5 CONVEYOR DESIGN FACTORS TO CONSIDER FOR OPTIMAL EFFICIENCY
Since conveyors are used to transfer products through facilities for processing, they essentially act as the circulatory system of most industrial facilities. Just as circulatory system disorders may have a devastating effect on an individual’s health, improperly constructed conveying systems can lead to waste and bottlenecks in a manufacturing facility or warehouse. Additionally, spending effort to correctly design a conveyor system for optimal efficiency before it is built thwarts inefficiencies later on, much as investing in our health today saves sicknesses later in life.
In light of this, this article offers five design considerations for conveyor systems that may assist optimize material handling effectiveness, increase output and productivity, and save expenses.
Automated Conveying Systems’ Advantages
An automated conveying system’s job is to move goods, such as boxes, components, and powders, with the least amount of physical work possible. There are several varieties of conveyors to accommodate a wide range of materials, including belt, roller, ball transfer, chute, drag/chain, overhead, screw, vertical, and vibrating models. However, regardless of design, the majority of conveyors are made up of a frame supporting a material-moving device, including wheels, rollers, or a belt.
Because of their many benefits over manual work, automated conveyor systems are preferred. These benefits include:
Enhanced Efficiency
Automated conveyors enhance productivity and significantly boost throughput by lowering labor costs and accelerating and optimizing product movement across the plant.
Reduced Labor
Handling materials by hand takes a lot of labor, but automated conveying systems work faster and more effectively while lowering the need to recruit and train new staff.
Improved Safety
Safety is significantly increased when fewer human personnel are involved in the transfer of materials across the plant. Conveying systems not only minimize the bending, lifting, and carrying movements required for manual products transportation, but they also lessen the possibility of collisions, slips, falls, and other mishaps occurring when workers move items through an operational industrial plant.
Greater Floor Area
Most facilities have limited space, and well-designed automated conveying systems use significantly less room than the equipment and trucks that are often utilized to move commodities around a large industrial complex. Additionally, in order to completely free up floor space, overhead conveyors might occasionally be installed on the ceiling.
Reduced Damage and Errors
Higher-quality goods are ensured by automated conveying systems as they are often kinder to materials than manual laborers. Eliminating human intervention also lessens the possibility of making mistakes throughout the material handling procedure.
5 Conveyor Design Factors to Consider for Optimal Efficiency
Since automated conveying systems are used by the majority of contemporary facilities for material handling activities, it is clear that there are advantages; nevertheless, throughput and productivity may suffer if a system is improperly built and does not work at its best. The following should be taken into account at the outset of conveyor system design to ensure that a system will deliver optimal value and efficiency:
What Materials are Being Moved?
Different handling techniques and conveyance technologies are needed for different items and materials. The incorrect kind of conveyor can seriously reduce production, waste material, and result in harm to a product. Belt conveyors, for example, are ideal for big boxes and components, but they are not as effective for small, fragile products, which are prone to slip off during transit and be lost or damaged.
Whether side guards or skirts are necessary for the material is another thing to think about. For instance, a side guard can assist in preventing material loss if the facility moves grains or powders. Because of this, it’s critical to comprehend the size, weight, consistency, and kind of stuff that the conveying system will be carrying.
What is the Required Conveyor Speed?
The conveyor’s speed will directly affect the system’s throughput and efficiency as well as the overall productivity of the facility. It’s critical to comprehend how the material’s weight will affect the conveyor’s speed. It is crucial to confirm that the chosen conveyor can support the needed weight and volume and yet achieve the appropriate productivity levels since larger items or large amounts of product may possibly slow down the conveying speed.
What Space Is Available?
The conveyor’s length and configuration will depend on the type of conveyor used as well as its supports, drivers, and pulley system. Take special note of how the system is going to be arranged within the building and find out if there are any space limitations that will affect the layout and, therefore, the way the material handling and conveying system works. To ensure optimal effectiveness, all obstructions should be eliminated before installation.
What Safety Mechanisms are Needed?
Safety elements that prevent accidents and lessen the severity of injuries caused by pinch points or moving parts, such as emergency stops, controls, and guarding, are essential considerations. Long before the conveyor is in use, safety elements need to be thought out and put into place.
What are the Maintenance Requirements?
The conveying system has to have routine maintenance done in order to keep product flowing. Make sure that there is access to conveyor system components throughout the design stage since maintenance is more likely to be performed when they are readily accessible. System downtime may be minimized and productivity can be raised by anything that makes maintenance chores simpler and quicker to do.
You can ensure that your conveying system operates as efficiently as possible by taking the time to carefully evaluate the size, shape, weight, and consistency of the material being transported, the required throughput rate, and the conveyor’s layout and space needs during the design stage. Preventing accidents by ensuring the system has the required safety measures and facilitating access to conveyor parts would encourage routine maintenance, further enhancing efficiency.
If you are interested in Conveyor and automation or want to know more about how to improve production efficiency, please contact Robotnext today for advice and cost support. Details via hotline: 0909 914 837.
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