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Operation, maintenance and safety
Published in D.V. Subba Rao, The Belt Conveyor, 2020
A combination of preventative and predictive maintenance programmes will help to ensure maximum availability and component life. A well-maintained conveyor system should be able to consistently operate with 90% mechanical availability.
Chain-Type Conveyors
Published in Muhammad E. Fayed, Thomas S. Skocir, Mechanical Conveyors, 2018
Muhammad E. Fayed, Thomas S. Skocir
First determine the following basic information required to size the system: Determine the required capacity. This should be in the form of tons per hour (TPH). The size of the conveyor and the load on the chain are determined using the capacity.Determine the length of the conveyor. This is the distance material will travel and will be the center to center distance of the sprockets.Determine the chain speed or the linear flow rate of material on the conveyor. Manufacturers of different types of chain conveyors can suggest optimum conveying speeds for various materials based on experience. Conveyor size will be determined by the chain speed. For a given required capacity, the size of the conveyor will increase as chain speed is decreased.High chain speeds will decrease chain life. Problems that may be in-significant at low speeds may become insurmountable at high speeds. Chain speeds should be kept under 200 FPM (60 m/min) for most applications. The abrasiveness of the material will determine the maximum allowable speed in most cases. The more abrasive a material is, the slower its conveying speed should be. Table 6.4 lists common materials and suitable conveying speeds.Determine the angle of inclination if one is required. Inclines will impose higher chain loads and larger horsepower requirements.Determine the type of environment under which the system will operate. This includes cleanliness conditions, method of loading, and the number of hours the system will operate in a 24-hr period.Determine the type of chain conveyor system most suitable for your application. If more than one type can perform the task at hand, do an estimate for each.
Automated generation of simulation model in context of industry 4.0
Published in International Journal of Modelling and Simulation, 2023
Michael Schlecht, Roland de Guio, Jürgen Köbler
Popovics et al. focused on the generation of simulation models based on processing data from the MES system and PLC-code [56]. The authors received product, process, and resource data, described in the ISA-95 modeling language from ERP and the behavior of the system from PLC-code. A parsing process was used to receive specific data from the PLC-code and to describe the behavior of the model. Using this data, they could model an industrial flow system with conveyors, buffers, and machines [57]. In contrast to previously analyzed approaches, the PLC-code allowed them to model complex behavior. This approach was validated using an industrial conveyor system. In [58], the authors provided a generic database and a human interface to simplify the application and validate the approach for several test cases.
Variable takt time groups and workload equilibrium
Published in International Journal of Production Research, 2022
Tobias Mönch, Arnd Huchzermeier, Peter Bebersdorf
Before introducing variable takt times, managers must check to ensure that the following minimal technical assembly requirements have been met: the conveyor can cope with variable spacing of units along the line (e.g. with the aid of AGVs); all stations can cope with the lower takt times—as compared with the fixed takt time case—of smaller units; and the information technology system (e.g. enterprise resource planning or manufacturing execution systems) are capable of handling variable takt times. For example, plants with either an apron or a fixed chain conveyor may not be able to adjust their conveyor system in a timely and cost-efficient manner. The Fendt tractor assembly plant addresses this issue by using AGVs; it also has invested in its paint shop to lower processing times enabling the takt times of its smaller models and their configurations.
An approach to develop a digital twin for industry 4.0 systems: manufacturing automation case studies
Published in International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 2021
David Guerra-Zubiaga, Vladimir Kuts, Kashif Mahmood, Alex Bondar, Navid Nasajpour-Esfahani, Tauno Otto
The physical prototype of the manufacturing line was commissioned prior to this study for another project. This study saw the addition of a cabinet containing a Siemens S7-1500 series PLC and an HMI with an E-Stop. This PLC acted as an override to control the various conveyors on the line and represented the first step in understanding how to implement the Digital Twin. The S7-1500 series was selected as a physical surrogate platform to test the override functionality. Once the safety system was vetted, it was substituted with a virtual PLC simulated by PLCSIM Advanced. Each conveyor was connected to a variable frequency drive (VFD), which controls the rotational speed of the conveyor. To adhere to safety protocols, the conveyor system may be disabled if a breach is detected by one of several protective laser curtains controlled by the safety PLC. Figure 3 depicts the physical prototype of the conveyor system.