There are a number of things required in the industrial sector, warehouses and transportation business. Conveyors are predominantly an essential part of these businesses (and also some other production houses that involves moving and transporting products from one point to another). In short, conveyors are being instilled into industries more rapidly nowadays.
Though we know how important conveyors are in the workplace, and how efficient and convenient they can make our work, we still are hesitant to install them sometimes. There may be hesitation on your part because your lack of knowledge or perhaps confusion about which conveyor rollers or belts are best suitable for your business.
Steps to Choose a Conveyor System
With almost dozens of options available in terms of materials, configurations, sizes and accessories, choosing a good conveyor system can be confusing. You definitely need to understand in detail which would be the best for you amidst the varieties of belt conveyor from Wainwright Engineering Services. They help you get the best conveyor systems of excellent quality for your workplace and can even customise them to suit your preferences. But for other details, read how you can decide which one to opt for!
- Nature of your products — This is the basic criteria of choosing any conveyor belt. If you are dealing with edible items, make sure the conveyors you choose are USDA/FDA-approved sanitary belts. Ensure that it’s made up of a material that’s suitable for your products, can be detachable and easy to clean and reattach. If you deal with heavy objects, it’s better to prefer systems of high-quality metal or rubber that can bear the load. While a flat belt is best suitable for applications that need simple conveyance of materials, huge and heavier objects demand a steadier option like modular plastic belting.
- Size of the conveyor — Be really alert when you are going for a readymade conveyor system. It may be of a prefixed size which won’t fit your unit or area for installation. There are also certain companies that specially design your preferred systems taking into consideration the area you suggest for its application. Also, if you would be loading and unloading huge products in it, make sure the conveyor systems are of bigger sizes.
- Configurations — Keeping in mind the important factors like desired flow of the products to the speed in which they would be conveyed, you can decide about the best structural configuration for the conveyor system. This configuration helps you design the best and the most suitable system in accordance to the weight and size of the system that’ll be needed, and also the way in which the system will proceed. (Straight or curve)
- Temperature of the workplace — The temperature of the workplace also plays an important part while choosing the system. Even though it may be of room temperature, if the products dealt with are of higher or lower thermal degree, it impacts that system a lot. For example, stainless steel wire mesh belting is best suitable for high heat environments.
- Machine or gravity operated — According to the demand and nature of your procedure, you can choose conveyors which are either machine operated or those working on gravity. While a machine operated system works rapidly and automatically, for example a belt conveyor, a gravity-based system may need some manual help in assisting them in their operation. For example, skate wheel or roller conveyor, which is also great for curved processes, has only one drawback – it is a comparatively slow processor than the machine operated conveyors.
- Safety of the unit and the people operating it — Safety measures are always provided by the companies that manufacture these systems. Always choose the ones which are designed from a reliable brand and upgrade with all the latest safety precautions. But if there are none, make sure to assign some guards on the system in order to avoid any kind of unfortunate issue happening to the products, system or the workers working around it.
- Budget — Last but definitely not the least, the price of the conveyor system should be taken into consideration before installing it. If you are getting a good customised one in just a little margin above the readymade one, better personalise it and then install it. This will ensure you better operation and productivity just with a little extra expense incurred. You can also compare the rates of the same taking into consideration the materials used or the sizes and choose the most pocket friendly option for your business. But make sure the machine you choose can handle your needs – else the entire investment would be a waste.
Installing a conveyor system can be tricky and tough, but it positively impacts your business’ growth and production (rapidly too!). These systems make your task a lot easier, guarantees efficiency and customer satisfaction. Hence, when investing in these, be wise and check these points for hassle-free experience at your workplace.