If you use conveyors in your warehouse facility, you can save a lot of time and money if you automate the process. For example, standard industrial conveyor systems use belts or rollers to deliver items to storage media or shipping facilities. However, they need monitoring, so materials don’t simply fall off the end of the line. An accumulation conveyor system or accumulator can solve many of these problems and help you automate your methods. Here is how they work along with their benefits.
What is an Accumulator?
Suppose your products are snack foods in cans and you need 12 cans per carton. Your cans, flow along a conveyor in a single line and when they get to the packaging area, part of the conveyor stops, it funnels the cans into a space and allows 12 of them to move at a time. Perhaps you utilize palletizers and stretch wrappers. You need 24 cartons per load. Each full carton moves down a conveyor to an automatic pallet stacker. It stops so 4 cartons can enter the stacker at one time. This is possible because of accumulation conveyors.
Accumulation industrial conveyor systems can work in a simple manner. For example, cartons may move on the belt conveyor to manual rollers where they accumulate until a worker removes them. The roller conveyor may run all the way to the floor in some cases. Accumulators keep materials from getting damaged and can also assist with organizing and counting.
Pressure
Some accumulation industrial conveyor systems work on minimal pressure while others use zero pressure. Minimal pressure systems are perfect to keep items from damage. Zero pressure systems are good for delicate or fragile items or cartons of different sizes. To find out which system best fits your needs, talk to material handling solution specialists. They can help you with design, planning, buying, and installing your equipment.
