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Suspended conveyor technology from item revolutionises material flow

When you think about innovations in the world of logistics, it’s often complex automation systems or digital technologies that spring to mind. Sometimes, however, the efficiency-boosting, space-saving solution is right in front of you – or rather right above you. You see, our suspended conveyor technology harnesses the force of gravity to provide a simple yet effective internal transport method for a variety of components.

Anyone who works in production or logistics will be aware of the challenges involved – materials need to be supplied efficiently, making the best possible use of the available space and ensuring processes run smoothly. This is where our Suspended Conveyor System comes in, offering a flexible, space-saving and cost-efficient alternative to conventional transport in small load carriers (SLCs).

The idea behind our solution is simple – articles that are problematic to transport in SLCs because they are too bulky or easily get caught up or entangled are suspended instead. The item Suspended Conveyor System is made up of carriages from which the articles to be transported are suspended. These carriages move along a profile to the removal point. Glove compartment doors, roof liners and dash panel trims can all be moved efficiently and compactly using suspended conveyor technology. The result is a well-organised production line and warehouse.

Supplying materials even more efficiently

Transport large automotive parts, textiles or cable harnesses by suspending them – the item Suspended Conveyor System offers the perfect solution for your internal material handling operations.

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New dimension thanks to suspended conveyor technology – fewer empty containers, more space

When using the Suspended Conveyor System, the production line can be supplied with around one and a half times as many materials or even more, depending on the component.

To give you an example from the automotive industry, glove compartment doors are typically transported in SLCs. Empty SLCs that are being returned to their original location still take up the same amount of space as when they’re full. Not exactly ideal, is it? Things are different with our Suspended Conveyor System, because the volume when empty is reduced. Once the articles have been removed, that just leaves the much smaller carriages, which take up far less space – both during storage and when they are being returned. These carriages can be collected in a single SLC to return them, and the space previously used for empty SLCs can be freed up for other purposes. As a result, the production line can be supplied with more materials in one go – up to one and a half times as many as with conventional SLC systems.

Suspending roof liners for transport doubles the available space

Another prime example of how our suspended conveyor technology is being put to good use is the transport of roof liners. These large components take up a huge amount of storage space, as they normally have to be stacked. The problem with this is that, in order to ensure the roof liners at the bottom aren’t damaged, you end up with a large number of stacks, each containing just a few components.

With our system, on the other hand, the roof liners can be transported more gently by suspending them. Two adjacent conveyor rails are attached to the ceiling, with two carriages (one per rail) transporting each liner. This reduces the risk of damage and means the available space is used far more efficiently. Whereas roughly 20 m² was previously required for pallets and routes, only half the space is now needed for the same amount of materials. What’s more, the suspended system makes pallets superfluous and therefore frees up both warehouse and production line space.

The pallets and associated routes can easily take up as much as 20 m². Using a Suspended Conveyor System significantly reduces the space required.

The Suspended Conveyor System isn’t just ideal for transporting glove compartment doors and roof liners – it’s also suitable for cables, dash panel trims, car mats, measuring devices and other components used in the automotive industry. The system is a perfect solution for transporting products and components in other industries, too. It can also be used as a pouch sorter, for instance.

item Suspended Conveyor System – ideal for transporting car mats and clothing using suspended conveyor technology
The Suspended Conveyor System is ideal for transporting car mats (left), but also clothing (right).

Powered by gravity – an easy way to save energy

The ingenious thing about our system is that we harness the force of gravity to transport components. A slight incline of just 3° is sufficient for the carriages to move on their own – without any additional energy requirements. This makes our Suspended Conveyor System not only an environmentally friendly solution, but also an extremely cost-efficient one.

The item Suspended Conveyor System consists of aluminium conveyor rails up to six metres long that can be connected together as required, are easy to shorten and are perfect for combining with other item components. An intelligent fastening technique is used to attach the rails, at a 3° incline, to a frame made from our Profile Tube System D30. This creates transport trolleys or frames with integrated suspended conveyor technology.

Besides being ESD-safe, the carriages are also true all-rounders. Hooks or other holders can easily be attached to their universal connection point to safely convey components weighing up to 5 kg. The carriages slide along the low-friction conveyor rail to the removal point, where an end stop halts them and the components can be taken off. This ensures reliable transport, even over lengthy distances.

Suspended conveyor technology – transport harnessing the force of gravity
Transport harnessing the force of gravity – the carriages travel along the conveyor rail to the removal point, where they are easy to detach.

Wide-ranging applications – introduction of curves means more potential uses

Following recent additions to the system, it’s now also possible for articles to travel around curves. This opens up even greater scope for use in complex production processes. The 45° and 90° curves are easy to attach to the conveyor rail profiles as necessary, while their special shape stops carriages from canting and keeps them safely on track, even when moving at high speed.

Our new 45° and 90° curves keep the carriages safely on track, even when moving at high speed.

Further components are available for our suspended conveyor technology to control the material flow. One example is Separator 6, Carriage D37-32 for the sequential infeed of materials. What’s more, as a mechanical, semi-automated solution, the system can also be used in Karakuri/LCA applications or for shooters, meaning that products can be transferred from transport vehicles to material supply racks without any need for manual handling.

45° and 90° curves for the item Suspended Conveyor System
Carriages can be guided to any point on a frame using the 45° and 90° curves for the item Suspended Conveyor System.

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