Conveyors play an important role in a wide range of industries. They play a critical role in almost all material handling operations. Choosing the correct conveyor for the correct material handling application is critical to success.
You can only purchase Alba conveyor through our Alba Partner Network (APN) of distributors, systems integrators, and OEMs. When working with an APN member to determine what type of conveyor will be needed for your application, we ask a series of questions with the goal of providing the proper conveyor for the required application.
Many of the questions we ask are listed below:
- What are we handling and what’s needed? Type of product? Filling Application? Bulk? Robotic or stretch wrap application?
- What is the environment? Temperature (freezer, cooler or hotter)? Wet or wash down area? Moisture or oils? Salt? Airborne debris?
- Tell us about your pallet. The type: transport skids, pallets (wood, metal, CHEP, GMA, plastic), sheets, container, solid deck, block, four-way entry, double face, stringer?
- Your throughput requirements: Size, type and maximum weight, number of pallets per hour?
- Pallet orientation on conveyor? Which edge is leading when the pallet is being conveyed?
- What is the top of roller elevation (TOR)? Some people call this the “pass height” of the conveyor.
- What is the conveyor speed or approximate feet per minute (FPM)? Knowing the speed and the maximum load allows us to properly size the horsepower of the drive.
- Is there a motor/reducer required? (Alba standard is Baldor/Dodge Tigear II)
- What roller finish is required? Steel, polyurethane, galvanized, or zinc plated?
- Pre-Mounted Devices? (Alba standard devices are IFM Efector (IG7101) for Proximity Sensors and Banner Retro-reflective (QS18VP6LPQ8) for Photo Eyes)
- Motor disconnects? (What brand and part number?)
- Conveyor color? We can match existing conveyor colors, but our standard colors are Alba Blue with Safety Yellow Guards.
- How will you load and unload the pallet? A palletizer, manual filling, robot, forklift?
- Any other special requirements?
A dependable member of our Alba Partner Network (an OEM, a System Integrator, or a Distributor) will be able to better guide and assess your needs with answers to the above questions.
If you’re in the market for a new heavy-duty pallet handling conveyor system, contact the team at Alba Manufacturing. We can put you in touch with an APN member who can simplify the process and help you determine the best solution for your application.