1 Material Handling and Identification Technologies
1 Material Handling and Identification Technologies
1 Material Handling and Identification Technologies
IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES
Sections:
1. Introduction to Material Handling Equipment
2. Material Transport Equipment
3. Analysis of Material Transport Systems
Material Handling Defined
3. Simplification principle:
Simplify handling by reducing, eliminating, or combining
unnecessary movement and/or equipment.
Four questions to ask to simplify any job:
Can this job be eliminated?
If we cant eliminate, can we combine movements to
reduce cost? (unit load concept)
If we cant eliminate or combine, can we rearrange
the operations to reduce the travel distance?
If we cant do any of the above, can we simplify?
Principles of Material Handling
4. Gravity principle
Utilize gravity to move material whenever practical.
5. Space utilization principle
The better we use our building cube, the less space we
need to buy or rent.
Racks, mezzanines, and overhead conveyors are a few
examples that promote this goal.
Principles of Material Handling
8. Automation principle
MH operations should be mechanized and/or
automated where feasible to improve operational
efficiency, increase responsiveness, improve
consistency and predictability, decrease operating
costs.
ASRS is a perfect example.
Principles of Material Handling
Five categories:
1. Industrial trucks
2. Automated guided vehicles
3. Monorails and other rail guided vehicles
4. Conveyors
5. Cranes and hoists
Industrial Trucks
Paint strips - Paint strips are used to define the pathway & the vehicle
uses an optical sensor system capable of tracking the paint.
-The strips can be taped, sprayed, or painted on the floor
-Optical sensors on-board vehicles track the white paint strips
Self-guided vehicles - vehicles use a combination of
Dead reckoning - Dead reckoning refers to the capability of a vehicle
to follow a given route in the absence of a defined pathway in the floor
-vehicle counts wheel turns in given direction to move without
guidance
-Movement of the vehicle along the route is accomplished by
computing the required number of wheel rotations in a sequence of
specified steering angles.
-The computations are performed by the vehicle's on-board computer.
Vehicle Guidance Technology
Vehicle dispatching
1. On-board control panel
2. Remote call stations
3. Central computer control
Vehicle Safety
Roller
Skate-wheel
Belt
Chain
In-floor towline
Overhead trolley conveyor
Cart-on-track conveyor
Roller Conveyor
Similar in operation to
roller conveyor but use
skate wheels rotating on
shafts instead of rollers
Lighter weight and
unpowered
Sometimes built as
portable units that can be
used for loading and
unloading truck trailers in
shipping and receiving
Belt Conveyor
A trolley is a wheeled
carriage running on an
overhead track from which
loads can be suspended
Trolleys are connected and
moved by a chain or cable
that forms a complete loop
Often used in factories to
move parts and assemblies
between major production
areas
They can be used for both
delivery and storage.
Cart-On-Track Conveyor
(a) (b)
Bridge Crane
A bridge crane consists of one or two horizontal girders or
beams suspended between fixed rails on either end which
are connected to the structure of the building
Bridge Crane