Material Handling Equipment

Positioning Equipment

Positioning equipment is used to handle material at a

single location so that the material is in the correct
position for subsequent handling, machining, transport,
or storage. Unlike transport equipment, positioning
equipment is usually used for handling at a single
workplace. Material can also be positioned manually
using no equipment.

Material Handling Equipment - 1

Material Handling Equipment

Positioning Equipment

As compared to manual handling, the use of positioning

equipment can provide the following benefits [Modern
Materials Handling, Sept. 1993]:
raise the productivity of each worker when the frequency of
handling is high,
improve product quality and limit damage to materials and
equipment when the item handled is heavy or awkward to hold and
damage is likely through human error or inattention, and
reduce fatigue and injuries when the environment is hazardous or
inaccessible.

Material Handling Equipment - 2

Material Handling Equipment

Positioning Equipment

Manual (no equipment)

Lift/tilt/turn table
Dock leveler
Ball transfer table
Rotary index table
Parts feeder
Air film device

Material Handling Equipment - 3

Hoist
Balancer
Manipulator
Rigid-link manipulator
Articulated jib crane manipulator
Vacuum manipulator
Industrial robot

Lift/Tilt/Turn Table
Used when positioning involves the lifting, tilting,
or turning of a load.
Can be used to reduce or limit a workers lifting
and/or reaching motions.

Lift/Tilt/Turn Table

Dock Leveler
Dock Leveler

Used at loading docks to

compensate for height
differences between a truck bed
and the dock

Rotary Index Table

Used for the synchronous transfer
of small parts from station to station
in a single work center
Since each part moves between
stations at the same time, it is
difficult to put buffers between
stations

Rotary Index Table

Material Handling Equipment

Positioning Equipment

Balancer
Mechanism used to support and control loads so that an
operator need only guide a balanced (weightless) load,
thus providing precision positioning

Hoist
Used for vertical translation (i.e., lifting and lowering) of loads
Can be operated manually, electrically, or pneumatically

Material Handling Equipment

Positioning Equipment
Rigid-Link Manipulator
Parts Feeder

Material Handling Equipment - 8

Industrial Robot

Material Handling Equipment

Transport Equipment - Conveyors

Conveyors are used:

1. When material is to be moved frequently between specific points
2. To move materials over a fixed path
3. When there is a sufficient flow volume to justify the fixed conveyor
investment

Conveyors can be classified in

different ways:
1. Type of product being handled: unit load or bulk load
2. Location of the conveyor: overhead, on-floor, or in-floor
3. Whether or not loads can accumulate on the conveyor

Material Handling Equipment

Chute conveyor
Wheel conveyor
Roller conveyor
Gravity roller conveyor
Live (powered) roller conveyor
Chain conveyor
Slat conveyor
Flat belt conveyor
Magnetic belt conveyor
Troughed belt conveyor
Bucket conveyor
Vibrating conveyor
Screw conveyor
Pneumatic conveyor
Dilute-phase pneumatic conveyor
Carrier-system pneumatic conveyor

Vertical conveyor
Vertical lift conveyor
Reciprocating vertical conveyor
Cart-on-track conveyor
Tow conveyor
Trolley conveyor
Power-and-free conveyor
Monorail
Sortation conveyor
Diverter
Pop-up device
Sliding shoe device
Tilting device
Cross-belt transfer device

Conveyor Types
Roller
Skatewheel
Belt
Chain conveyors
Infloor tow line conveyor
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
Uses a series of skate wheels mounted on a shaft (or axle)
Spacing of the wheels is dependent on the load being transported
More economical than the roller conveyor
For light-duty applications
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)

 For transporting light- and medium-weight

loads between operations, departments,
levels, and buildings
When an incline or decline is required
Provides considerable control over the
orientation and placement of load

Cart-On-Track Conveyor
Carts ride on a track above floor level
Carts are driven by a spinning tube
Drive wheel connected to each cart
rests on tube and is used to vary the
speed of the cart (by varying angle of
contact between drive wheel and the
tube)
Carts are independently controlled

2008 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This material is protected under all copyright laws as
they currently exist.
No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. For the
exclusive use of adopters of the book
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Third Edition, by Mikell P. Groover.

