent) flow volume such that the use of a conveyor cannot be justified.
They provide more flexibility in movement than conveyors and cranes because there are no restrictions on the area covered, and they provide vertical movement if the truck has lifting capabilities. Different types of industrial trucks can be characterized by whether or not they have forks for handling pallets, provide powered or require manual lifting and travel capabilities, allow the operator to ride on the truck or require that the operator walk with the truck during travel, provide load stacking capability, and whether or not they can operate in narrow aisles. Unit load AGVHand trucks (including carts and dollies), the simplest type of industrial truck, cannot transport or stack pallets, is non-powered, and requires the operator to walk. A pallet jack, which cannot stack a pallet, uses front wheels mounted inside the end of forks that extend to the floor as the pallet is only lifted enough to clear the floor for subsequent travel.
A counterbalanced lift truck (sometimes referred to as a, but other attachments besides forks can be used) can transport and stack pallets and allows the operator to ride on the truck. The weight of the vehicle (and operator) behind the front wheels of truck counterbalances weight of the load (and weight of vehicle beyond front wheels); the front wheels act as a fulcrum or pivot point. Narrow-aisle trucks usually require that the operator stand-up while riding in order to reduce the truck’s turning radius. Reach mechanisms and outrigger arms that straddle and support a load can be used in addition to the just the counterbalance of the truck. On a turret truck, the forks rotate during stacking, eliminating the need for the truck itself to turn in narrow aisles. An order picker allows the operator to be lifted with the load to allow for less-than-pallet-load picking. (AGVs) are industrial trucks that can transport loads without requiring a human operator.Positioning equipment Positioning equipment is used to handle material at a single location.
It can be used at a workplace to feed, orient, load/unload, or otherwise manipulate materials so that are in the correct position for subsequent handling, machining, transport, or storage. As compared to manual handling, the use of positioning equipment can raise the productivity of each worker when the frequency of handling is high, improve product quality and limit damage to materials and equipment when the item handled is heavy or awkward to hold and damage is likely through or inattention, and can reduce fatigue and injuries when the environment is hazardous or inaccessible. In many cases, positioning equipment is required for and can be justified by the ergonomic requirements of a task. Examples of positioning equipment include lift/tilt/turn tables, hoists, balancers, manipulators,.
Manipulators act as “muscle multipliers” by counterbalancing the weight of a load so that an operator lifts only a small portion (1%) of the load’s weight, and they fill the gap between hoists and industrial robots: they can be used for a wider range of positioning tasks than hoists and are more flexible than industrial robots due to their use of manual control. They can be powered manually, electrically, or pneumatically, and a manipulator’s end-effector can be equipped with mechanical grippers, vacuum grippers, electromechanical grippers, or other tooling.Unit load formation equipment.
Four-way palletUnit load formation equipment is used to restrict materials so that they maintain their integrity when handled a single load during transport and for storage. If materials are self-restraining (e.g., a single part or interlocking parts), then they can be formed into a unit load with no equipment. Examples of unit load formation equipment include pallets, skids, slipsheets, tote pans, bins/baskets, cartons, bags, and crates. A is a platform made of wood (the most common), paper, plastic, rubber, or metal with enough clearance beneath its top surface (or face) to enable the insertion of forks for subsequent lifting purposes.
A is a thick piece of paper, corrugated fiber, or plastic upon which a load is placed and has tabs that can be grabbed by special push/pull lift truck attachments. They are used in place of a pallet to reduce weight and volume, but loading/unloading is slower.Storage equipment. Vertical carouselStorage equipment is used for holding or buffering materials over a period of time. The design of each type of storage equipment, along with its use in design, represents a trade-off between minimizing handling costs, by making material easily accessible, and maximizing the utilization of space (or cube). If materials are stacked directly on the floor, then no storage equipment is required, but, on average, each different item in storage will have a stack only half full; to increase cube utilization, storage racks can be used to allow multiple stacks of different items to occupy the same floor space at different levels. The use of racks becomes preferable to floor storage as the number of units per item requiring storage decreases.
Similarly, the depth at which units of an item are stored affects cube utilization in proportion to the number of units per item requiring storage.Pallets can be stored using single- and double-deep when the number of units per item is small, while pallet-flow and push-back racks are used when the units per item are mid-range, and floor-storage or drive-in racks are used when the number of units per item is large, with drive-in providing support for pallet loads that cannot be stacked on top of each other. Individual cartons can either be picked from pallet loads or can be stored in carton-flow racks, which are designed to allow first-in, first-out (FIFO) carton access. For individual piece storage, bin shelving, storage drawers, carousels, and A-frames can be used. An (AS/RS) is an integrated computer-controlled storage system that combines storage medium, transport mechanism, and controls with various levels of automation for fast and accurate random storage of products and materials. See also.Notes. Retrieved 2014-10-02. Chu, 1995.
Chu, 1995, pp. 3311-3312.
Kay, 2012, p. 25. Kulweic, 1985, p.
336. Kay, 2012, p. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
Retrieved 2015-07-20. Mulcahy, 1999, p. 7.21. Feare, T (1993). 'Work positioners—making them work for You'. Modern Materials Handling.
Kay, 2012, p. 23. Kulweic, 1985, pp. 123-134. Kay, M.G. Retrieved 2015-07-21. Thompkins, 2003, pp.
261-264.References. Chu, H.K., Egbelu, P.J., and Wu, C.T., 1995, 'ADVISOR: A computer-aided material handling equipment selection system', Int. Res., 33(12):3311−3329. Kay, M.G., 2012, Retrieved 2014-10-02. Kulwiec, R.A., Ed., 1985, Materials Handling Handbook, 2nd Ed., New York: Wiley. Mulcahy, D.E., 1999, Materials Handling Handbook, New York: McGraw-Hill. Tompkins, J.A., White, J.A., Bozer, Y.A., and Tanchoco, J.M.A., 2003, Facilities Planning, 3rd Ed., Wiley, Appendix 5.B.External links.