Material Handling Technologies in the Production System

Material Transport Systems

Sections:
1. Introduction to Material Handling Equipment
2. Material Transport Equipment
3. Analysis of Material Transport Systems
Material Handling

“The movement, storage, protection and control of materials

throughout the manufacturing and distribution process including
their consumption and disposal”
Material Handling
• Handling of materials must be performed
• Safely
• Efficiently
• At low cost
• In a timely manner
• Accurately (the right materials in the right quantities to the right
locations)
• And without damage to the materials
Logistics
Concerned with the acquisition, movement, storage, and distribution
of materials and products as well as the planning and control of these
operations to satisfy customer demand.

• Two categories of logistics:

• External logistics - transportation and related activities that occur
outside of a facility (between different geographical locations)
• Five traditional modes of transportation: rail truck, air, ship, and
pipeline
• Internal logistics - material handling and storage within a facility
Categories of Material Handling Equipment

1. Material transport equipment - to move materials inside a factory,

warehouse, or other facility
2. Storage - to store materials and provide access to those
materials when required
3. Unitizing equipment - refers to
• containers to hold materials, and
• equipment used to load and package the containers
4. Identification and tracking systems - to identify and keep track of
the materials being moved and stored
Design Considerations in Material Handling

• Material characteristics
• Flow rate, routing, and scheduling
• Plant layout
• Unit load principle
Material Characteristics

• Material characteristics affect type of transport and storage

equipment required
• Solid, liquid or gas
• Size
• Weight
• Shape - long, flat, bulky
• Condition - hot, cold, wet, dirty
• Risk of damage - fragile, brittle, sturdy
• Safety risk - explosive, flammable, toxic, corrosive
Flow Rate, Routing, and Scheduling

• Flow rate - amount of material moved per unit time

• Examples: pieces/hr, pallet loads/hr, tons/hr
• Whether the material must be moved in individual units, as batches, or
continuously (pipe line)
• Routing - pick-up and drop-off locations, move distances, routing
variations, conditions along the route (surface, traffic, elevation)
• Scheduling - timing of each delivery
• Prompt delivery when required
• Use of buffer stocks to mitigate against late deliveries
Plant Layout

• Material handling equipment considerations must be included in the

plant layout design problem
• Correlation between layout type and material handling equipment:
Plant layout type Material handling equipment
Fixed-position Cranes, hoists, industrial trucks
Process Hand trucks, forklift trucks, AGVs
Product Conveyors for product flow
Trucks to deliver parts to stations
Unit Load Principle (unitizing)
In general, the unit load should be as large as practical for the
material handling system that will move and store it
• A unit load is the mass that is to be moved or otherwise handled at one time
• Reasons for using unit loads in material handling:
• Multiple items handled simultaneously
• Required number of trips is reduced
• Loading/unloading times are reduced
• Product damage is decreased
Unit Load Containers

(a) Wooden pallet, (b) pallet box, (c) tote box

Material Transport Equipment

Five categories:
1. Industrial trucks
2. Automated guided vehicles
3. Monorails and other rail guided vehicles
4. Conveyors
5. Cranes and hoists
Industrial Trucks
Two basic categories:
1. Non-powered
• Human workers push or pull loads
2. Powered
• Self-propelled, guided or driven by human
• Common example: forklift truck
Nonpowered Industrial Trucks (Hand Trucks)

(a) Two-wheel hand truck,

(b) four-wheel dolly,
(c) hand-operated low-lift pallet truck
Powered Trucks: Walkie Truck

• Wheeled forks insert into pallet openings

• No provision for riding; truck is steered by worker using control
handle at front of vehicle
 Powered Trucks: Forklift Truck

• Widely used in factories and

warehouses because pallet
loads are so common.
• Capacities from 450 kg (1000
lb) up to 4500 kg (10,000 lb)
• Power sources include on-
board batteries and internal
combustion .motors
Powered Trucks: Towing Tractor

• Designed to pull one or more trailing carts in factories and

warehouses, as well as for airport baggage handling
• Powered by on-board batteries or IC engines
 Automated Guided Vehicles

An Automated Guided Vehicle System (AGVS) is a material handling system

that uses independently operated, self-propelled vehicles guided along
defined pathways in the facility floor.
• Types of AGV:
• Driverless trains
• Pallet trucks
• Unit load AGVs
 Automated Guided Vehicles:
Driverless Automated Guided Train

• First type of AGVS to be

introduced around 1954.
• Common application is
moving heavy payloads
over long distances in
warehouses and factories
without intermediate stops
along the route.
Automated Guided Vehicles: AGV Pallet Truck

