By Tim Knerr
Project Engineer
Thomas Conveyor & Equipment Co
Thomas Conveyor completed a project for one of our Food Processing Partners which involved a packing line where a Hygienic/Wash-down Conveyor was needed to build a custom Pack Station Line. The goal of this line was to allow workers to pack individually bagged product into different sized cases to be sent down to a taper. The boxes would then be coded, labeled, and conveyed to a palletizing line to be prepared for shipment.
Designing the Pack Station Conveyor involved having a two-level tiered conveyor which would convey the individually bagged product on top and the different sized cases below. Different sized cases brought about the need to be able to adjust the elevation on the lower-level conveyor to allow workers to ergonomically place cases on the top of the conveyor belt. We accomplished this by installing a hand wheel crank on the underside of the pack station which would allow workers to raise/lower the unit as needed. An adapter option was also implemented where workers could detach the crank wheel and utilize a cordless drill which would vastly improve the speed at which this conveyor elevation could be raised or lowered.
Our final addition to this pack station was Stainless Steel Shelving, both on top of the upper conveyor for pre-erected case storage, and a shelving unit in front of the workers to support newly erected cases the workers were utilizing to pack the bagged product inside. These shelving units were designed to be easily separated in case the units were moved to different parts of the facility.
The customer was very pleased with the equipment and is currently using the stations in their facility. These sort types of Pack Stations can be utilized by any potential customer with who has a need for workers to pack incoming product into cases without leaving their station and without any ergonomic lifting/placing issues at their station.
Because this industry is ever changing and looking for continuous improvement opportunities, the decision was made to use a range of larger containers.
The operation of the unit is simple. Once a container has been identified for dumping an operator grabs on to the MechLift unit and manually moves it towards and positions the end effector tooling around it. Then the tooling, which is electrically driven, is engaged by hitting a button to activate the closing feature whereby grasping and holding the outside of the container.
The conveyor will receive boxes with taped bottoms, and open tops with a bag of liquid food product inside the box at 30” infeed top of belt elevation at a rate of four boxes per minute. The product is conveyed up the incline to nose over at 46” top of belt elevation at the discharge end. The supports are hygienic, adjustable swivel locking casters, with +/-1.5” height adjustment.
The product is guided with UHMW guard rail. The frame is constructed of 300 series stainless steel and is fully welded. We utilize hygienic construction methods for high care applications. The carry way and return rollers are made of white UHMW. This conveyor can be dis-assembled and re-assembled for cleaning without the use of any tools (toolless removal). Included is a washdown NEMA 4x / IP66 variable frequency drive (VFD), side mounted on a support arm, pre-wired to the IP69K stainless steel motor and gear reducer, and an 8’ long loose end cord is supplied for your electrical input. The side frame also has access slots for easy cleaning. Safety is also important, and we supplied a pre-wired and mounted maintained emergency stop switch on each side.
We have a modern manufacturing facility that takes pride in producing high quality items at a great value to service your needs. We strive to keep your work environment efficient and clean. Our hygienic conveyor line is fabricated and made in the great state of Illinois, USA. Being in the center hub of the Midwest gives our customers more economic freight options due to the logistics of our location. Our engineers are fully capable of understanding your complex project needs and can be of great resource to you and your company for projects designed to promote growth for your company and improve your operations.
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