University of Perpetual Help DALTA Calamba

Brgy. Paciano, Calamba City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Methods Engineering 1
MWF 2:00 3:00pm

Material Handling Equipment

Fabros, Harry S.
BSIE III

Engr. Ester P. Velarde

Instructor
January 18, 2017

Material Handling Equipment

Material handling equipment is mechanical equipment used for the movement, storage,
control and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing,
distribution, consumption and disposal. The different types of material handling equipment can
be classified into four major categories: transport equipment, positioning equipment, unit load
formation equipment, and storage equipment.

Material Handling Equipment

Function/Uses
A forklift (also called a lift truck, a fork truck, or
a forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift
and move materials short distances. The forklift was
developed in the early 20th century by various
companies including the transmission manufacturing
company Clark and the hoist company Yale & Towne
Manufacturing. Following World War II the use and
development of the forklift truck has greatly expanded
worldwide. Forklifts have become an indispensable
piece of equipment in manufacturing and warehousing
operations. In 2013 alone the top 20 manufacturers
worldwide posted sales of $30.4 billion with 944,405
machines sold.
A caster is a wheeled device typically mounted to a
larger object that enables relatively
easy rolling movement of the object. Casters are
essentially special housings that includes a wheel,
facilitating the installation of wheels on objects. Casters
are found virtually everywhere, from office desk chairs
to shipyards, from hospital beds to automotive factories.
They range in size from the very small furniture casters
to massive industrial casters, and individual load
capacities span 100 lbs or less to 100,000 lbs
(45000 kg). Wheel materials include cast
iron, plastic, rubber, polyurethane, forged steel, stainless
steel, aluminum, and more.

A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical

handling equipment that moves materials from one
location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in
applications involving the transportation of heavy or
bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow quick and
efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials,
which make them very popular in the material
handling and packaging industries. Many kinds of
conveying systems are available, and are used according
to the various needs of different industries. There are
chain conveyors (floor and overhead) as well. Chain
conveyors consist of enclosed tracks, I-Beam, towline,
power & free, and hand pushed trolleys.
A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt
conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A
belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor
systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or
more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with an
endless loop of carrying mediumthe conveyor belt
that rotates about them. One or both of the pulleys are
powered, moving the belt and the material on the belt
forward. The powered pulley is called the drive pulley
while the unpowered pulley is called the idler pulley.
There are two main industrial classes of belt conveyors;
Those in general material handling such as those moving
boxes along inside a factory and bulk material
handling such as those used to transport large volumes
of resources and agricultural materials, such
as grain, salt, coal, ore, sand, overburden and more.
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with
a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can
be used both to lift and lower materials and to move
them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy
things and transporting them to other places. It uses one
or more simple machines to create mechanical
advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal
capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed
in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of
freight, in the construction industry for the movement of
materials and in the manufacturing industry for the
assembling of heavy equipment.

An automated guided vehicle or automatic guided

vehicle (AGV) is a mobile robot that follows markers or
wires in the floor, or uses vision, magnets, or lasers for
navigation. They are most often used in industrial
applications to move materials around a manufacturing
facility or warehouse. Application of the automatic
guided vehicle broadened during the late 20th century.

A pallet /plt/, sometimes inaccurately called a skid (a

skid has no bottom deck boards), is a flat transport
structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while
being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader, work
saver, or other jacking device, or a crane. A pallet is the
structural foundation of a unit load which allows
handling and storage efficiencies. Goods or shipping
containers are often placed on a pallet secured
with strapping, stretch wrap or shrink wrap and shipped.
Since its invention in the twentieth century, its use has
dramatically supplanted older forms of crating like
the wooden box and the wooden barrel, as it works well
with modern packaging like cardboard
boxes and Intermodal containers commonly used for
bulk shipping.
Slip sheets are thin pallet-sized sheets made of plastic,
heavy laminated kraft paperboard, or corrugated
fiberboard used in commercial shipping. Often, these
replace the use of traditional wooden pallets. The unit
load is usually stretch wrapped orshrink wrapped for
stability.

An industrial robot is a robot system used

for manufacturing. Industrial robots are automated,
programmable and capable of movement on two or more
axes.
Typical applications of robots include welding, painting,
assembly, pick and place for printed circuit
boards, packaging and labeling,palletizing, product
inspection, and testing; all accomplished with high
endurance, speed, and precision. They can help in
material handling and provide interfaces.

An Electric Track Vehicle System (ETV) is a conveyor

system for light goods transport. The system utilizes
independently driven vehicles traveling on a monorail
track network, consisting of straight track elements,
bends, curves and transfer-units for changing of travel
direction. Vehicles in an ETV system transport payloads
up to 50 kg both vertical and horizontal in buildings
and manufacturing plants. ETV systems were primarily
put on the market in the sixties by German company
Telelift.[1] Later additional companies
like Siemens [2] orThyssen engaged in this business.

Pallet rack is a material handling storage aid system

designed to store materials on pallets (or skids).
Although there are many varieties of pallet racking, all
types allow for the storage of palletized materials in
horizontal rows with multiple levels. Forklift trucks are
usually an integral part of any pallet rack system as they
are usually required to place the loaded pallets onto the
racks for storage. Since the Second World War, pallet
racks have become an essential and ubiquitous element
of most modern warehouses, manufacturing facilities,
retail centers, and other storage and distribution
facilities.[1]
All types of pallet racking increase storage density of the
stored goods. Costs associated with the racking increases
with increasing storage density.

An automated storage and retrieval

system (ASRS or AS/RS) consists of a variety of
computer-controlled systems for automatically placing
and retrieving loads from defined storage locations.

Jib crane is a kind of small and medium sized lifting

equipment with unique structure. Its lifting system is
fixed at the end of its arm or travel along the arm; its
arm can rotate but cant be lifted up.