Conveyor

Chapter 4
 1. Introduction to Conveyors
Conveyors are used:
• When material is to be moved frequently between
specific points
• To move materials over a fixed path
• When there is a sufficient flow volume to justify the fixed
conveyor investment
Conveyors can be classified in different ways:
• Type of product being handled: unit load or bulk load
• Location of the conveyor: in-floor, on-floor, or overhead
• Whether loads can accumulate on the conveyor or no
accumulation is possible
1. Chute conveyor
• Unit/Bulk + On-Floor +
Accumulate
• Inexpensive
• Used to link two handling
devices
• Used to provide accumulation
in shipping areas
• Used to convey items
between floors
• Difficult to control position of
the items
2. Wheel conveyor
• Unit + On-Floor + Accumulate
• Uses a series of skatewheels
mounted on a shaft (or axle)
• Spacing of the wheels is
dependent on the load being
transported
• Slope for gravity movement
depends on load weight
• More economical than the roller
conveyor
• For light-duty applications
• Flexible, expandable mobile
versions available
3. Roller conveyor
• Unit + On-Floor + Accumulate
• May be powered (or live) or nonpowered (or gravity)
• Materials must have a rigid riding surface
• Minimum of three rollers must support smallest loads at
all times
• Tapered rollers on curves used to maintain load
orientation
• Parallel roller configuration can be used as a (roller)
pallet conveyor (more flexible than a chain pallet
conveyor because rollers can be used to accommodate
are greater variation of pallet widths)
(a) Gravity roller conveyor
• Alternative to wheel conveyor
• For heavy-duty applications
• Slope (i.e., decline) for gravity
movement depends on load
weight
• For accumulating loads
(b) Live (powered) roller conveyor
• Belt or chain driven
• Force-sensitive transmission can
be used to disengage rollers for
accumulation
• For accumulating loads and
merging/sorting operations
• Provides limited incline
movement capabilities
4. Chain conveyor
• Unit + In-/On-Floor + No
Accumulation
• Uses one or more endless chains
on which loads are carried directly
• Parallel chain configuration used
as (chain) pallet conveyor or as a
pop-up device for sortation (see
Sortation conveyor: Pop-up
devices)
• Vertical chain conveyor used for
continuous high-frequency
vertical transfers, where material
on horizontal platforms attached
to chain link
5. Slat conveyor
• Unit + In-/On-Floor + No
Accumulation
• Uses discretely spaced slats
connected to a chain
• Unit being transported retains its
position (like a belt conveyor)
• Orientation and placement of the
load is controlled
• Used for heavy loads or loads that
might damage a belt
• Bottling and canning plants use flat
chain or slat conveyors because of
wet conditions, temperature, and
cleanliness requirements
• Tilt slat conveyor used for
sortation
6. Flat belt conveyor
• Unit + On-Floor + No Accumulation
• For transporting light- and medium-
weight loads between operations,
departments, levels, and buildings
• When an incline or decline is
required
• Provides considerable control over
the orientation and placement of
load
• No smooth accumulation, merging,
and sorting on the belt
• The belt is roller or slider bed
supported; the slider bed is used for
small and irregularly shaped items
7. Bucket conveyor
• Bulk + On-Floor
• Used to move bulk
materials in a vertical
or inclined path
• Buckets are attached to
a cable, chain, or belt
• Buckets are
automatically unloaded
at the end of the
conveyor run
8. Screw conveyor
• Bulk + On-Floor
• Consists of a tube or U-shaped stationary trough through which a
shaft-mounted helix revolves to push loose material forward in a
horizontal or inclined direction
• One of the most widely used conveyors in the processing industry,
with many applications in agricultural and chemical processing
• Straight-tube screw conveyor sometimes referred to as an “auger
feed”
9. Vertical conveyor
Unit + On-Floor + No Accumulation
• Used for low-frequency intermittent vertical
transfers a load to different floors and/or
mezzanines
• Differs from a freight elevator in that it is not
designed or certified to carry people
• Can be manually or automatically loaded and/or
controlled and can interface with horizontal
conveyors
• Alternative to a chute conveyor for vertical
“drops” when load is fragile and/or space is
limited
(a) Vertical lift conveyor
• Series of flexible conveyor-carriers rotate in a
loop, where empty carriers flex perpendicularly
to provide access to loaded carriers moving past
them in opposite direction
(b) Reciprocating vertical
conveyor
• Carrier used to raise or
lower load
• Can be powered (hydraulic
or mechanical) or non-
powered
• Non-powered version only
be used to lower a load,
where counterweight used
to return empty carrier to
top
10. Tow conveyor
• Unit + In-Floor + Accumulate
• Uses towline to provide power to
wheeled carriers such as trucks, dollies,
or carts that move along the floor
• Used for fixed-path travel of carriers
(each has variable path capabilities
when disengaged from towline)
• Although usually in the floor, the
towline can be located overhead or
flush with the floor
• Selector-pin or pusher-dog
arrangements used to allow automatic
switching (power or spur lines)
• Generally used when long distance and
high frequency moves are required
11. Trolley conveyor
• Unit + Overhead + No
Accumulation
• Uses a series of trolleys supported
from or within an overhead track
• Trolleys are equally spaced in a
closed loop path and are
suspended from a chain
• Carriers are used to carry multiple
units of product
• Does not provide for accumulation
• Commonly used in processing,
assembly, packaging, and storage
operations
12. Power-and-free conveyor
• Unit + Overhead/On-Floor +
Accumulate
• Similar to trolley conveyor due to
use of discretely spaced carriers
transported by an overhead chain;
however, power-and-free conveyor
uses two tracks: one powered and
the other nonpowered (or free)
• Carriers can be disengaged from
the power chain and accumulated
or switched onto spurs
• Termed an Inverted Power-and-Free
Conveyor when tracks are located
on the floor
13. Monorail
• Unit + Overhead + Accumulate
• Overhead single track (i.e., mono-rail) or track
network on which one or more carriers ride
• Carriers: powered (electrically or pneumatically)
or nonpowered
• Carrier can range from a simple hook to a hoist
to an intelligent-vehicle-like device
• Single-carrier, single-track monorail similar to
bridge or gantry crane
• Multi-carrier, track network monorail similar to
both a trolley conveyor, except that the carriers
operate independently and the track need not be
in a closed loop, and a fixed-path automatic
guided vehicle (AGV) system, except that it
operates overhead
• Termed an Automated Electrified Monorail
(AEM) system when it has similar control
characteristics as an AGV system
2. Conveyor Analysis
• Three types of conveyor operation are discussed in
this course:
- Single direction conveyors.
- Continuous loop conveyors
1) Single Direction Conveyors
Consider the case of a single direction powered
conveyor with one load station at the upstream
end and one unload station at the downstream end
• Assuming the conveyor operates at a constant speed,
the time required to move materials from load station to
unload station is given by

