MOTION SYSTEM APPLICATIONS
Conveyor functions as varied as applications CONVEYORS are core to material handling … for transporting packages as well as improving workflows and even interfacing with other automated systems. Just consider the requirements placed on zero-pressure accumulation conveyors — systems with precision controls to prevent products from bumping or even touch while conveying for the prevention of damage to expensive workpieces and fragile products. Such designs require IoT connectivity for data sharing as well as precision motion and optimized efficiency.
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DESIGN WORLD — MOTION
These and other conveyors for discrete product transport benefit from customization to satisfy requirements — including support frames; chain and belt size, morphology and material; controller, drive, and motor or motors; mode of engagement with the drive; encoder, vision, and switch feedback; tracks, bumpers, and gates; and HMIs and plant-level IT integration. For example, warehouse automation requires ultra-fast sorting and tracking … and conveyors with servomotor functionality integrated with inspection stations fitted with machine vision. Or consider pharmaceutical manufacturing — now a trillion-dollar industry and expected to grow to address COVID-19 — with especially stringent regulations. Here, conveyors must deliver top-notch warehouse automation functions and have stainless and aluminum parts to pose no risk of contamination to expensive pharmaceutical products such as pills. Likewise, medical-device manufacture must adhere to FDA regulations
11 • 2020
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