Save space and increase throughput
January 1st 2011 Where space for material
handling systems may be
restricted or limited, new
advances in spiral conveyor
technology offer significant
productivity and operational benefits
for industries, says Astec Conveyors.
The technology provides
continuous, smooth vertical transfer
of product in either direction and is
said to offer a cost effective handling
alternative to traditional incline
conveyors because of their small
footprint.
Astec's spiral conveyors are
designed to support high throughput
and continuous vertical product
flow; featuring a space saving small
footprint, with the additional
benefits of low maintenance
requirements and long operational
life.
The pressure to increase
throughput and shorten order
fulfillment can often not be met by
conventional elevators and lifts. High
speed next generation spiral
conveyors are the solution to
conveying components and products
in a continuous flow, operating at
speeds of up to 50 metres per
minute. As these conveyors can
handle a large variety of load types
and sizes, there is minimal to no
time required for stopping the line
for changeover or adjustment, which
contributes to maintaining a high
throughput.
The company says: "Lifts and
elevators simply do not offer these
kinds of productivity enhancements,
and as norm are often more complex
to operate, which translates into
reduced reliability and higher
maintenance and energy costs."
Astec's versatile slat bed spiral
conveyors can transport loads up to
50kg up or down, in a single or
multiple lane execution. Various
products can be conveyed from small
lightweight single cans and bottles,
cartons, trays, tote boxes, shrink
wrapped product, through to sacks.
Astec spiral conveyors represent a
new concept in vertical conveying,
based on a low friction chain slat
arrangement and high quality
components assures low
maintenance and long life.
The compact design means that
these spiral conveyors can be preassembled,
pre-tested and shipped in
one piece to the end user to reduce
onsite time, installation costs and
avoid disruption to ongoing
operations. Designed to elevate/
lower product, the versatile spiral
conveyors are simple to install and
can be supplied with controls to
interface with other suppliers
equipment.
Several standard model
configurations are available to
accommodate a wide range of loads/
applications and can have extended
in-feed/ out-feed conveyors.
Combining two or more spiral
conveyors can provide an efficient
dynamic intermediate storage or
buffering solution, utilising overhead
space effectively, while preserving
valuable floor space.
A typical application for buffering
occurs when products need extra
time for cooling, drying, or curing.
This configuration also provides
dynamic accumulation to facilitate
shorter production and packaging
line interruptions. More articles from Astec Conveyors Limited: | 
