“When Glide-Line Conveyor Systems recently appointed us as their Preferred Integration Partner in the UK, we couldn’t believe our luck,” said Applied Automation Director, Paul Rowe. “Their understanding of what makes a good conveyor for a specific industry application is truly exceptional and their attention to detail is unparalleled.

For example, if your plant uses trays to convey parts or products, they are susceptible to damage if the wrong conveying system is used.”

Based in Sounderton, Pennsylvania, USA, Glide-Line have been selling high quality Timing Belt and Roller Chain Conveyors since 2013. The company’s founders, who have worked in the materials handling industry for many years, had a dream, to make the best conveyor systems on the market, at great prices, with shorter delivery times than existing conveyor suppliers.

Glide-Line experts have some top tips for improving tray handling conveyor systems.

  • The type of operation determines which conveyor is right for your plant. If you assemble products in a sterile processing environment, like for medical devices or microchip plants, you’ll want a conveyor that enables you to maintain a sterile field.
  • For these environments, Zero Contact Zoned Conveyorssignificantly reduce particulate generation (particles rubbing off of belts or trays) since the uncoated white PU timing belts are not constantly running underneath the trays.

Also, the use of “controlled” movements rather than pneumatic stops reduces friction on the trays, ensuring those particles don’t end up causing contamination or catastrophic damage to the products or devices.

  • If your processing environment needs to accommodate longer and wider product handling, Glide-Line also has the answer with their multi-strand base systems which allows you to configure your conveyor with as many strands as you need. Or, failing that you can adopt their fairly standard solution for tray handling, using a twin-strand base conveyor designed to transport trays or products from workstation to workstation on two strands.
  • Your processing plant can benefit from Zero Contact Zoned Conveyors even if you’re not working in a sterile environment. Tray degradation from conveyor friction is detrimental to any operation using its own trays. Trays aren’t cheap and having the wrong conveyor can result in high replacement tray costs
  • For products more susceptible to damage, you’ll want a conveyor that allows you to transfer the product without the risk of accumulating or destroying the products. Reduce loss and increase revenue with a zoned conveyor that gives you the control to protect your delicate products.
  • When operations require zero contact due to a fragile or sterile product, you can achieve a comparable throughput result using Zero Contact Zoned Conveyor as compared to a standard accumulation system. With a zero contact system, products don’t touch, reducing loss.

Glide-Line, have a wide array of options to help support the use of non- standard trays. By offering conveyor widths and lengths in one-millimetre increments their conveying systems are guaranteed to handle any sized tray and even the most delicate of products. These include their Zero Contact Zoned Conveyor which use a twin-strand and multi-strand conveyor, depending on the width required.

For more information on Glide-line’s improved tray handling conveyors or their many other conveyor systems contact us on: sales@appliedautomation.co.uk

For more information on Glide-line Conveyor systems: https://www.glide-line.com/conveyor-solutions

 

Spin Robotics solves repetitive assembly health & safety concerns

Manufacturing assembly applications which require repetitive work often involve a combination of repetitive motion in the hands and static loading of the neck and shoulders.  For the employees undertaking these tasks, the main risks are force, repetition, awkward posture, and insufficient recovery time, with the most prevalent region for pain and distress being in the neck & shoulder, followed by the elbow & wrist area.

In general, the majority of manufacturers are trying to minimize these repetitive motions by increasing the number of assembly operator breaks to help increase recovery time. Whilst this is good news for assembly workers, it often results in lower production performance and profitability.

But with advances in automation, especially with the growing use of cobots for repetitive work, employees can be used for more creative tasks thereby increasing productivity and employee satisfaction and wellbeing.

If you’re looking to use cobots to work alongside your assembly teams and require screwdriving applications then look no further than Spin Robotics. Their all-in-one screwdriving solution is amazing. It’s the fastest screw insertion tool on the market and is safe and fully tried and tested by a number of major European organisations.

As the UK’s sole supplier of Spin Robotics, contact us for more information on: 029020 494551 or send an email to: sales@x-stk.com

https://spin-robotics.com/about-us

Hot off the Press

Our sales partner, Cambrian Vision, have confirmed that they are building a tool combining robotics and AI so they won’t need to involve human hands on anything they produce. Their rationale for so doing is to drive down costs and free up people for other, more meaningful, endeavours.

If you’re looking to build more intelligent automation in your manufacturing applications, speak to our experts who will bring you up to speed with Cambrian’s current portfolio of clever solutions. Call: 02920 494551 or mail us on: sales@x-stk.com