Conveyor Specification Guide - Cisco-Eagle

5 Sortation System Considerations

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Implementing an automated sortation system can revolutionize your operations, but only if you consider the key factors before you make a decision on the conveyor type, sorter type, and its attributes.

6 Steps to Conveyor System Success

High performance conveyor systems are a product of careful planning and execution. You need a managed project solution that removes doubt and masters details.

A Guide to Conveyor Belt Types

What belt might work best for your application and conveyor type? This guide assists you in deciding. Other belt types are available - this should be considered the "basic" conveyor belting options list.

Analyzing Conveyor Loads & Applications

Productivity and profits are directly related to the proper selection and application of material handling equipment. However, before hardware can be selected properly, the following criteria must be studied and defined carefully:

Applying Adjustable Speed Drives to Conveyors

Discusses the role of speed control in conveyor applications and presents the factors that should be considered in selecting and applying adjustable speed drives.

Conveyor Load Testing

We can help you test your load to ensure that it works as specified. Here are the details.

Conveyor Product Orientation Guide

The ways a conveyor system can orient its load so that an interaction with machinery or process (taping, labeling, scanning) may occur are nearly unlimited. Here is a basic guideline.

Conveyor System Implementation Factors

The two biggest factors people tend to ignore, but should pay close attention to when it comes to material handling system implementations, are return on investment and sustainability.

Conveyor Transfers Application Guide

Transfers move packages from one conveyor to another. Straight transfers are the most common, used to connect individual conveyors in a longer line. Here are some issues and the appropriate solutions for each.

Designing Conveyors for Internal Waste

Rather than using collection bins and other labor-intensive methods for collection of post-production items such as cartons, strapping, and filler, many operations are using conveying systems to collect and consolidate these materials.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Automated Sorting Conveyor System. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

Hytrol 24-Hour Ship Conveyor Advantages

Hytrol Conveyor Company was the first to offer 24-hour shipment on thousands of stock conveyors. While others have copied this program, Hytrol has created a unique set of advantages hinging on assembly, packaging, ease of installation, and other factors that still make it the choice for quick-ship conveyors.

Pull, don't push, with belt conveyors

Serious belt tracking and conveyor issues result from trying to push a load rather than pull it. If a conveyor is supplied with an end drive, you should always "pull" the belt, and never push with it. Here are some specifics.

Conveyor selection factor no. 1: Zero pressure

Conventional conveyor systems, which have permanent active drives, generate accumulation pressure. This pressure can cause products to collide in transit, potentially damaging the products. To avoid this setback, system integrators have actively begun designing zero-pressure conveyor systems to replace old systems that use electropneumatic controls that have individual accumulation sections.

Because the sections control the movement on a case-by-case basis, operators who have zero-pressure conveyor systems have considerably lowered waste costs from goods damaged by impact loading or accumulated pressure. With the high number of orders and returns, distribution centers simply cannot afford risking products mishandled in transit and must minimize the costs associated with handling waste. The system can also be used in buffer segments to guarantee an optimum filling ratio of the transport zone or to separate transport materials. Additionally, a demand-driven conveyor system significantly lowers noise levels, which provides a better working environment for operators and other personnel.

Conveyor selection factor no. 2: Decentralized solutions

Conventional conveyor sections are powered by gear motors with 400 to 480 volts. These motors drive long flat belts that usually operate 24 hours per day, regardless of how many goods are being transported. A respective conveyor zone is switched on and off using pneumatic or electric control units. Unlike traditional conveyor systems in which central drive motors provide the power for the entire line, solutions that are decentralized can be adapted to an individual shipment’s requirements.

Having decentralized drives in each individual conveyor zone ensures that a conveyor will only move if goods are present. The ability to switch zones on and off independent of each other enables more efficient system use and prevents the wear caused by unnecessary machinery operation, which can increase the system’s life cycle. Decentralized drives can also increase energy savings – facilities that have installed this technology have reported reduced power consumption of up to 50 percent.

Conveyor selection factor no. 3: Flexibility

Often, traditional conveyor systems are perceived as inflexible and unable to meet changing market conditions. A survey of retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and third-party logistics firms conducted by Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium found that companies had, on average, nearly three distribution operations with systems that were more than 15 years old.2 Ultimately, end users must quickly react to short-term changes in the order structures and the range of products.

Leveraging conveyors that employ certified network interface cards can allow the user to configure sensor and drive properties, such as speed, direction of rotation, acceleration and braking ramps, using either a web user interface or the programmable logic controller’s programming software.

Continuous mass processing of identical goods is no longer the industry standard; it has been replaced by shorter order cycles with varying packaging size and weight changes. In fact, 76 percent of Interroll customers stated that the typical throughput of material handling systems will continue to increase. The solution must also be incorporated easily into tomorrow’s changing IT environments or Industry 4.0.

Just as important as the solution’s range of applications is the modularity of the platform, which, much like LEGO blocks, can be flexibly configured and expanded using standard components (see Image 1). This makes installation and maintenance easier, provides shorter delivery times and gives system integrators key benefits as early as the planning phase. As a result, modular conveyor systems with largely standardized components and sections that can be moved, reconfigured, updated and combined interchangeably are becomingly increasingly appealing.

Conveyor selection factor no. 4: Scalability

When order structures, throughput requirements or product mix suddenly shifts, the modular design of an entire conveyor system must be reevaluated. Conveyor rollers that are easily removable, combined with conveyor modules that offer versatility, enable seamless system extensions and reconfigurations without significant structural changes. This ensures scalability for future growth and that the investment is truly future-proof.

Conveyor selection factor no. 5: Smart solutions

An Industry 4.0 study conducted by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, reported only 30 percent of technology suppliers and 16 percent of manufacturers have an overall Industry 4.0 strategy in place, and just 24 percent have assigned clear responsibilities to implement it.3 As IIoT increasingly becomes a daily reality, the complexity of logistics will expand.

Based on the internet, mobile communications and microcomputers, embedded cyber-physical systems are created and grow more intelligent every day. They will be at the heart of the smart factory in which machines, warehousing systems and operating functions are interconnected and exchange information locally and globally. Choosing a conveyor system outfitted with the latest and most advanced technology will help make the transition to smart factories easier for companies. Leveraging conveyors that employ certified network interface cards can allow the user to configure sensor and drive properties, such as speed, direction of rotation, acceleration and braking ramps, using either a web user interface or the programmable logic controller’s programming software.

Conveyor selection factor no. 6: Adaptable accessories

Selecting the proper accessories is key to maximizing conveyor system functionality. A multitude of options (motors, rollers, controls, belts and chains) are available to enhance conveyors, allowing operators to select components that enable goods to be conveyed in every direction and provide better acceleration and deceleration.

For example, gravity roller conveyors are often responsible for handling the final stage of goods moving through sorting systems.

Many gravity conveyors are sold without devices that regulate speed, which can lead to damaged goods. By installing a speed controller, operators have precise control over the speed at which packages of differing weights travel.

Parting thoughts on conveyor systems

As the manufacturing and processing sectors continue their upward trajectories, more warehouses and other facilities are embracing automation to optimize production processes and meet demands. Globalization of the world economy, shorter innovation cycles and a high level of market transparency have turned logistics into a pivotal factor for success. To maximize the benefits of automation, facility operators must employ a conveyor selection strategy that lowers costs by offering a smart, energy-efficient solution that requires minimal maintenance. The most effective conveyor system will serve as a supporting player in a facility’s production, helping it prepare for the next wave of innovation in intralogistics.

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