Modular conveyor system pays off big

Systems integrators find modular conveyor systems provide improvements in flexibility and productivity, while minimizing engineering costs.

Successful manufacturing plants are integrating lean manufacturing concepts and automation technologies to keep plants productive and competitive, often employing applications that require specialized engineering and process know-how. At the same time, contract manufacturers are becoming highly dependent on having flexible systems that enable them to adapt quickly and easily from one job to the next.

“Lean and flexible manufacturing has become a matter of survival for many companies,” said Al Mitchell of Mitchell & Associates, a Milwaukee-based manufacturers rep firm. “It’s finally becoming obvious to many manufacturers that the major productivity gains of recent years are not coming merely from opening plants offshore where they can get cheap labor. Dramatic productivity gains from automation and systems integration are becoming increasingly more important.”

According to Mitchell, a 30-year veteran in the sales of manufacturing equipment, you don’t have to look far to appreciate that point. New and re-engineered plants in the U.S., Mexico and Asia are replacing the outmoded model that cheap labor makes for a successful manufacturing business.

“The cutback on in-house expertise, such as large engineering staffs, is another example of how systems integrators are also reducing the need for full-time professional services and technical support,” said Mitchell. “Some plants have contracts with integrators who are responsible for maintaining uptime – or face recourse. Others have arrangements that enable the replacement of leased equipment as manufacturing requirements change based on orders and technology advancements. The main goal is to achieve profitability through productivity, but the key element is often flexibility.”

Mitchell, who is always looking for new and better products to meet the needs of manufacturers and integrators, calls on the diverse industries located throughout his sales territory of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Representing 12 distinct lines of equipment, his firm calls on mining and metals, food processing, paper products, plastics and a plethora of other area operations.

In mid-2002 Mitchell took on a new line that he felt would give him entry into virtually all of those industries, a modular conveyor system manufactured by Dynamic Conveyor Corporation of Muskegon, Mich. Mitchell thought the firm’s DynaCon modular conveyor system would provide integrators, OEMs, enhancers and other resellers with a tool set that would add flexibility and efficiencies to many different plant operations.

Eighteen-inch, high-impact plastic modules are assembled in a “Lego” scheme of interlocking sectional units. These include belts, sides, legs, motors and accessories that make up modules.

“The name of the game in systems integration is making the system fit the need,” Mitchell said. “When it comes to material handling with motion control, I can fit the need perfectly with a flexible, modular system. Plus, because the requirements will change in most plant operations – continually, in some cases – I can reconfigure the system quickly and at minimal cost to optimize the conveyor system as often as necessary.”

In the metals industry, one of Mitchell’s customers produces wire forms. 

“They need to convey the wire forms out from under the wire forming equipment and also away from the wire guard,” said Mitchell.

OSHA requires a guard barrier must be located at least 4 feet away from the machine, to prevent operator injury.

“Parts ranging from heavy-gauge, quarter-inch wire rods to lightweight key chain rings must be conveyed out from under that equipment and into a tote bin or some other means of conveyance away from the machine," he said. "Depending on the plant space configuration, this setup may need to be reconfigured quite often, and a modular system is ideal for that.”

Mitchell says the modular conveyor system design is also very appropriate for handling a wide range of cast materials, subassemblies and products that travel to and from robotic production stations.

According to Mitchell, a wide range of modules available with the DynaCon system enables many configurations, including radius turns, overhead and any incline or decline. 

The ability to fine-tune configurations can also provide important ergonomic benefits, such as in packaging operations where workers must make repetitive movements that can be alleviated by positioning the conveyor for maximum worker comfort.

For more information about DynaCon conveyor solutions, contact Dynamic Conveyor Corporation, 5980 Grand Haven Road, Muskegon, MI 49441; phone toll free ; fax ; or visit the Web site www.dynamicconveyor.com.

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