Inverted Assembly Line Conveyor Overhead conveyors adapted for floor mounting help keep things moving smoothly at Shadwood Enterprise Limited. The company’s new production facility in North Bay, Ontario manufactures automatic portable battery charger units. From the beginning, Shadwood management knew what it wanted – a smooth, orderly production operation. After a floor layout was prepared, Pacline Corporation of Mississauga was asked to design and supply a conveyor system to handle the product through each stage of assembly. PACLINE’s conveyor systems are usually used as overhead conveyors, however, for this application a unique twist was required. In the North Bay facility, the Pacline Conveyor is inverted and floor mounted. Installing the overhead system in this manner allows Shadwood to convey trays fixed to the conveyor chain. Each 16 x 12 inch tray contains two compartments and is mounted on a 24-inch center. The floor stand frame supports the light banks and carpet faced assembly tables, which are 18 inches wide. According to plant manager Paul Stroz, “The assembly process makes use of one of four Pacline inverted assembly lines, each of which are approximately 100 feet long, and one Pacline overhead conveyor approximately 150 feet long. The four inverted conveyors handle our entire range of products. Sub-assemblies are brought together “kitted” and placed on the specially designed tray. The product moves through three different stages on the inverted line. Assembly operators remove a kit from the tray, assemble, and place it back on the conveyor.” “A particular advantage is that empty trays, and trays of “kitted” component groups are constantly circulating past the assembly operators. If they are not ready for...
Overhead Conveyor Streamlines Instrument Panel Production Nearly 1 mile of overhead, enclosed conveyor track at Guelph Products links sequential manufacturing steps and provides transport of parts to a just-in-time (JIT) staging area prior to shipment. The track is installed at Geulph Products’ 200,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant in Guelph Products, Ontario, located 45 miles from Chrysler’s main assembly plant in Bramalea, Ontario. Guelph, a division of Chrysler, manufactures instrument panels, door panels and steering columns for the Chrysler Eagle Premier. To streamline the productions process, the plant partially assembles 350 instrument panels daily. The 25 lb. panels are maintained up to 1-1/2 days prior to final assembly and shipment to the main vehicle assembly line. Providing continuous flow The PAC-LINE™ conveyor system provides continuous flow of parts from a preliminary manufacturing area, through processing and subassembly stages, to the storage and accumulation area. Maximum conveyor travel speed is 24 feet per minute. The system consists of four individual conveyor lines for paint, wash storage accumulation, and storage and delivery. Each line performs an important function in the manufacturing process, explains Dick Carter, maintenance superintendent. The 700 sq. ft. long paint line transports panel components through a spray booth where a protective coating is applied to the parts. Special fixtures mounted on 24″ centers carry the vinyl instrument panel skins along the line. A separate 130 ft. long line processes smaller parts. The enclosed track design prevents the coating from reaching the conveyor chain or bearings. The 700 ft. long wash line conveys the panels through a ceiling mounted wash tunnel. The automated line keeps the parts clean by minimizing manual handling. The...
Conveyor for Powder Coating Paint Line System Kinetics Furniture was one of the early innovators in powder coating technology 13 years ago when it began applying a modified powder on its hi-tech look contract furniture. The Rexdale, Ont., firm sells Canadian designed furniture by contract to hard-use customers such as airports, schools, hospitals, offices, etc. Why powder, as opposed to the time-honored use of chrome? The answer lies in the high gloss, durable finish. “We were quite taken with the information that was coming out of Britain and France at the time about powder, with its potential for a very high level finish,” says James Good, vice-president and general manager. “The thing that made our application fairly complicated was concern for the mass of material going through the oven, which had to be elevated to a fairly high temperature.” That is where trial and error entered the picture. The old adage that ‘the only way to do something right is to do it yourself’ is a sustaining belief held by Kinetics. The company went through eight years of system adjustments until it got it to a point that satisfied it’s zest for quality. The largest problem involved the number of air changes per minute the oven would require. Another key to Kinetics’ success lies in it’s ability to adapt developing technology to the line. The company has seen a 50 percent growth in sales in each of the last seven years, according to Good, and is currently on the third generation of equipment. The newest addition is a second Volstatic spray booth, designed to increase production by being utilized...
Conveyor Offers Many Advantages to Woodworking An overhead conveyor offers many advantages over other methods of moving parts between various manufacturing operations. It can transport items through areas not accessible to workers, such as automatic spray booths and drying ovens, or where hazardous conditions exist. The weight carrying capacity is greater than any employee, and it does it without tiring or taking breaks. Often an enclosed overhead conveyor can be installed where a floor conveyor would be impractical. When there is a need to temporarily hold work-in-progress, carriers can be switched to recirculating loops or storage spurs until needed. Safety devices can be installed on inclined sections to control runaway carriers in the event of chain breakage. Specializing in overhead conveyors for woodworking applications, PACLINE’s pre-engineered standard conveyor components feature an enclosed-track design and bolt-together construction. The conveyor chain travels within an enclosed track, where it is protected from the plant environment. The extremely low-friction design of the chain makes it possible to power long systems from a single drive. Because the drive system is one of the most important components, PACLINE conveyors incorporate a unique caterpillar drive unit, which can be placed in most the convenient location. It is not restricted to corner placement, as is typical in many systems. Another feature of PACLINE systems is the elimination of sprocket turns that, in addition to being dangerous, are also costly and difficult to install and maintain. Published in Canadian Woodworking, November 1989 GET MORE INFORMATION Your NameCompany NameE-mail Address Phone NumberCountryIndustry/ApplicationWhat is your application?Assembly LineEmpty Carton and Tote HandlingCorrugated Trash RemovalPaint & FinishingParts Accumulation & WIPGarment HandlingGreenhouseWoodworkingProduce PackingEntertainment ProductionCreative DisplayOtherTell us about...
Overhead Conveyor for High Density Vertical Growing Urban Produce, LLC – Grand Opening. PACLINE provides the backbone for URBAN PRODUCE’s patented High Density Vertical Growing System Urban Produce, LLC in Irvine, California is opening its first patented “en motion” High Density Vertical Growing System (HDVGS) this week. They will begin growing USDA organic leafy greens and later expand to growing all types of LIVE and CUT produce. The Urban Produce system is an alternative to traditional agricultural farming. Their patented system uses advanced hydroponic technology in a completely controlled and automated environment that allows them to increase efficiency and significantly reduce farming costs. In addition, the produce grown by Urban Produce will give consumers a product that is fresher and of a higher nutritional value than products grown traditionally. The Conveyor System for Urban Produce When it came to choosing the hardware to support and automate the HDVGS, Urban Produce was looking for a system capable of transporting the maximum number of growing trays and plant material within the space of approximately 1/8 of an acre. Utilizing this very limited footprint meant that maximizing the use of the vertical space was key. PACLINE was contacted to provide their recommendation on an overhead conveyor that was economical yet robust – highly durable and safe. There were added safety issues that had to be addressed for this system as it was being installed in the state of California where very strict seismic regulations must be adhered to for any building and construction project. The conveyor system design had to take into consideration the specific process criteria...