Chute Conveyor
Unit/Bulk + On-Floor + Accumulate
Inexpensive
Used to link two handling devices
Used to provide accumulation in
shipping areas
Used to convey items between floors
Difficult to control position of the
items

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
Uses a series of trolleys supported from or within an overhead track
Trolleys are equally spaced in a closed loop path and are suspended
from a chain
Does not work for accumulation
Commonly used in processing, assembly, packaging, and storage
operations

2008 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This material is protected under all copyright laws as
they currently exist.
No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. For the
exclusive use of adopters of the book
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Third Edition, by Mikell P. Groover.

2008 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved. This material is protected under all copyright laws as
they currently exist.
No portion of this material may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher. For the
exclusive use of adopters of the book
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Third Edition, by Mikell P. Groover.

Power and free overhead conveyor

Chain conveyors
Unit + In-/On-Floor + No
Accumulation
Uses one or more endless chains on
which loads are carried directly
Parallel chain configuration used as
(chain) pallet conveyor or as a popup device for sortation

Bucket Conveyor
Bulk + On-Floor
Used to move bulk materials in a vertical or
inclined path
Buckets are attached to a cable, chain, or belt
Buckets are automatically unloaded at the end of
the conveyor run

Screw Conveyor
Bulk + On-Floor
Consists of a tube or U-shaped stationary trough
through which a shaft-mounted helix revolves to
push loose material forward in a horizontal or
inclined direction
Most widely used conveyors in the processing
industry, with many applications in
agricultural
chemical processing

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

Material Handling Equipment

Transport Equipment - Cranes

General characteristics of cranes:

1. Used to move loads over variable (horizontal and vertical) paths
within a restricted area
2. Used when there is insufficient (or intermittent) flow volume
such that the use of a conveyor cannot be justified
3. Provide more flexibility in movement than conveyors
4. Provide less flexibility in movement than industrial trucks
5. Loads handled are more varied with respect to their shape and
weight than those handled by a conveyor
6. Most cranes utilize hoists for vertical movement, although
manipulators can be used if precise positioning of the load is
required

Material Handling
Equipment
Transport Equipment - Cranes

Cranes are used to move materials over variable paths

within a restricted area. The major types of cranes are:

Jib crane
Bridge crane
Gantry crane
Stacker crane

Material Handling Equipment - 32

Jib crane
Horizontal boom (jib) supported from a
stationary vertical support

Hoist can move along the jib and can be used

for lifting
Operates like an arm in a work area, where it
can function as a manipulator for positioning
tasks
Jib can also be mounted on the wall
Arm can rotate up to 360

Jib Crane

Bridge crane
Bridge mounted on tracks that are located on
opposite walls of the facility
Enables three-dimensional handling
Top riding (heavier loads) or underhung
(more versatile) versions of the crane
Underhung crane can transfer loads and
interface with other MHS (e.g., monorail
systems)

Bridge Crane

Gantry Crane
Single leg, double leg, and mobile types of gantry cranes
Similar to a bridge crane except that it is floor supported at
one or both ends instead of overhead (wall) supported
Used to span a smaller portion of the work area as compared
to a bridge crane
The supports can be fixed in position or they can travel on
runways
Can be used outdoors when floor supported at both ends

Material Handling Equipment

Transport Equipment - Cranes

Gantry Crane

Material Handling Equipment - 36

Stacker Crane
Similar to a bridge crane except that, instead
of a hoist, it uses a mast with forks or a
platform to handle unit loads
Stacker Crane

Considered fork trucks on a rail

Used for storing and retrieving unit loads in
storage racks, especially in high-rise
applications in which the racks are more than
50 feet high
Can be controlled remotely or by an operator
in a cab on the mast
Can be rack supported