Put simply, this is probably the first book in 40 years to comprehensively discuss conveyors, a topic that seems mundane until the need arises to move material from point A to point B without manual intervention. Conveyors: Application, Selection, and Integration gives industrial designers, engineers, and operations managers key information they must consider to determine which type of conveyor to purchase and how to optimally integrate it into their system to meet their transport needs.
Tapping into his more than 20 years of experience in the materials handling industry, the author discusses requirements for specific products or materials and environmental factors, covering operation in extreme temperatures. Each chapter details a specific type of conveyor—including chain, belt, and gravity varieties—and highlights its primary features, such as load capacity and rate, and operation. The text also addresses costs and objectives of material handling, exploring rate calculations, controls systems, and other relevant aspects. It includes photographs of actual installations and a glossary of key terms.
Learn from the Experience of a Conveyor Expert
Unless you have conveyor experience, you’ll need help deciding on the best mode of transportation for your product. This volume stands apart as an aid in this decision process because it does not take a myopic view of one specific type of conveyor. Rather than solely covering bulk material handling or screw conveyors, it analyzes all of the major varieties of conveyors. This book is not meant to be an engineering manual for designing conveyors, but rather a broader guide to integrating conveyors in a transportation system.
Introduction
What Is Material Handling?
What Are the Major Objectives of Conveyor Application?
What Are the Real Costs of Material Handling?
The Driving Force
Supporting It All
Equipment Selection Guide
Conveyor Selection
Notes
Tabletop Chain Conveyor
Tabletop Chain
Modular Plastic Conveyor Belting
Application Details
Belt Conveyors
Flat Belt Conveyors
Belt Curves
Trailer Loader/Unloaders
Specialty Flat Belt Conveyors
Cleated Belt Conveyors
Troughed Belt Conveyors
Belt Types
Static (Gravity) Conveyors
Static Wheel
Static Roller
Application Details
Spurs and "Y" Curve Switches
Gate Sections
Flexible Conveyors
Extendable Gravity Conveyor
Flow Rack
Powered Conveyors
Live Roller Conveyors
Modular Conveyor
Sorters
Heavy Unit Load Handling Conveyors
Gravity Roller Conveyors
Roller Transportation Conveyors
Roller Accumulation Conveyors
Multistrand Chain Conveyor
Right Angle Transfers
Turntables
Ancillary Equipment
Application Details
Overhead Chain
Free Systems
Power Systems
Power and Free Systems
Accessories
Inverted Power and Free
Application
Miscellaneous
Chutes
Vibratory Conveyors
Air Conveyors
Screw Conveyors
Bucket Elevators
Chip Conveyors
Automated Electrified Monorail
Assembly Platform Conveyors
Rate Calculations
Unit Handling
Bulk Handling
Integration and Control Systems
System Design
Controls Systems
Environmental Considerations
Above 177°C (+350°F)
Between +40°C (+104°F) and +177°C (350°F)
Between +2°C (+35°F) and +40°C (104°F)
Between –7°C (+20°F) and +2°C (+35°F)
Between –7°C (20°F) and –18°C (0°F)
Between –18°C (0°F) and –40°C (–40°F)
Below –40°C (–40°F)
Summary
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Patrick McGuire has been in the material handling industry for more than 20 years. He has a BS degree in computer integrated manufacturing systems and his professional engineering license for industrial engineering. He started with a very small conveyor manufacturer in upstate New York, J & S Conveyors, where he was the Engineering Manager. They designed and built a wide variety of conveyors. They manufactured tabletop chain conveyors, flat belt conveyors, heavy unit load conveyors, and troughed belt conveyors.
After J & S, he went to work for Rapistan, the world’s largest manufacturer of material handling systems. Rapistan has since been bought by Siemens AG. Rapistan specialized in unit handling, primarily distribution systems. McGuire was involved with the office that also specialized in-process manufacturing systems. They built one-of-a-kind conveyors and systems for giants such as Corning, Kodak, Xerox, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. He worked as a senior systems engineer and a project manager.
After 10 years of custom product and system design, he took a position with the products group, where he worked on such things as the high-speed divert for airport baggage and then became the product manager for the heavy unit load product line. In that position McGuire led a group of engineers in designing, documenting, and selling a full line of pallet handling conveyors. He has since worked as the Director of Product Engineering for American Ironhorse Motorcycles, and the Director of Manufacturing and Technology for Transnorm System, a specialty conveyor manufacturer.
Currently, McGuire is the Manager of Engineering Services for Glidepath, which is leading a movement of business and engineering systems integration and automation. As a member of CEMA, he co-authored or edited several chapters of the new CEMA Application Guide for Unit Handling Conveyors.