• Where
– Td = delivery time (min),
– Ld = length of conveyor between load and unload
stations (m),
– vc = conveyor velocity (m/min)
• The flow rate of materials on the conveyor is determined by
the rate of loading at the load station. The loading rate is
limited by the reciprocal of the time required to load the
materials

• Rf = material flow rate (parts/min).

• RL = loading rate (parts/min).
• sc = center-to-center spacing of materials on the conveyor
(m/part).
• TL = loading time (min/part).
• An additional requirement for loading and unloading is that the
time required to unload the conveyor must be equal or less than
the loading time> That is,

• Where TU = Unloading time (min/part).

• If unloading requires more time than loading, then unremoved
loads may accumulate at the downstream end of the conveyor
• For transporting several parts in a carrier rather than a single part

• Where np = number of parts per carrier

• sc = center-to-center spacing of carriers on the conveyor
(m/carrier)
Example
Solution
2) Continuous Conveyors
• In continuous conveyor, the parts are moved in the carries
between a load station and unload station.
• The complete loop is divided into two sections:
• A delivery (forward) loop in which the carriers are
loaded, and
• A return loop in which the carriers travel empty.

• The length of the delivery loop is Ld, and the length of the
return loop is Le. Total length of the conveyor is therefore
L=Ld+Le.
• The total time required to travel the complete loop is

• The time a load spends in the forward loop is

• Where Rf = parts per minute. Again, this rate must be consistent with
limitations on the time it takes to load and unload the conveyor
3) Recirculating Conveyors
Conveyors systems that allow parts or products to
remain on the return loop for one or more revolutions.
Two problems can plague the operation of a
recirculating conveyor system:
• One is that there may be times during the operation of
the conveyor when no empty carriers are
immediately available at the loading station when
needed.
• The other problem is that there may be times when no
loaded carriers are immediately available at the
unloading station when needed.
• It is possible to construct branching and merging
points into a conveyor track to permit different
routing of different loads moving in the system.
• It is possible to build switches, shuttles, or other
mechanisms to achieve these alternate routings.
• In some systems, a push-pull mechanism or lift-
and-carry device is required to actively move the
load from the current pathway onto the new pathway.
• According to the analysis, three basic principles must be
obeyed in designing such a conveyor system:
• Speed Rule-The operating speed of the conveyor
must be within a certain range. The lower limit of the
range is determined by the required loading and
unloading rates at the respective stations. These rates
are dictated by the external systems served by the
conveyor. Let RL, and Ru represent the required
loading and unloading rates at the two stations,
respectively. Then the conveyors speed must satisfy
the relationship.
where RL : required loading rate, pc/min; and Ru : the
corresponding unloading rate. The upper speed limit is
determined by the physical capabilities of the material.
handlers who perform the loading and unloading tasks.
Their capabilities are defined by the time required to
load and unload the carriers. so that

