Conveyor Solutions

Packaging Handling Conveyors

Conveyor can be one of the biggest contributors to improved productivity or the biggest problem that there is. It all depends on choosing the right type of conveyor and where you put it.

Done right, it can reduce walking, maintain a first in, first out product usage, act as a buffer between operations or as an integral part of the production process. Done wrong, it will not reliably transport the product, create a maintenance nightmare, block the path of personnel or cost you your job. Fortunately, there are enough types of conveyor that it can always be done right, the first time.

There are belt conveyors, roller conveyors, accumulating conveyors, package conveyors, pallet conveyors, bulk conveyors, overhead conveyors, in floor conveyors (towlines), floor mounted conveyors, vertical conveyors, reciprocating conveyors, continuous flight conveyors, vibrating conveyors, permanent and portable conveyors, light duty, medium duty and heavy duty conveyors. Each designed for a specific type of handling.

For package handling conveyor; basic belt, live roller and wheel or roller gravity is the most common. In order to use these types of conveyors, the product to be conveyed must have at least one good continuous conveying surface. These types of conveyors come in a variety of widths and capacities. For wheel and roller type conveyors, including belt on roller conveyors, capacity is a function of the individual roller or wheel capacity. First determine the number of rollers that will be under the item to be conveyed. There needs to be at least three rollers supporting the item to be conveyed. Therefore the roller centers should not be greater than ¼ the length of the smallest unit to be conveyed. Each roller now must support 1/3 the weight of the item to be conveyed. If there are more than 3 rollers under the item at all times, the portion of the total weight carried by each roller is reduced. In most cases, the rollers and subsequently the overall capacity of the conveyor, will be more than is necessary. For heavy usage, the larger the roller or wheel diameter, the longer the life.

When selecting the width of the conveyor, remember that there will probably be curves in the system and an 18” wide by 30” long item will not go around an 18” wide curve. It will require at least a 24” wide conveyor curve.

Powered package handling conveyors often will run continuously, but only sporadically have product on them so power usage and life must be considered. Here the slowest acceptable speed and the largest roller diameters will provide longer life, quieter operation and require less maintenance. This is because each roller will make fewer revolutions per foot of travel and/or per hour. If the usage is occasional enough, perhaps an automatic shutdown when not in use and an automatic start up when there is a need is the route to take. The cost of these controls may be far less than the energy used and the maintenance required for continuous operation.

Many conveyor systems are provided with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC's) to control and direct the flow of product. These PLC’s can manage automatic sortation, direct different products to specific locations, control the merging of multiple conveyor lines into one or manage flow via accumulation and route selection. If the function of the conveyor is just to transport or accumulate product, the conveyor can be hung from the ceiling, out of the way of normal traffic.

For the vertical movement of product; incline/decline belt conveyors, lowerators, vertical conveyors, slides or reciprocating lifts can be used. Vertical conveyors use less space than belt conveyors but generally are more costly.

Pallet Handling Conveyors

Pallet Handling Conveyors are similar to package handling conveyors except for their size and capacity. Varying sizes of pallets can be accommodated, however, a consistent size pallet is much easier to deal with than a variety of different sizes of pallets. Pallets of virtually any weight can be accommodated. Larger diameter and heavier gauge rollers, plus heavier duty driving systems are characteristics of these types of conveyors. Vertical movement is always done with a vertical conveyor of some sort.

Overhead Trolley Conveyors

Overhead Trolley Conveyors can move anything from documents and empty boxes to automobiles. Overhead trolley conveyors are a continuous loop of chain or cable which is suspended from a formed or structural track with carriers attached periodically to hang or contain products. Overhead trolley conveyor systems are frequently used in automated or semi- automated painting systems for moving product through the cleaning, painting and drying operations. They are also used for a variety of other applications such as transporting parts between operations, providing a continuous supply of empty cartons, carrying parts overhead during a natural drying or cooling operation and many, many others. These conveyors can be designed to transport loads up to several thousands of pounds if needed. One of the values of overhead trolley conveyors, besides being overhead and out of the way, is they can handle odd shaped parts that are difficult to convey on belt and roller type conveyors.

Pneumatic Tube Conveyors

A totally different kind of conveyance are Pneumatic Tube Systems, generally used for moving documents (paper) through a facility. Like the other types of conveyor systems, these can be simple point to point systems or complex multi-station systems with programmable carriers. Pneumatic tube systems use low pressure air to either push or pull a short closed cylinder through a pipe between origin and destination, frequently only one way at a time. These cylinders or carriers range in size from 3” in diameter x 9” long to 6” in diameter by up to 36” long, depending on the documents to be carried. Travel is fast, reliability is good and cost is low. Some typical applications are for moving invoices or receiving documents between a receiving office and the main office, drawings between engineering and the shop floor, or document transfer between buildings. Pneumatic tubes can be installed outside as well as inside.

The Siggins Company is the authorized distributor for Hytrol, Ermanco, and Interlake products. Siggins personnel has in-depth experience with a multitude of conveyor types and is available for discussion about your particular needs and application.
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