• Used to move palletized

loads along predetermined
routes
• Vehicle is backed into
loaded pallet by worker;
pallet is then elevated
from floor
• Worker drives pallet truck
to AGV guide path and
programs destination
Automated Guided Vehicles:
Unit Load Carrier

• Used to move unit loads from station to station

• Often equipped for automatic loading/unloading of pallets and tote
pans using roller conveyors, moving belts, or mechanized lift
platforms
AGVs Applications

1. Driverless train operations - movement of large quantities of material

over long distances
2. Storage and distribution - movement of pallet loads between
shipping/receiving docks and storage racks
3. Assembly line operations - movement of car bodies and major
subassemblies (motors) through the assembly stations
4. Flexible manufacturing systems - movement of workparts between
machine tools
5. Miscellaneous - mail delivery and hospital supplies
Vehicle Safety
• Travel velocity of AGV is slower than typical walking speed of human
worker
• Automatic stopping of vehicle if it strays from guide path
• Acquisition distance
• Obstacle detection system in forward direction
• Use of ultrasonic sensors common
• Emergency bumper - brakes vehicle when contact is made with forward
object
• Warning lights (blinking or rotating red lights)
• Warning sounds of approaching vehicles
Rail-Guided Vehicles

• Self-propelled vehicles that ride on a fixed-rail system

• Vehicles operate independently and are driven by electric motors that
pick up power from an electrified rail
• Fixed rail system
• Overhead monorail - suspended overhead from the ceiling
• On-floor - parallel fixed rails, tracks generally protrude up from the floor
• Routing variations are possible: switches, turntables, and other special
track sections
Overhead Monorail
Conveyor Systems

Large family of material transport equipment designed to move

materials over fixed paths, usually in large quantities or volumes
1. Non-powered
• Materials moved by human workers or by gravity
2. Powered
• Power mechanism for transporting materials is contained in the fixed
path, using chains, belts, rollers or other mechanical devices
Conveyor Types
• Roller
• Skate-wheel
• Belt
• In-floor towline
• Overhead trolley conveyor
• Cart-on-track conveyor
Roller Conveyor
• Pathway consists of a series of
rollers that are perpendicular to
direction of travel
• Loads must possess a flat bottom to
span several rollers
• Powered rollers rotate to drive the
loads forward
• Un-powered roller conveyors also
available
Skate-Wheel Conveyor
• Similar in operation to roller
conveyor but use skate wheels
instead of rollers
• Lighter weight and unpowered
• Sometimes built as portable
units that can be used for
loading and unloading truck
trailers in shipping and receiving
Belt Conveyor
• Continuous loop with forward
path to move loads
• Belt is made of reinforced
elastomer
• Support slider or rollers used to
support forward loop
• Two common forms:
• Flat belt (shown)
• V-shaped for bulk materials
(Support frame not shown)
In-Floor Tow-Line Conveyor

• Four-wheel carts powered by

moving chains or cables in trenches
in the floor
• Carts use steel pins (or grippers) to
project below floor level and
engage the chain (or pulley) for
towing
• This allows the carts to be
disengaged from towline for loading
and unloading
Overhead Trolley Conveyor

• A trolley is a wheeled carriage

running on an overhead track from
which loads can be suspended
• Trolleys are connected and moved by
a chain or cable that forms a
complete loop
• Often used to move parts and
assemblies between major
production areas
Cart-On-Track Conveyor

• Carts ride on a track above

floor level
• Carts are driven by a
spinning tube
• Forward motion of cart is
controlled by a drive wheel
whose angle can be changed
from zero (idle) to 45
degrees (forward)
 Powered Conveyor Operations and Features
• Types of motions
1. Continuous - conveyor moves at constant velocity
2. Asynchronous - conveyor moves with stop-and-go motion
• They stop at stations, move between stations
• Another classification of conveyors:
1. Single direction
2. Continuous loop
3. Recirculating
 (a) Single-Direction Conveyor and
(b) Continuous Loop Conveyor

(a) Single direction

conveyor

(b) Continuous loop

conveyor
Cranes and Hoists
Handling devices for lifting, lowering and transporting materials, often as
heavy loads
• Cranes
• Used for horizontal movement of materials
• Hoists
• Used for vertical lifting of materials
• Cranes usually include hoists so that the crane-and-hoist combination
provides
• Horizontal transport
• Vertical lifting and lowering
 Hoist

Hoist with mechanical

advantage of four:
(a) sketch of the hoist
(b) diagram to
illustrate mechanical
advantage

(a) (b)
Bridge Crane
 Gantry Crane

A half-gantry crane
Jib Crane