Conveyor and Automated Systems Integration

Lineshaft Driven Live Roller Conveyor is optimal for conveying light products (15 lbs./roller) at speeds of 25 to 120 FPM. They are designed for flat-bottomed, evenly distributed loads, such as those found in distribution and warehousing, food packaging and parcel handling. One motor can power up to 100 feet of conveyor, reducing costs of power consumption, installation and maintenance.

Bridging the gap from a permanent installed conveyor to a delivery truck — whether for loading or unloading — can prove difficult. This step may introduce inefficiencies, time and resource sink, and even unanticipated safety risks into fulfillment and receiving processes. A flexible conveyor ideally addresses these issues in a versatile, space-efficient way. It also creates an ergonomically sound addition to existing conveyor systems and enables fast, efficient loading or unloading of packages.

Power conveyors, such as flexible power roller conveyors, can take your conveyor solution to the next level of productivity and efficiency. They provide advantages in safety, footprint space, storage space and more. Flexible conveyor benefits include:

Configuration versatility: Whether you need the flexible powered conveyor to move around corners, meet multiple docks, or navigate close quarters where other infrastructure or equipment is present, a power flex conveyor can fulfill those requirements.

Increased productivity: Without a flexible powered conveyor, facilities may have to make do with existing options that are not designed to address the loading or unloading process. These types of ad hoc solutions negatively impact speed and productivity in setup and handling. Flexible conveyors solve these problems through fast integration and a direct connection from the permanent conveyor system to the dock.

Improved safety and ergonomics: By eliminating workarounds and extra steps in moving packages between the truck and the end of the permanent conveyor, these conveyors offer ergonomic benefits, reduced injury risk, increased safety and more efficient package handling.

Decreased storage footprint: Flexible conveyors can be almost fully collapsed when not in use, resulting in a much smaller storage footprint than other options. Industries that use flexible conveyors include:

Rigid drive-out conveyors make it easy to move packages from permanent conveyor systems into trailers with optimal ergonomics and little effort from the operator. A rigid drive-out roller or belted conveyor is perfect for heavy-volume, high-impact applications that run around the clock or in multiple shifts throughout the day. In fact, a rigid truck loader is built to withstand the most heavy-duty usage that may occur in loading and unloading applications.

In addition, rigid drive conveyors are ideally suited for packages of different sizes, especially when utilizing the optional herringbone transition that centers packages and provides a seamless transition from the conveyor to the loader.

Rigid drive-out conveyors offer numerous benefits. These conveyors are designed to be driven from the conveyor installation all the way into the trailer. They are suitable for containers up to 53’ deep. This makes the rigid truck loader excellent for a broad range of loading applications across industries.

Rigid drive conveyors offer:

Ergonomics: Manually placed flexible conveyors tend to be demanding for operators throughout a day as they pull conveyors in and out of trucks to load them. By contrast, our rigid drive out conveyors can be driven into and out of the truck with the push of a button from a single operator, creating much safer ergonomic operation.

Heavy-duty applications: Robust structural steel construction provides a durable base for products of all sizes to be transported into the truck without the worry of damage from forklifts or other hazards in the shipping area. Our heavy-duty conveyors gain additional stability from durable solid rubber tires that never go flat and can easily negotiate plates and other uneven surfaces.

Belt-operated or rigid roller truck loader options: To fully meet the needs of any type of package size, shape, weight and format, we offer two truck loader options — belt-operated or rigid roller. Depending on your application, we can provide the right conveyor for you, enabling consistent, reliable movement of any size package, large or small; any shape, including irregular shapes; and any type of package, including boxes, bags and more.

We specialize in maximizing efficiency and adaptability through conveyors that can be quickly set up and configured for different layouts, and just as easily reconfigured, taken down and stored. We focus on modular conveyor solutions that make loading and unloading as fast and seamless as possible, integrating into modular conveyor systems that are ideal for scenarios where spikes, surges or seasonal peaks occur, as well as changes in layout to use floor space efficiently and meet shifting needs.

Fast reconfiguration: By design, conveyor modules can be quickly and easily set up, moved, and integrated in or removed from existing modular conveyor systems. The modular capabilities of a reconfigurable conveyor allow personnel to take advantage of conveyor benefits, when needed, while maximizing floor space usage at other times.

