Moving Along with High-Tech Conveyor Systems

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Machine Design

Mike Hosch, Dorner Mfg. Corp

Tue, 2015-07-14 11:42

Engineers can make use of a variety of conveyors and belts to build packaging and assembly lines.
If we could climb into a time machine and visit manufacturing facilities in the 1950s, we might be surprised at
what wed see in terms of conveyor belts: rather rudimentary conveyors simply moving parts from point A to
point B through packaging and assembly (and just two kinds of conveyor beltsdirty and dirtier).
Today, however, manufacturing sites have changed,
with conveyors becoming critical components for
complex material handling applications, both for
packaging and assembly. And engineers have
developed a wide variety of belt and conveyor options,
each designed for moving, inspecting, and processing
specific products.
Recent trends in conveyor design and belting have
increased throughput and productivity as systems are
being tasked with performing much more diverse
functions than their early predecessors.

A Smorgasbord of Conveyors
Advances in conveyors are letting engineers find more creative ways to use them in the machines they design.
Here are some common capabilities conveyors bring to the table:
Backlighting. Backlit conveyors are ideal for visually inspecting products as the belt moves them through
packaging or assembly. These machines have light fixtures installed at certain sections in the frame to
illuminate items traveling on translucent belts. Various in-line machine-vision sensors mount over the backlit
section for inspections.
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The contrast created by light shining up between products lets sensors take good images, inspecting for defects
or merely the presence or orientation of a product. The belt can be programmed to move continuously if the
sensors can grab the data they need from moving targets. Alternately, it can be programmed to move stepwise,

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that every section pauses over the backlit portion as detailed images are taken.
Pacing conveyors. Products sometime need to be
aggregated or herded together on a conveyor line. Other
times, applications require that products be spaced out
along the conveyor belt. Pacing conveyors can accomplish
both tasks by using more than one belt on the same line.
An operator can then control product spacing, speed, and
orientation, preparing products for machine-vision
inspections or packaging, or getting a multi-conveyor
layout to merge several lines.
Metal-free conveyors. Many applications in the food
and pharmaceutical industries require that products pass
through metal detectors before being packaged and
shipped. To ensure the detectors dont alert on the belt or its components, some conveyors use a metal-free belt,
The conveyors steel bedplate in replaced in areas with metal detectors with ones made of Delrin, an inflexible
polymer that resists heat. This lets the metal-scanning sensor check passing products without picking up false
readings from the bedplate.
Sanitary conveyors. These conveyors feature
welded, rounded frame members and minimal
fasteners in the food zones to reduce catch points
and help minimize the chances of contamination.
These conveyors are also designed to withstand
repeated high-pressure cleanings daily, and they can
be fully disassembled for cleaning in just minutes.
To avoid contaminating products due to poor
machine design, the food industry is continually
updating the regulations and standards for
conveyors and other equipment. (Learn more about
these new regulations.)
Vacuum conveyors. To keep smaller, lightweight product in place on belts for inspection, assembly, or
packaging, some manufacturers use vacuum conveyors. These have belts perforated with small holes, in
addition to bedplates featuring grooves along them. The grooves let a regenerative vacuum blower continually
pull air through the belt and suck products down onto the belt. The vacuum blowers capacity is determined
by the total area of vacuum holes, as well as the pressure needed to hold products to the conveyor belt.
Miniature conveyors. Although most conveyors move average- to
larger-sized parts, small items need to be moved as well. That role is
best served by miniature conveyors. Moving small, lightweight
fragile parts such as those often found in medical devicesis a task
perfectly suited for miniature conveyors. They have -inch frame
heights, letting them fit in tight, compact spaces. Due to their small
size, however, these conveyors are difficult to build from scratch
without sacrificing precision and consistency.
Conveyor accessories also contribute to the design flexibility
engineers have when designing conveyor systems. For example,

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gineers can add shaft encoders to conveyor drive shafts to sense

rotations, count pulley revolutions, and control the belt in feeding or
indexing applications. Diverters and gates triggered by proximity
switches, photo eyes, or counters can guide and change product
direction, routing them to single or multiple locations. In addition, diverters and gates can meter flow to specific
areas or separate products based on attributes.
Depending on the product and required stroke length, pushers can be mounted overhead or on the conveyors
side to remove items moving along the conveyor. Servo drives accurately stop conveyors to ensure parts are
exactly where they need to for inspection or to be picked up. They can also help control
acceleration/deceleration and assist in assembly.

