Conveyor System
Assembly Line
Eliminate Conveyor Jam False Alarms to Boost Factory Automation Productivity
Fast-moving conveyors are widely used in factory automation to accelerate production and enhance efficiency. But occasionally, things can go wrong. A frequent problem is jamming; one item gets stuck, and then others quickly pile up behind. This is not only bad for throughput and damaging to the conveyor system, but it can also be dangerous for nearby workers.
Recent laser sensor product introductions reduce the number of false alarms by leveraging more advanced optical technology and software algorithms. This article briefly describes the two types of light sensors used for jam detection: LED and lasers. It then focuses on the time-of-flight (ToF) laser and considers the key factors that determine how well the sensor performs. The article also introduces a real-world ToF laser sensor from Banner Engineering and illustrates how to set one up for a conveyor jam detection application.
Manufacturer Explains its Complex Custom Conveyor System
Multi-Conveyor recently built a complex, yet small footprint, custom conveyor system that uses a servo transpositor retract and two stacked servo merges to transport bags of chicken from three baggers to two case packers, with X-ray scans in the process.
Automation Boosts Production of Masks
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in demand for a variety of medical devices, not the least of which are N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment. To meet that need, manufacturers worldwide are building new factories and installing new automated assembly lines. Two of those companies are Breathe Medical Manufacturing in Kelowna, BC, Canada, and Husco International Inc. in Waukesha, WI.
While designing the new facility, Warren Jones, partner at Breathe Medical, realized early on that conveyors would be needed to transport masks throughout production. Together, Dorner, Shelley and Apex designed a conveyor system to support 12 mask assembly machines. Using Dorner’s FlexMove conveyors and custom workpiece carriers, Breathe Medical will be able to transport masks from machine to machine with optimal efficiency.
An App for Bulk Material Handling and Analysis in Cement Manufacturing
Cement analyzers provide real-time online elemental analysis of an entire raw material process stream using technologies like Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) and Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation (PFTNA) technology. These analyzers can aid in consistent stockpile quality, reduced chemistry variability, decreased kiln upsets and kiln fuel costs, extended quarry life, and minimized use of highest cost materials.
Smart conveyors streamline wet wipes packaging challenges
Wet wipe manufacturing automation can produce up to 500 stacks of wipes per minute, in counts ranging from 20 to 100 single-ply sheets per stack. At these high throughput levels, downstream systems for primary and secondary packaging like shrink wrappers and case packers cannot handle the volume of product flow unless it is split into multiple packaging machinery lines.
No matter how efficient shrink wrappers, labelers and case packers may be, if the wet wipes packaging line does not use conveyors adequately designed for the handling of fragile products like wet wipes, and precisely stage these products for infeed, the product quality, throughput speed and cost-efficiency of the entire production and packaging line will be compromised.