Major Material Handling Equipment

1. Conveyors
Conveyors are used:
ü When material is to be moved frequently
between specific points.
ü To move materials over a fixed path.
ü When there is a sufficient flow volume to
justify the fixed conveyor investment.
1. Conveyors….
Conveyors can be classified in different ways:
ü Type of product being handled: unit load or
bulk load.
ü Location of the conveyor: in-floor, on-floor, or
overhead.
ü Whether loads can accumulate on the conveyor
or no accumulation is possible.
1.1. Wheel Conveyor
• Uses a series of skatewheels mounted on a shaft
(or axle)
• Spacing of the wheels is dependent on the load
being transported
• Slope for gravity movement depends on load
weight
• More economical than the roller conveyor
• For light-duty applications
• Flexible, expandable mobile versions available
1.1. Wheel Conveyor
1.2. Roller Conveyor
• May be powered (or live) or non-powered (or
gravity).
• Materials must have a rigid riding surface.
• Minimum of three rollers must support smallest
loads at all times.
• Tapered rollers on curves used to maintain load
orientation.
• Parallel roller configuration can be used as a
(roller) pallet conveyor.
1.2 (a) Gravity Roller Conveyor
• For heavy-duty applications
• Slope (i.e., decline) for gravity movement
depends on load weight
1.2 (b) Live (powered) Roller Conveyor

• Belt or chain driven.

• Force-sensitive transmission
can be used to disengage
rollers for accumulation.
• For accumulating loads and
merging/sorting operations.
• Provides limited incline
movement capabilities.
1.3. Chain Conveyor
• Uses one or more endless chains on which
loads are carried directly.
• Parallel chain configuration used as (chain)
pallet conveyor or as a pop-up device for
sortation.
• Vertical chain conveyor used for continuous
high-frequency vertical transfers, where
material on horizontal platforms attached to
chain link.
Chain Conveyor Flat belt conveyor
1.4. Flat Belt Conveyor
• 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.
• No smooth accumulation, merging, and sorting
on the belt .
1.4. Flat Belt Conveyor…
• The belt is roller or slider bed supported; the
slider bed is used for small and irregularly
shaped items
• Telescopic boom attachments are available for
trailer loading and unloading, and can include
ventilation to pump conditioned air into the
trailer.
1.5. Magnetic Belt Conveyor
• A steel belt and either a
magnetic slider bed or a
magnetic pulley is used.
• To transport ferrous
materials vertically,
upside down, and
around corners.
1.6. Troughed Belt Conveyor
• Used to transport bulk materials.
• When loaded, the belt conforms to the shape of
the troughed rollers and idlers.
1.7. Bucket Conveyor
• 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.
1. 8. Vibrating Conveyor
• Consists of a trough, bed, or tube.
• Vibrates at a relatively high frequency and
small amplitude in order to convey individual
units of products or bulk material.
• Can be used to convey almost all granular, free-
flowing materials.
1.9. Screw Conveyor
• 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.
• One of the most widely used conveyors in the
processing industry, with many applications in
agricultural and chemical processing.
• Straight-tube screw conveyor sometimes referred to as
an “auger feed”
 2.2. Major Material Handling Equipment
1.10. Vertical Conveyor
• Used for low-frequency intermittent vertical
transfers a load to different floors and/or
mezzanines.
• Differs from a freight elevator in that it is not
designed or certified to carry people.
• Can be manually or automatically loaded
and/or controlled and can interface with
horizontal conveyors.
1.10. Vertical Conveyor…
2. Cranes
• General characteristics of cranes:
ü Used to move loads over variable (horizontal
and vertical) paths within a restricted area.
ü Used when there is insufficient (or
intermittent) flow volume such that the use of a
conveyor cannot be justified.
ü Provide more flexibility in movement than
conveyors.
2. Cranes….
ü Provide less flexibility in movement than
industrial trucks.
ü Loads handled are more varied with respect to
their shape and weight than those handled by a
conveyor.
ü Most cranes utilize hoists for vertical
movement, although manipulators can be used
if precise positioning of the load is required.
2.1. 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°.
2.2. Bridge Crane
• Bridge mounted on tracks
that are located on opposite
walls of the facility.
• Enables three-dimensional
handling.
• Top riding or underhung
versions of the crane.
• Underhung crane can
transfer loads and interface
with other MHS.
2.3. 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.
2.3. Gantry Crane…
2.4. 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.
• 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.
2.4. Stacker Crane…
3. Industrial Trucks
• Industrial trucks are trucks that are not licensed
to travel on public roads—“commercial trucks”
are licensed to travel on public roads.
• Industrial trucks are:
ü Used to move materials over variable paths
with no restrictions on the area covered.
ü Provide vertical movement if the truck has
lifting capabilities.
3. Industrial Trucks…

ü Used when there is insufficient (or intermittent)

flow volume such that the use of a conveyor
cannot be justified.

