CONVEYOR SYSTEMS FOR BOXES mecalux.com

Logistics operations require a continuous flow of materials, as pallets and/or boxes must be taken from a storage or production position or from an overflow warehouse to shipment or production areas. This transport can be done manually if the loads are lightweight, or by employing support equipment for heavy loads (forklifts, pallet trucks, stackers, etc.) that require human operation. When these movements are repetitive and consume resources that make their handling expensive, the support of automated elements is necessary, such as conveyors for example. Conveyors are static transport devices...

Automated transport of boxes follows very similar criteria to those for pallets and is developed to work with plastic and cardboard boxes. The most common transport module is the roller conveyor, in all its different variations –straight, curved, diversion and injection modules, etc.- complemented by band and belt conveyors, as well as lifts and inclined conveyors to overcome changes in height.

summarY AUTOMATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR BOXES General Characteristics > Reception and distribution of goods > Head ends and picking posts in automated warehouses > Optimised order preparation areas > Automatic order sorting > Assembly and verification posts Conveyor Components > No-pressure roller accumulator conveyor > Curved roller accumulation conveyor > Continuous activated roller conveyor > Free roller conveyor > Continuous belt conveyor > Roller conveyor with delay lifting > Mixed transfer roller & belt conveyor > Launcher roller conveyor > Bridge belt conveyor > Booster conveyor > Oblique...

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics AUTOMATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM FOR BOXES All transport circuits have at least one starting point and one destination point. The simplest circuit is comprised of a straight section of rollers or bands, as depicted in the two images below. Conveyor Systems for Boxes

There are two systems that can be employed to form circuits with angles, either via curve modules or crossover modules, as depicted here. You can see how the boxes circulate in different positions on each section with the crossover module.

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics If circuits at different levels need to be connected, inclined band or lift conveyors must be employed. From these basic components, an infinite number of circuits can be created, from the simplest to the most complex. Conveyor Systems for Boxes

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics This is an example of a complex circuit showing various start and end points and demonstrating different operation methods and ways to connect each of the plants and working areas. You can also see the almost total absence of nonautomated internal transport, with the consequent benefits that this can entail. The different areas of this installation will be analysed hereafter in greater depth, as well as all the components. 1. Reception and distribution of goods 2. Head ends and picking posts in automated warehouses 3. Optimised order preparation areas...

Conveyors for Boxes Components

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics Conveyor Systems for Boxes

RECEPTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS Withvarious conveyor components, the entrie process of receiving goods in boxes and transporting them to different circuits can be controlled and executed completely automatically. Placing the boxes onto the circuit can be done manually by an operator or automatically with a depalletising robot. In general, pallets come from outside, arriving on lorries and in containers and from the production lines or other warehouses on pallet conveyors. When goods arrive in sea containers and are not palletised, an extendable band conveyor can be placed into the container...

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics HEAD ENDS AND PICKING POSTS IN AUTOMATED WAREHOUSES Box conveyors are essential in all automated processes, and this is equally true in automated warehouses. These components are necessary at the head-ends, entry and exit points, picking and reprovisioning posts and, in many cases, for connections with the other parts of the production process. The automated warehouse headend can be extremely simple, but can also require an integrated circuit for the simultaneous circulation of a large quantity of boxes in high yield warehouses. The two illustrations...

Basic Components 1. General conveyor for entries from production or reception 2. Reprovisioning post (goods replacement) 3. Exit conveyor and connection to other areas 4. Entry and exit racks to the warehousing lanes 5. U-shaped picking post 6. Side conveyor for preparing orders in dynamic channels 7. Prepared order conveyor behind multiple order tables

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics OPTIMISED ORDER PREPARATION AREAS Installing conveyors in any warehousing and order preparation system is an ideal solution as it increases productivity. Advantages include: - Eliminating or reducing the use of carts and double handling of goods. - Operators remain in ergonomic positions, decreasing fatigue. - Makes handling easier, limiting personnel’s movements. In the example on the right, the conveyors service a conventional manual picking area and another picking area with dynamic shelves. In the first case, the injection posts for the transport...

In the illustration, different Clasimat automated vertical warehouse modules are connected in a line and there are multiple order tables. They are, in turn, linked by a conveyor that is connected to the three tables and transports the prepared orders.

Conveyors for Boxes General Characteristics AUTOMATIC ORDER SORTING In an integrated warehouse, all goods that are prepared in the different areas must be sent to the dispatch area. This illustration depicts a goods sorter, classifying products according to either orders or routes. Using branching modules, this system is based on standard conveyors that distribute the boxes to the appropriate channels where they are accumulated and later –either manually or automaticallyplaced on the transport pallets to send to different clients. 5 Conveyor Systems for Boxes