The easiest space to recoup in most every operation is overhead space – the vertical cube. Expanding out costs more than expanding up. Over time, that means utilizing mezzanines, suspended overhead conveyors, pick modules, taller rack systems, the space over dock doors, etc. That space is available in most every warehouse or manufacturing facility, but utilizing it means that you have to be able to move material between levels without creating bottlenecks.

What are your options?

Read the rest of this entry »

Conveyors are exceptional in their productivity enhancement for manufacturing and distribution operations, but they need attention – and not just from your maintenance group. Everyone involved with them should be aware of the safety and performance issues involved. Here are five practices for happy conveying…

Read the rest of this entry »

Hytrol PIB Extenda Pusher

The construction of the Extenda Pusher lends itself to both speed and strength. The robust cylinders – stabilized by tandem aluminum guides – provide the power, while the lightweight aluminum pusher face enhances the speed. With throughput rates of up to 50 cartons per minute, it is easy to see why Hytrol’s Extenda Pusher is the smartest choice for your system. Available in 4 stroke lengths, it mounts to units with overall conveyor widths of 18″, 24″, 30″, and 36″. Unique to this style pusher are proximity sensors for both extend and return signals, which allow you to adjust the stroke length. Its black composite guards are secure yet lightweight and simple to remove. Another standard feature is the emergency stop that when activated immediately empties air pressure stored within the pusher, ensuring safe operation. This space-saving design makes it a great choice for systems where mounting space is minimal, yet products require 90 degree sortation.

We just finished adding 3 new Conveyor White Papers, including helpful information on Critical Product and Load Orientation,  a  Picking, Packing and Loading Application Matrix, and Sortation System Controls Comparisons table. All of these documents are PDF files, and all of them open in new windows. They’re all single-page, designed for quick downloading and reading. We will be adding more of these as they’re produced, so check back often.

Many operations utilize pallet or slip-sheet to convey bulked material, whether in manufacturing, work in process, to convey from a palletizer, or in shipping areas. While some applications require these palletized items to only be carried the last few feet of their process, many rely solely on the pallets to carry their product throughout a facility. Today’s processes require a smarter and often unique footprint for these palletized items. However, historically these unique footprints have been difficult for the material handling, namely conveyors, to handle effectively.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hytrol Conveyors has published a free guide to estimating conveyor projects – its innovative “Stockyard Reference Guide.”

The book, which is a short 24-pages, helps you to get ballpark numbers for conveyor projects in a short amount of time. Of course, you can always call us to help you with that kind of thing (and we’ll be more accurate), but this might be faster for you. Not only do you get the cost per foot estimates, there is also some useful information on how to specify, why one conveyor might fit a situation better than others, and more.

The Reference Guide is designed for typical, ball park estimates – enough to help you get started.

Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who has dealt with material flow onto or off of a mezzanine, up onto a ceiling-mounted conveyor line, or between levels in a building understands just how useful – and how vital – incline conveyors can be. To help you think about how you might implement inclines into your operation, we’ve published the Hytrol guide to incline conveyors.

It’s illustrated and it’s a quick read. Tips include how to set the degree of incline, how to determine box tumbling, and a bit more. We also have some inclined conveyor video available.

If you’ve paid attention to the trade magazines, to this website, or to Hytrol recently, you’ve seen cryptic references to something called “E24″. This week, it’s no longer a secret.

I got to see this conveyor up close a couple of months ago when it was in development at the Hytrol Technology Center, and was sworn to secrecy–which is hard when your job is to tell people about things. Hytrol wanted to have it under wraps until this month and to debut it at their distributor convention. We had the privilege of giving PackExpo attendees a sneak peak at the Cisco-Eagle booth this year, and we were doubly excited after seeing how people reacted to Hytrol’s innovation.

Read the rest of this entry »