THE PROBLEM: One problem the firm had been encountering was obtaining a smooth infeed from the belt conveyor to the wrapping area. Back-ups and jamming resulted in spillage, damage and waste - of both product and time. Once in the wrapping area, accumulation was necessary to enable manual unloading of the product from the conveyor surface into the shrink wrap equipment. An additional concern was the interaction between cleaning solution and certain conveyor surface materials. A black substance frequently emerged which marred tray bottoms.
THE SOLUTION: After achieving effective results from a small section of Slip-Torque positioned elsewhere in their operation, the firm gave Shuttleworth the opportunity to provide solutions to these production problems. The result? Shuttleworth engineered and manufactured a system consisting of a large racetrack area to facilitate manual unloading and three infeed sections featuring an inclined "bridge". Special interfaces eliminated jams and spills at infeed areas.
THE BENEFITS: Any down-time in an operation which processes more than 400,000 chickens daily would be at best disastrous! This Shuttleworth accumulation system allows production to continue - even if shrink wrap or packing operations fail. Simultaneously, this application offers speed in product handling: up to 400 trays of parts per minute. Highly polished stainless steel shafts and specially dyed rollers manufactured by Shuttleworth keep unmarred packages up to USDA standards, while enabling equipment to take the punishment of heavy wash-down.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
- Page 4, photo C shows an overview of how the middle infeed section prevents congestion in the accumulation areas. The trays enter the conveyor bed from one of the two ramps.
- A detailed photograph of the one-way incline section is on page 4, photo D. The center lane supports insure product line separation, and the custom made press fit coarse pitch rollers provide positive drive to prevent slippage.
- A skewed conveyor surface keeps the products close to the outer guiderail, making for easier manual unloading. A special corner bumper assembly also helps maintain product orientation. Stainless steel cleanout allows this firm to meet USDA standards for the poultry industry. (Page 4, photo E.)
COMPONENTS:
- 40 section of Slip-Torque conveyor of varying widths and lengths
- Sanitary frame design
- Skewed conveyor surface
- Corner bumper assembly
- Specially designed incline section