Converting Case Study
of conveyor solutions to solve company’s material handling challenges. Specifically, conveyor systems that accumulate, flip, stack, rotate, push, divert, or index products for manufacturing or packaging processes. Slip-Torque roller technology is very interesting, in that it utilises individually- powered, stationary rotating roller shafts covered with loose, segmented rollers, which become the conveyor surface. It is powered by a continuous chain to control the drive force of the conveyed wipes. When the wet wipes stop on the surface of the conveyor, the segmented rollers beneath also stop, generating low back- pressure accumulation, and minimising product damage. It is the weight of the wet wipes being conveyed, combined with the coefficient of friction between the shafts and the inside diameter of the rollers, that provides the driving force.
As the weight of the conveyed products increases, there is a corresponding increase in the driving force supplied. Slip-Torque’s low line-pressure provided throughout the conveyor, and its continuous-motion Dynamic Accumulation allows for precise product placement on the conveyor while it continues to take product flow from an upstream line for a period of time, where other conveyors would have stopped well before. A low-pressure accumulation buffer absorbs irregularities in the production flow and provides a smooth, even flow on the line. A servo-controlled guide provides efficient lane changing of incoming wet wipes, eliminating product backlog at the point of entry.
The system allows the same conveyor to be split into multiple, independently- operating lanes, if desired. For example, the middle lane can accumulate, while at the same time the right lane and the left lane can both convey or, even, run in opposite directions. Each lane can act independently, if needed, but is powered by only one common servomotor, which also reduces energy usage.
Conveyors with Slip-Torque have the ability to modulate the speed of different sections of the conveyor via a centrally- controlled PLC and HMI. As wipes are moving down the line, the rollers at the back end of the conveyor can be moving faster than the ones at the front end of it. The products can be moving at variable speeds on different sections of the conveyor as dictated by throughput requirements. This controls the wet wipes spacing on the
conveyor, keeping these delicate products separated, and equally spaced, from each other to minimise product contact and facilitate infeed into packaging equipment such as shrink wrappers.
The Slip-Torque surface can also be used to minimise product contact while steering products into desired locations, such as employing rollers with herringbone patterns to orient products without the use of guardrails, or setting up a series of sequentially smaller roller heights to direct food products into the centre of the conveyor for packaging induction, without touching any other conveyor parts. And, slip-fit rollers with tapered corners can be used to maintain product orientation, gently and safely, as it is transported through 45-degree and 90-degree conveyor turns. Because of the unique features of Slip- Torque rollers, the conveyor system is a safe environment for workers that work near and interact with the wipes being carried on the conveyor system. The roller contact surface is designed to stop immediately if a hand is placed on it, thus maintaining a safer working environment.
SMARTFEED
Nowhere in the wet wipes packaging process is the handling of these products more susceptible to damage than with infeed into the primary and secondary packaging machinery. Inaccurate infeed contributes to high defect rates, lessened throughput and increased production costs. This is common particularly with shrink wrapping where mis-wraps can easily occur, jamming the line. When shrink coverage does not completely cover the product,
it can go unnoticed until later when the product has become contaminated due to exposure. Improper sealing is primarily caused by poor infeed and mis-registration. To achieve a much more consistent level of infeed registration, Shuttleworth developed a series of automatic wrapper and case packer infeeds, called SmartFeed. Working in combination with Slip-Torque conveyors, SmartFeed links machine infeed to upstream product flow. It is designed to dynamically accumulate and synchronise the release of products for infeed without stopping the production flow. SmartFeeds operate by timing the release of product into the flighted infeed with a pneumatic/electric gate, or a servo- controlled variable-speed surface. With a speed-up zone near the discharge end of SmartFeed, one product at a time is placed onto the infeed of the packaging machine. The spacing is very precise, with a tolerance of 0.25 inch to 0.5 inch. SmartFeed is in synchronisation with the machine using encoder feedback from it. A sensor identifies each product’s location, and then the conveyor will either accelerate or decelerate the product to place it into position on the flighted infeed of the machine. The packaging machine and SmartFeed are always talking to each other, and reacting to whatever products are moving through the line. When there is a delay with an item, SmartFeed tells the machine that no item is in position, and to slow down or stop. When the next item is in position, SmartFeed tells the machine to start, providing there is accurate indexing of the product. System controls installed upstream regulate the speed of the line throughout, directed by input from SmartFeed. In this way, SmartFeed creates an integrated system monitoring the flow of product up to and into each primary packaging and secondary packaging machine on the wet wipes line.
Wet wipes manufacturers now have smarter conveyor systems that are specifically designed for the precision and flexible needs of their primary and secondary packaging lines. Systems that incorporate the necessary automation and product handling devices that enable manufacturers to achieve more productivity, increased versatility, decreased product damage and realise a more profitable bottom line.
ushuttleworth.com
32
February 2021
convertermag.com
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