Detecting Product Jam On Conveyor

[daba]

He did not say, if that "jam" is becouse of downstream equipment. In that case there is no place in conveoyr where there is no product.

It really is not that simple.

PS. I see how everyone reflects their own working enviroment and types of conveyor systems & jam types to this question. Do you?

If the jam is because of downstream equipment, then the jam is in the downstream equipment, not where he is detecting it.

 

[dploof23]

From the sounds of it they are having issues.... yes I am a problem solver, camera's are cheap compared to down time and my time, if I have to go back to a problem a second time then it needs to be fixed

Its also called technology, some times you need to move away from old things that you are used to and learn new things, just like we move away from relay logic and started using these things we call PLC's

+1

I agree, and as The PLC Kid said in an earlier post the Cognex Checker would be a great fit here. It runs between 1000.00 and 1500.00 and is easily implemented.

My 2 cents,

Dave

 

[rigicon]

Had a hard helmet product line that kept jamming. I installed a V channel on the conveyor with a cylinder(1) across the path thus creating a jam. Then upstream of the created jam along the one product width channel and exactly the product length, I installed another cylinder(2).
With simple control and a photo sensor I closed cylinder(2) and then when jam occurs near cylinder(1) I close Cyl(1) and open cyl(2)thus letting one product through with a Timed Gap. You get the idea. Worked a treat specially for the Bar coding and rejection cylinder that followed.

 

[kekrahulik]

I have product going on conveyor. In order to detect jam, If photo eye does not see a gap between each product for certain time, it thinks there is a jam. Works great but now we have product flowing on conveyor with little or no gap but we do not want to stop. Any ideas on solution where I can detect object moving on conveyor with no gap and keep the conveyor running.

Maybe I'm missing the boat here, but he said that detecting the jam condition "Works great". It seems to me that he is asking what he can do after he detects a jam - not how to detect it.

To that I would say that you have two choices:
1. Accelerate the first product in the jam so it pulls a gap from the next product. Depending what the "product" is, this may require an independent conveyor that can be run at a faster speed or maybe the product is light enough to be blown ahead by a puff of air or something.
2. Stop or slow the second product in the jam. More than likely, this will create more jams behind the first one.

As some poster pointed out, it may be easier to figure out how to stop the jams from originating than it will be to fix them after they have occurred. Can't really comment without more info on the product/process.

 

[TurpoUrpo]

If the jam is because of downstream equipment, then the jam is in the downstream equipment, not where he is detecting it.

And the point is? If he wants to detect it where he is detecting it, then so be it. And, it is possible that certain amount of products in conveyor is more efficient in jam situation (eg. upstream can push some more even after downstream eq jam, and detect jam in conv works better) even if it is result of downstream equipment. Also, we cant know what kind of machine is there, maybe it working is so that it cant detect jam such way it is working in OP's situation. Im saying again, to give good answer he needs to describe it better. Lot better.

Boxes on conveyor can be from mail handling to milk packagin to coca cola crates. Maybe the boxes are such shape, there actually is enough gap in some place to detect it with laser photo cell (or pair).

 

[Aabeck]

I have had to monitor circuit boards on a processing line for jams.

The method used was use 2 photoeyes, one at each section entry & exit, then count up 1 when a board enters, count down 1 when a board exits - figure out the max quantity of product there should be in that section and set a jam fault if the quantity ever goes too high (product entering but not exitting!)

 

[iant]

i think the OP is into strawbery JAM he/she hasn't replied for a while

 

[KalleOlsen]

Seems he has got the haywire sorted, almost

 

[sfindley]

Beta Laser mics and other lase based non-contact speed detectors tend to be in the 10s of thousands. I tried to use a laser velocimeter at my last employer that cost over $30k.

I assume you have more than one conveyor in the system. If this is the case you can have PEs for each section. If the sections of conveyor are running and the PEs are not changing state, but a downstream PE is clear, this would indicate a jam upstream of the first clear PE. I've attached a picture to illustrate what I mean.