Efficient package sorting: With a modular setup, packages can easily be sorted when coming off the truck, according to the needs and arrangement of your facility. Modularity even affords the ability to create different setups for various suppliers, shippers and product types — providing the flexibility necessary to succeed in today’s evolving material handling landscape.

Reduced investment through portability: Beyond simple reconfiguration within one facility, the conveyor can be easily moved between facilities. This maximizes usage efficiency and reduces infrastructure spend by eliminating the need for full-fledged, new systems and providing just as much technology and light automation as needed.

Rigid modular conveyors can be utilized to create systems for a variety of applications including package transfers, semi-automated sorts and tying in manual packaging / work stations. These solutions can be quickly installed or reconfigured thanks to modular design, minimal components and hardware, and simple controls that utilize 120 VAC power.

When it comes to loading and unloading trucks, an extendable conveyor can make a world of difference. These solutions extend all the way from the permanent conveyor to the nose of the truck trailer, making the process of getting cargo in and out faster, easier and safer.

Telescoping conveyors will integrate with your existing material handling infrastructure — providing a durable, versatile, effective solution to speed loading and unloading.

Productivity: Reduces loading and unloading time by reducing the number of operators and effort in these processes. Telescopic conveyors accomplishes this through easy extension and retraction, intuitive operator controls, optimal ergonomics, and seamless integration with the existing permanent conveyor solution.

This means tasks that would normally involve multiple operators, extended walking time, and inefficient picking and packing, can now be completed quickly and safely with just an operator or two — depending on package sizes. This results in faster turnaround and higher fulfillment rates. 

Safety: With its ergonomic design, our telescopic boom conveyor is easier for employees to use safely. It cuts down on the risk of repetitive stress injuries as well as strains and other exertion injuries by placing the loading or unloading point at an ergonomically favorable point for the operator. This ultimately leads to lower costs and less downtime.

Less idle time: Without an extendable conveyor solution, much time is spent walking or forklifting packages and boxes from the permanent conveyor end to the dock (or vice versa), and additional time moving items to (or from) the innermost areas of the container. This additional handling time is considered idle time — since it is not actively contributing to the completion of the process. An extendable conveyor eliminates this wasted time by bringing the conveyor right to the loading or unloading point within the trailer.

These advantages make our equipment the perfect choice for a wide range of industrial and commercial environments. Virtually any industry with heavy shipping and receiving needs can reap significant rewards from implementing a telescopic belt conveyor solution, including e-commerce fulfillment, distribution centers, parcel handling and trucking terminals.

Customized for Your Needs 

With a variety of lengths, widths, options and accessories, telescopic conveyors will help achieve all of your material handling goals. We stand committed to engineering the solutions you need for your specific truck loading or unloading requirements. As part of that commitment, we also provide a wide range of accessories and options.

Typically, conventional conveyors run all the time whether they are accumulating product or not. One of the greatest aspects of motorized drive roller conveyors is the fact that, with the proper control system strategy, MDR zones only run when they need to. In a typical MDR system, the rollers in any given zone only run 10% to 50% of operational time. You could realize a savings of 30% to 70% in energy savings alone, which means a faster return on investment for your business.

Large, conventional motors can be extremely dangerous for your warehouse personnel. A stray hand, limb, or piece of clothing can lead to tragic injury if caught up in a bad place or pinch point while the conveyor is running. In addition, such motors use tremendous amounts of power, which can also present warehouse dangers. The motorized drive roller in a typical MDR zone is powered by 24 volts DC, and has no major pinch points. Moreover, MDR only has to provide motive power and torque to a short zone, so there is never enough drive power to be dangerous. In most cases, you can literally grab a running motorized roller with your bare hand and make it stop with only a handshake grip.

Motorized drive rollers can help protect your ears, as well. MDR conveyor systems are much quieter than conventional conveyors. Conventional conveyor usually uses chains and sprockets somewhere in its drive train. Vibration is then transferred to conveyor frames, supports, and rollers, and the resulting noise can be a significant hazard. To make matters worse, in most conventional systems, the motor and drive train runs all the time, so you have chain noise and vibration whether or not you are conveying or accumulating product. Motorized drive roller conveyors operate relatively quietly, and only run when necessary. MDR systems typically achieve noise levels of 70dB or less.

The phrase “plug and play” has become ubiquitous in product marketing. Many companies and products promise you “plug and play” because it sounds nice, but fail to deliver the “plug” or the “play.” Motorized drive roller conveyor systems make “plug and play” a reality.

