Working With Conveyors

“We are looking for advice on what style of conveyor system will work best for our material handling application.” 

While every application provides its unique differences & challenges there are a few key questions once answered that can help narrow down which series we would be a good starting point. 

What is the maximum total payload on the conveyor when fully loaded?

Each series of Dorners conveyors have a different payload capacity. If you choose the series that has too low of a payload capacity you run the risk of not hitting your cycle time, completely stalling your conveyor, and potentially damaging / causing premature wear to components. If you choose the size that is complete over kill for your application everything will still work but it will come at a premium as you will have paid substantially more for this option.

What type of environment will this conveyor be subjected to?

Each series of Dorners conveyors have several different belting options as well as certifications depending on the environment. Examples include:

• For wash down or wet environments, Dorner’s sanitary line of conveyors would be chosen For clean room, Dorner’s 2200 & 3200 series are Class 5 Certified.
• For oily or metal parts, Dorners 2200 & 3200 series conveyors offer modular belting options that are great fits for these applications.

Will your conveyor be running completely flat or will there be elevation changes needed?

• Horizontal flat applications are the easiest to narrow down conveyor choice.
• But, often times elevation changes are needed to get the product from point A to B. With elevation changes there are several factors to consider for these applications such as use high friction belts, cleated belts, wedge conveyors or helical spiral conveyors as well asmany other options.

Once you have answered the above questions you will also need to know these basic things.

• What is my Top of Belt (TOB)?
• What speed do I need my conveyor to run and will this be a fixed speed or would you like it variable speed?
• Do I need side guiding to prevent product from falling off or other issues?
• What voltage is available?
• Do I need my motor in a certain location due to space constraints.?
• Do I need leg supports for this conveyor or will you be mounting it on a machine frame or table top?

Mechatronic Solutions

For smaller applications Mechatronic Solutions can help identify and pick out a conveyor for your application with a simple phone call. For larger more complicated applications we recommend one of our Sales Engineers come out for site visit to help fully understand the application and potentially identify any trouble some areas.