ü Provide more flexibility in movement than

conveyors and cranes.
3.1. Hand Truck
• Simplest type of industrial truck
3.1(a). Two-wheeled Hand Truck
• Load tilted during travel.
• Good for moving a load up or
down stairways.
3.1(b). Dolly
• Three or more wheeled hand
truck with a flat platform in
which, since it has no handles,
the load is used for pushing.
3.1(c). Floor Hand Truck
• Four or more wheeled hand truck with handles
for pushing or hitches for pulling.
• Sometimes referred to as a “cart” or “(manual)
platform truck”

Tilt floor hand truck Order picking cart

3.2. Pallet Jack
• Front wheels are mounted inside the end of the
forks and extend to the floor as the pallet is
only lifted enough to clear the floor for
subsequent travel.
• Pallet restrictions: reversible pallets cannot be
used, double-faced nonreversible pallets cannot
have deckboards where the front wheels extend
to the floor, and enables only two-way entry
into a four-way notched-stringer pallet because
the forks cannot be inserted into the notches.
3.2. (a) Manual Pallet Jack
• Manual lifting and/or travel.

3.2.(b) Powered Pallet Jack

• Powered lifting and/or
travel.
• Powered pallet jack is
sometimes referred to as a
“(walkie) pallet truck”
3.3. Pallet Truck
• Control handle typically tilts to allow operator
to walk during loading/unloading.
• Powered pallet jack is sometimes referred to as
a “(walkie) pallet truck”
3.3. Counterbalanced (CB) Lift Truck
• Sometimes referred to as a “fork truck”.
• Weight of vehicle behind the front wheels of truck is
counterbalances weight of the load and front wheels
act as fulcrum or pivot point.
• Rated capacity reduced for load centers greater than
24 in. and lift heights greater than 13 ft.
• Workhorses of material handling because of their
flexibility: indoor/outdoor operation over a variety of
different surfaces; variety of load capacities available;
and variety of attachments available—fork
attachments can replace the forks or enhance the
capabilities of the forks
Sit-down Counterbalanced Lift Truck
3.4. Tractor-Trailer
• Non-load-carrying tractor used to pull a train of
trailers (i.e., dollies or floor hand trucks).
• Advantage: Enables a single operator to
transport multiple floor hand trucks in a single
move.
• Disadvantage: Requires wide aisles or open
spaces to operate.
• Manual version of a tow AGV.
• Typically used at airports for baggage handling
3.4. Tractor-Trailer…
3.5. Personnel and Burden Carrier
• Non-load-carrying vehicle used to transport
personnel within a facility (e.g., golf cart,
bicycle, etc.)
3.6. Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV)
• AGVs do not require an operator.
• Good for high labor cost, hazardous, or
environmentally sensitive conditions (e.g.,
clean-room) .
• AGVs good for low-to-medium volume
medium-to-long distance random material flow
operations (e.g., transport between work cells
in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS)
environment).
3.6. Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV)…
• Two means of guidance can be used for AGV
systems:
ü Fixed path: Physical guide path (e.g., wire,
tape, paint) on the floor used for guidance.
ü Free-ranging: No physical guide path, thus
easier to change vehicle path (in software), but
absolute position estimates are needed to
correct dead-reckoning error.
3.6.(a) Tow AGV
• Used to pull a train of trailers.
• Automated version of a tractor trailer.
• Trailers usually loaded manually.
3.6.(b) Unit load AGV
• Have decks that can be loaded manually or
automatically.
• Deck can include conveyor or lift/lower mechanism for
automatic loading.
• Typically 4 by 4 feet and can carry 1–2,000 lb. loads.
• Typically less than 10 vehicles in AGV system.
3.6.(c) Assembly AGV
• Used as assembly platforms (e.g., car chassis,
engines, appliances).
• Typically 50–100 vehicles in AGV system.
Type or classification of
Material Handling
Equipment (MHE)
by other Scholar
Classification of MHE
• The nature of industries, manufacturing processes involved and
types / designs of machines and plants in operation are
numerous.
• Consequently the variety of materials handling equipment and
systems used in industry is also very large in number and diverse
in concept and design.
• MHE can be classified based on the following basic types of
equipment:
i. Industrial Vehicles/Trucks
ii. Conveyors (Conveying Equipment)
iii. Hoisting Equipment
iv. Robotic handling system
1.Industrial Vehicles/Trucks
• Suitable for the movement of mixed or unitized load,
intermittently, where primary function is
maneuvering or transporting.
• Manual or power driven

