Two Systems, Eight Lanes – No Problem For Irregular Shaped Automotive Parts

Multi-Conveyor recently built two identical 20-foot long, four-lane timing belt conveyors for an automotive component manufacturer to move individual parts prior to the paint process.  Each conveyor has four lanes of 1.5-inch wide stainless steel reinforced timing belts with vertical and horizontal adjustments.

George Packard, Account Manager at Multi-Conveyor, explains, “This is a  four-lane timing belt conveyor that replaces an existing system where the customer was pulling freshly molded parts from a robotic cell and they needed a lot of adjustability – that’s why they came to us. The four lanes can be individually moved on the X and on the Z axis with plus or minus 6-inches on each of them, which is really important for things like bumper covers and other large plastic molded pieces so they could be supported before the plastic fully cures.”  Packard also notes, the belt material is silicone free so that we don’t contaminate the parts.

Operators will modify each belt lane position on both axes using independent hand wheel adjustments between runs as required.  Threaded rods move the individual lanes closer together or further apart.

Packard continues, “These lanes, as they move in and out, are done by hand cranks.  There are four hand cranks that adjust the up-and-down or side-to-side motion.  Down here (George points out in a CAD drawing in the video), there are four (4) hand crank adjustments that will allow each lane to be individually raised or lowered.”

The hand cranks are equipped with counters that track positioning and provide quick reference points for various product sizes.  Photo eyes were placed on the conveyor ends, triggering the conveyors to stop before parts can fall off the end.

Multi-Conveyor’s meticulous testing protocol ensures system accuracy. Packard describes in the video,

“As you can see, these legs are mounted inside the machine at a higher elevation so the legs themselves are shorter than these legs. For testing, we built a platform to 16-inches top of floor that allowed us to get the right angle to run their test product.”

Both systems are mounted on casters, allowing the operator to push (or pull) the conveyor assemblies into or out of position, or to remove them for easier robotic infeed tooling changes.

About Multi-Conveyor

Multi-Conveyor is a leading manufacturer of both pre-engineered standard and uniquely designed custom conveyor solutions for CPGs, end-users, integrators, engineering firms, automation/robotics, AI, OEM’s and contract packagers across numerous markets. Our products are multiple and unique. No single conveyor product defines Multi-Conveyor. We specialize in conveyor systems for packaging or material handling for nearly every industry, product, shape and size. Our customers report they select Multi-Conveyor for concept/design, engineering skills, quality product, best value and prompt delivery.

Watch this brief video with narration for further information: https://youtu.be/ivwJM_Z8vlQ