Technology hasnt forgotten about conveyor belts, either. Todays engineers can choose from any number of
conveyor belts and styles to suit most any application. Although many people tend to take belts for granted,
there are major differences in the types available. Specifying the right one depends on several factors, all of
which need to be taken into consideration. Among these are:
The product being moved.
The products size and weight.
The conveyors speed.
The conveyors operating environment.
Product orientation on the belt.
Turns and slopes on the conveyor.
For belts to perform well, they must track properly.
Tracking refers to a belts ability to run true and straight
on the conveyor frame and around the end rollers. If a belt
isnt tracking properly, it can run crooked over end rollers,
affect operations, and lead to premature wear. Many
factors affect tracking, including belt splicing, conveyor
rollers, belt tension, side loads from pushing products on
or off the belt, and debris built-up on the rollers.
To ensure belts track, some conveyor manufacturers add a
V-guide strip of urethane down the middle of the belts
underside. It fits into a V-shaped guide groove running
down the center of the conveyors frame. The V-guide helps keep the belt centered and tracking properly.
The manner in which the V-guided urethane is attached can make a difference in the overall integrity of the belt.
V-guided belts tend to be stronger when the urethane is applied before the belt is made. Many manufacturers
opt to cut fingers into the belt, splice it together, and then flip it upside down to apply the V-guide strip. The
problem with this process is that it leads to two potential failure points: the splice and the V-guide splice. By
applying the guide prior to making the belt, it maintains its integrity and provides a seamless guide on the belt.
Another belt type thats not as popularbut has specific
advantages for the packaging, manufacturing, and automation
marketsis the clipper splice belt. They use intertwined hooks
held together with a wire hook. Clipper splice belts are easy to
remove; users simply remove the locking hook and the belt

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mes apart. This design is well-suited for applications that have

conveyors partially inside larger machinery or equipment where
access to the belts can be difficult.
The conveyors of today are engineered to provide much higher
levels of functionality and performance than those of years past.
Moving forward, conveyors are expected to continue evolving to
fulfill specific niche roles within material handling and
packaging. Miniature conveyors are a good example of this. New developments in conveyor belting are under
development, including the combination of plastic chain and roller balls to orientate products on the fly.
Mike Hosch, Director of Product Development
Dorner Mfg. Corp., Heartland, Wisc.

A Conveyor for Pacing and Spacing

Spacing and timing products for packaging requires conveyor systems that are responsive,
accurate, and agile. To get the ultimate in spacing and pacing accuracy and consistency,
engineers at Dorner Manufacturing Corp. teamed with their counterparts at Yaskawa, a
manufacturer of AC drives and motion control. Now, just two years later, two prototypes of
the all-new SmartPace conveyor are in field test and additional prototypes are being
developed.
SmartPace prepares evenly spaced or alternating batches of product, depending on the
application, to meet end-users product spacing needs. The conveyor tracks both the leading
and trailing edges of the product, so it does not necessarily need to be all of the same size and
shape to be gapped appropriately.
As randomly spaced products enter the
conveyor, a photo eye detects product
spacing. In response, the servo motor control
varies the conveyor speed and junction
placement to set in motion evenly spaced
product. SmartPace is a completely
non-contact systemusing no guides,
diverts, or plowseven when merging
several lines together. Eliminating these
accessories reduces the risks of damaging the
product.
The key to SmartPaces capabilities lies in its two conveyor belts within a single frame, which
can be aluminum or stainless steel. The two belts let SmartPace operate faster than a typical
one-belt set-up. SmartPace also gives users several FDA-approved belting options that feature
maintenance-free V-guide belt tracking and endless splices, all of which let the conveyor
smoothly transfer parts only three inches long.
SmartPace conveyor belt is 4 to12 in. wide and 6-ft. long with 1.25-in. end-transfer rollers.

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otors can be mounted on either side or both sides of the conveyor.

A maintenance free/lubrication-free composite drive chain moves the single conveyor
junction. The chain consists of with low-inertia Acetal links that support the product loads lets
junction reposition quickly at fast speeds.
Two Yaskawa SGMGV-05 Servo Motors with 2:1 timing belt reduction serve as conveyor drive
motors, powering 3-in. diameter urethane-lagged conveyor belt drive pulleys. A single
Yaskawa SGMGV-13 servo motor with 4:1 right angle gear reducer drives the composite chain
that positions the conveyor junction.
The system is controlled by a Yaskawa MP2300 IEC Motion Controller and 230 V, 1 phase
input drive (three-phase, 230 and 460 V, 50/60 Hz versions available available) and includes
a standalone control with user-friendly control panel that lets a technician program and
implement product spacing and patterns. The conveyor also includes a built in safety control
circuit and it accepts remote enable and run signals input.
When SmartPace debuted at Pack Expo International 2014, it was promptly named one of that
years Top 10 Packaging Trends. As field testing continues, Dorner is further improving the
prototypes with the goal of making the new technology available for customer purchase by the
end of 2015. In addition, Yaskawa is developing a software toolbox that should make
programming the SmartPace much more user friendly and cost effective for unique
applications not currently supported.

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