Application No.6: Conveyor systems
This conveyor system could be a typical animated example of an industrial installation. It
includes two conveyor belts, each driven by a three-phase electrical motor. The first
conveyor belt, placed horizontally, can travel in one direction only; the second, placed
vertically, can travel in both directions.
Their task is to transport the boxes which are on-loaded at the beginning of the first
conveyor. From the first conveyor, boxes are transported and transferred onto the second
conveyor belt. At this point, they may proceed in two different directions, according to
the direction of rotation of
motor M2. The boxes are of two different lengths and colours, the length is detected by sensors; the difference in colour is a mere
esthetical feature which does not fall within the scope of automation but is there to help the
operator identify the box type.
The system may be automated in various ways. For instance, you may divert blue boxes
(longer) to the second conveyor traveling in one direction and yellow boxes (shorter) in
the reverse direction. Count the total number of boxes, identify how many blue and how
many yellow boxes are included.
Boxes may also be diverted according to their quantity rather than their length: for
example, five upwards and the same quantity downwards.
We are sure that you will be able to include even more handling procedures using your
imagination.