With the proper control system strategy applied up front, a typical motorized drive roller section is electrically pre-wired at the manufacturer prior to shipment. A typical section will utilize plug connectors at each end to allow the unit to be set in place and simply plugged into the unit in front of it and the unit behind it to make it operational.

As a result, you can easily add or remove sections of conveyor as needed to alter or re-route your conveyor path (even temporarily) to accommodate the changing needs of your business. Also, with the proper control system strategy applied, this endeavor need not require a gaggle of engineers, programmers, or technicians to accomplish. In some cases, your own people can make changes and modifications with minimal assistance from the original conveyor equipment or control system provider.

Most conveyor manufacturers have embraced the motorized drive roller conveyor concept in one form or another. As time goes on, motorized drive roller products are being placed on the market to solve traditional material handling functions other than just zero pressure accumulation. There are currently several versions of merges and transfers on the market, and there’s more to come.

The inherent advantages of motorized drive roller conveyor design mean your maintenance and spare parts costs are dramatically lowered.

Because MDR conveyors only run as needed, there’s less wear and tear to the component parts. Most of the maintenance and wear associated with conventional conveyors comes from the drive train (sprockets, chains, belt lacing, etc.). Even the most modern and efficient gear motors require regular maintenance and lubrication.

The typical motorized drive roller, however, utilizes sealed for life bearings, which means much longer base equipment life. Moreover, for any given system, most of the motors will be interchangeable, which means you only have to stock one spare part. Contrast this with the typical conventional system where gear motors can differ greatly in size within a single conveyor system, each one needing its own stock of spares, and the advantage of going with MDR is clear.

The right design concept is the key to getting the most out of your MDR conveyor system. The conveyor equipment industry provides the mechanical building blocks and tools to move materials, but the control system is what makes it go, slow down, speed up, and stop when you need it to. The ideal control system for motorized drive roller conveyor is distributed within each conveyor section, because each section only needs to know what is going on in front of it, and only needs to tell the section behind it what it’s doing.

Control strategies that allow for data and information handling within an MDR control system further open the door to utilizing MDR solutions by enabling more intelligent functionality, such as product tracking and sorting. Until now, these things have been the sole province of conventional conveyor systems with custom control systems.

The main feature of vertical crossbelt sorter with linear, straight routing (“above – below”) is its distinctive space-saving design because of its compact, modular approach. For example, a width of just 1.7 m is sufficient to install a vertical sorter with 400 × 400 mm crossbelt carriers. This configuration can also save valuable space, if full containers are transported into the sorter. This is unique on the market. The infeed on the vertical sorter usually starts with an accumulating conveyor in front of the actual sorter – a simple conveyor belt. Operators are able to manually feed goods directly onto this accumulating conveyor – a cost-effective and ergonomic solution. The accumulating conveyor can, of course, also be loaded via semi-automated or fully-automated infeeds.

The Bombay sorter is named after the iconic way that the bay doors on the bottom of an aircraft split open. The bottom tray panel is split into two sides that are connected by our patented linkage technology which allows for the quick and simultaneous release of both sides of the tray bottom, dropping the sorted item perfectly flat into the outbound tote or carton.

The Bombay Sorter comes in three different tray configurations: single split tray, dual split tray, and a unique quad tilt tray. All of our split tray sorter configurations provide multiple solutions for sorting round objects, odd-shaped items, and other non-conveyable products that can be challenging for other bombay sorters. Additionally, our modern take on the bombay style unit sorter is offered in 17 unique tray sizes, opening the door to endless customization, modularity, and throughput options.

Sliding shoe sorters can be engineered with standardized or modular components for faster, easier installation and greater flexibility in divert placement. Designed for high speeds, enhanced safety and faster commissioning, shoe sorters delivers the highest throughput rates and most effective product handling.

Motion-controlled electronic switch technology ensures accuracy at high speeds

Industry-leading throughput rates with the fastest standard speeds and patented gapping technology

Drive and idler guards prevent access to transitions between belt and flights 

Customer-specified guards span the length of each intermediate section

Optional, integrated side and bottom panels 

Re-designed, modular, standardized components reduce on-site spare parts stocking

Integrated components feature modular, standardized construction for quicker assembly and commissioning

Simple, flexible placement of diverts anywhere along the length of the sorter for easy installation adjustments as needed