where TL : time required to load a carrier, in/carrier; and

Tu: time required to unload a carrier.
• Limitation is of course that the speed must not exceed
the physical limits of the mechanical conveyor itself.
• Capacity Constraint. The flow rate capacity of the
conveyor system must be at least equal to the flow
rate requirement to accommodate reserve stock and
allow for the time elapsed between loading and
unloading due to delivery distance. This can be
expressed as follows:

• In this case, Rf must be interpreted as a system

specification required of the recirculating conveyor.
• Uniformity Principle. This principle states that
parts (loads) should be uniformly distributed
throughout the length of the conveyor, so that
there will be no sections of the conveyor in
which every carrier is full while other sections
are virtually empty.
• The reason for the uniformity principle is to
avoid unusually long waiting times at the load
or unload stations for empty or full carriers
(respectively) to arrive.
• Example: A recirculating conveyor has a total
length of 300 m. Its speed is 60 m/min, the
spacing of part and carriers along its length is
12 m. Each carrier can hold two parts. The
task time required to load two parts into each
carrier is 0.20 min and the unload time is the
same. The required loading and unloading
rates are both defined by the specified flow
rate, which is 4 parts/min. Evaluate the
conveyor system design with respect to Kwo’s
three principles.
Solution:
• speed Rule: The lower limit on speed.is set by the required loading
and unloading rates, both 4 parts/min.

• Checking the lower limit

• The Speed Rule is satisfied.

• Capacity Constraint: The conveyor flow rate capacity : computed 10
parts/min as above. Since this is substantially greater than the
required delivery rate of 4 parts/min, the capacity constraint-is
satisfied.
• uniformity principle: The conveyor is assumed to be uniformly
loaded throughout its length, since the loading and unloading rates
are equal and the flow and the rate capacity is substantially greater
than the load/unload rate.
 EXERCISES
1) An overhead trolley conveyor is configured as a
closed 1oop. The delivery loop has a length of 150
m and the return loop is 100 m. All parts loaded at
the load station are unloaded at the unload station.
Each hook on the conveyor can hold one part and
the hooks are separated by 3 m. Conveyor speed :
0.3 m/sec. Determine
a) Number of parts in the conveyor system under
normal operations,
b) parts flow rate; and
c) Maximum loading and unloading times that are
compatible with the operation of the conveyor system.
2) A 300-ft long roller conveyor operates at a velocity :
30 ft/min and is used to move parts in containers
between load and unload stations. Each container holds
20 parts. One worker at the load station is able to load
parts into containers and place the containers onto the
conveyor in 30 sec. It takes 20 sec to unload at the
unload station. Determine
(a) center-to-center distance between containers, (b)
number of containers on the conveyor at one time, and
(c) hourly flow rate of parts. (d) By how much must
conveyor speed be increased in order to increase flow
rate to 3,600 parts/hr?
3) A roller conveyor moves tote pans in one direction at 300
ft/min between a load station and an unload station, a distance of
450 ft. With one worker, the time to load parts into a tote pan at
the load station is 5 sec per part. Each tote pan holds 15 parts. In
addition, it takes 12 sec to load a tote pan of parts onto the
conveyor. Determine
(a) spacing between tote pan centers flowing in the conveyor
system and
(b) flow rate of parts on the conveyor system.
(c) Consider the effect of the Unit Load Principle. Suppose the
tote pans were smaller and could hold only one part instead of 15.
Determine the flow rate of parts in this case if it takes 5 sec to load
a tote pan onto the conveyor (instead of 12 sec for the larger tote
pan), and it takes the same 5 sec to load the part into the tote pan.
4) A recirculating conveyor has a total length of
700 ft and a speed of 90 ft/min. Spacing of part
carriers 14ft. Each carrier holds one part.
Automated machines load and unload the
conveyor at the load and unload stations. Time to
load a part is 0.10 min and unload time is the
same. To satisfy production requirements, the
loading and unloading rates are each 2.0 parts
per min. Evaluate the conveyor system design
with respect to the three principles developed by
Kwo.