Month: July 2018

Custom Conveyor Belts and Conveyor Features for Packaging

Posted on by Seth Bailey

Custom Conveyor Belt

Packaging conveyors are a must for transporting items quickly and efficiently. That’s why having a custom conveyor precisely for your needs is crucial to ensuring your products remain organized and undamaged. Let’s explore a few features that will help make your conveyor system perfect.

 

Transpositor

Transpositor

Right-angle turns are tricky maneuvers for ordinary packaging conveyors to pull off. The Transpositor helps make these tight turns easy. Its two-tiered system pulls the top section of conveyor away, almost like a trap door. The item then falls a few inches to a second conveyor belt which is rapidly spinning perpendicular to the first conveyor’s direction. This motion stops the item’s momentum and reroutes it into the waiting stationary container just over the conveyor’s edge.

While the Transpositor conveyor system involves some short drops, they are gentle enough to handle any package. Whether it’s frozen food in a plastic container or a regular box, you can rest assured that your products will reach the end of your custom conveyor belt system unharmed.

 

MicroSpan Transfer

Packaging Conveyor Systems

Even custom conveyor belts have to end somewhere. There is often another belt to meet the first one and keep your products’ journey going. The problem is the gap, no matter how small, that exists between the two belts. Even larger products can get lodged in the crack and cause major backups.

The MicroSpan Transfer is the simple solution to this issue. This small conveyor belt bridges the gap between the two main belts to prevent any item, even a small one, from getting stuck. It’s a simple addition for custom conveyor systems that will ultimately save your business a lot of time in troubleshooting.

 

Traffic Cop

Packaging Conveyor

This feature is necessary for packaging conveyor systems that merge two lanes of product into a single lane of output. The two swinging arms of the traffic cop stagger the flow of your packages and prevent collisions or other roadblocks. You also have the ability to control how long the pause will last, allowing one, two, or more units to be released from one lane at one time. This feature gives you the control you need to create the efficiency you want.

 

High Speed Switch

The High Speed Switch, like the traffic cop, is a custom conveyor feature that helps control product flow while maintaining product pitch. However, the switch adds in a sorting element, using guide rods to pull products away from each other or bring them together as needed. The powerful system can not only support up to four lanes of product switching and converging, but can also handle 24-hour continuous operation. It’s perfect for creating a nonstop production flow.

 

Twist Conveyors

Custom Conveyor Belts

Like the Transpositor, twist conveyors are are great for changing product orientation without an external device or human intervention. This packaging conveyor can reorient your product’s angle up to 90 degrees in 60 linear inches, so even the tightest turns are possible.

On top of turning products, twist conveyors can also handle elevational changes. Generally, if the twist occurs on the custom conveyor belt’s center line, the belt will have a natural decline. Taking advantage of the direction of the conveyor’s twist can give you the incline or decline you need after reorienting your product.

 

We Have The Solution To Your Packaging Needs

SpanTech offers a variety of packaging conveyors to suit your company’s needs. To learn more about what custom conveyor features are right for you and start a free estimate, contact us.

Could a Topper Lift Help You Top Your Packaging and Distribution Efficiency?

Posted on by Seth Bailey

Efficiency of your packaging and distribution facility decreasing? Have you considered a Topper Lift?

The Changing-Elevation Topper Lift from Span Tech is able to tackle tricky angles, elevation changes and product orientation changes without a programmable logic controller and with a much smaller footprint than other options, increasing overall productivity and adaptability.

When considering whether a Topper Lift is right for you and your company, ask yourself these four questions.

1. Do We Need to Raise Or Lower Materials As Part of Our Operation?

Sometimes production requires materials to be raised or lowered due to assembly line orientation. A custom conveyor, such as the Topper Lift, may be the most efficient solution.

2. Do We Need To Save Floor Space?

Are you tight on space and looking for a conveyor with a smaller footprint? With the Topper Lift, you’re able to tackle tricky angles and elevation changes within virtually any space you have to work with. The upper chain of the Topper Lift drapes downward and rides on the lower transport conveyor, allowing it to act as a moving top keeper. With a combination of high-friction and conventional chain types, the Topper Lift is able to incline and decline products at angles of up to 60 degrees. This is a much steeper angle of incline or decline than would otherwise be possible. By holding items gently but securely against the conveyor as they move, the Topper Lift helps put steep angles within your reach, no matter the size of your facility.

3. Does Orientation Of Our Materials Matter?

If the orientation of your materials is of the utmost importance, the Topper Lift can help. When using the changing-elevation Topper Lift, your products will stay completely upright. The upper chain guides ensure that your products won’t tip over while ascending or descending on the conveyor. And the Topper Lift can handle both rigid and flexible products, so you don’t have to worry about any potential breakage.

4. Are The Items We’re Handling Fairly Sturdy?

If the items you’re moving are fairly strong, a Topper Lift can handle them with ease. That includes most bagged, boxed or frozen items. But if they’re more on the delicate side, you may want to look into a different conveyor system or solution that is better suited for fragile items.

Let Us Help

The Topper Lift is just one possible solution to improve packaging and distributing efficiency, and it can be combined with other specialized conveyor features for maximum results. Let Span Tech create a completely customized conveyor system to fit your needs. Need a quote, have a question or need more information? Contact our customer service team today.