• The three categories of industrial vehicles are

walking, riding and automated guided.
Walking Industrial Vehicles
• Walking industrial vehicles can be classified as hand
driven and power driven.
Two Wheel Hand Truck

Bent-noise truck Heavy-duty truck Single-grip handle Single-cylinder

for bags for boxes truck for beverage truck
 Cont’d
• Hand Lift Trucks
Powered Industrial Trucks
• It is used to lift, maneuver, and transport
material for short distance.
• Its battery powered for both lifting and
transporting.

Pallet lift truck(battery)

Riding Industrial Vehicles
• Allow the vehicle operator to ride to, form, and
between locations.
• They are typically used for longer moves than walking
vehicles and also offer additional weight and storage
height capacity.

stand-up counterbalanced fork truck double reach fork truck

Fork Lift Trucks
• These are self loading, counterbalanced, powered,
wheeled vehicles, with the operator seating on the
vehicle.
• Designed for lifting, lowering, loading and unloading
and maneuvering of medium to large weight, uniform
shaped unit loads, intermittently.
Automated Guided Vehicles(AGVs)
• The AGVs belongs to a class of highly flexible,
intelligent and versatile material handling systems
used to transport materials from various loading
locations throughout a facility.

• An AGV is a material handling system that is

independently operated, steerable, wheeled vehicle,
driven by electric motors using storage batteries; and
it follows a predefined path along an aisle.
 Cont’d

Driverless train
Pallet truck

Unit load vehicle

Automated Storage and Retrieval system(AS/RS)
• A n A S / RS c o ns i s ts of a va r i e ty of c o m p u t e r -
controlled methods for automatically placing and
retrieving loads from specific storage locations.
• Typically used in applications where:
o There is a very high volume of loads being moved
into and out of storage;
o Storage density is important because of space
constraints;
o Accuracy is critical because of potential expensive
damages to the load.
Single mast machine Double mast machine

Man-on-board AS/RS
 Deep-lane AS/RS
Miniload AS/RS

Typical Load/unload Configurations

Unloading Equipment's
Feeding Equipment's
2. Conveyors (Conveying Equipment)
• These are gravity or powered equipment
commonly used for moving bulk materials in
process industries or unit load continuously or
intermittently, uni-directionally from one
point to another over fixed path.
Typical Conveyors

Belt Conveyor Oscillating Conveyor

 Cont’d

Apron Conveyor Screw Conveyor

 Cont’d

Flight Conveyor Pneumatic Conveyors

 Cont’d

Bucket Elevator
3.Hoisting Equipment
• Hosting equipment are usually powered
equipment used for lifting and lowering unit
and varying loads intermittently.

• The primary function of hoisting equipment is

transferring through lifting and lowering
operations.
Hoisting Equipments
Jacks
Hoisting Equipments
Winches
• The means of traction employed into
rope winches and chain winches;
• The way of mounting, into stationary
winches and mobile winches;
• The number of drums, into single­
drum, twin-drum, and multi-drum
winches; and
• The type of drum used, into grooved-,
smooth-, and whelped-drum winches.
Hoisting Equipments
Capstans
Hoisting Equipments
Hoists
Hoisting Equipments
Lifts
Hoisting Equipments
Travelling cantilever wall cranes
Hoisting Equipments
Bridge crane
Hoisting Equipments
Tower crane
4.Robotic handling system
• Designed to move material, parts, tools, or
specialized devices through variable
programmed motions for the performance of
a variety of tasks.
Robotic handling system