Where do I start in my goal to build an automated conveyor?

[fishandfly]

Hello guys! After perusing the search function for a couple days I'm looking very forward to all this. I intend to build a powered conveyor about 12 feet long to scan items, and then push them off the conveyor if they are to be discarded or label them if they are to be kept, followed by them going off the end of the machine to be shelved.

I am trying to do this on as much of a budget as I can. I've found that the conveyor itself (unpowered) is inexpensive and available in surplus on ebay and craigslist. I understand and already have the scanner equipment and computer system. Additionally, I've found some scanner modules (though they are frightfully thousands of dollars).

This is where I'm stuck. I have googled "conveyor automation parts" etc. for a week and have found no good source for the underlying parts to give me an idea of how to start building this.

Any suggestions on where to look? Any other suggestions?

Thanks for your time.

 

[CharlesM]

What kind of scanner parts do you have? give some MFG & part numbers. Do you have a PLC in mind?

 

[fishandfly]

Charles, thanks for the response. I will have to look at the scanner again to give a part number. It is a $600 flatbed similar to the ones in a grocery store, which I intend to mount inverted above the belt. It is new, and when I googled the model I recall that it was well supported.

Concerning the PLC, my assumption has been that most any one would work for my simple project. I have not begun researching that yet though. I've just been focusing on the mechanical side of the system.

 

[jrwb4gbm]

Please list as many details as you possiby can think of no matter how trivial you think they may be, sortation systems can be quite complex for seemingly simple tasks. Things like size and volume of products.
I'm also trying to figure out if you will be reading a barcode off of a label, which is what flatbed grocery scanners do, or are you going to print a barcode label to go on an unidentified part for inventory control? You will most likely need photoeyes, sensors, or an encoder of some type to know when the bad part is at the right point on the conveyor to be diverted.

 

[Paul B]

This is where I'm stuck. I have googled "conveyor automation parts" etc. for a week and have found no good source for the underlying parts to give me an idea of how to start building this.

You need a control panel. Meaning a custom system to handle the automation task. You can purchase the parts & pieces but you need a controller (PLC) to automate the process. This is what ties it all together.

 

[todster]

If you're going to mount it inverted over the bed, make sure the focus range is going to be correct. Is it omni directional? Do you have to use picket or ladder barcodes? If I'm not mistaken most of those have a limited short focal range. They are also low scan rate? Depending on conveyor FPM, scan speed, and focus requirements, you may need to consider package spacing. Of course 12 feet long you probably won't hit 570 FPM either. About 1/3 of the focus range will equal required package spacing. Varying height packages will affect the package gap requirement also. You could set the scanner to be triggered by a photo eye and then another photo eye downstream as a transmit point for sending the compiled barcode to the plc. Use a PPI on the underside of the belt at the xmit point. This will give you the ability to track the package by its barcode. A photo eye on the diverts will give you a divert confirmation, with the added bonus of jam detection. If you plan to divert to another conveyor, then a photo eye at the beginning of that and a PPI at the photo eye as well. You might want to shade the area where the scanner is to cut down on noise.
You might want to consider long range photo eyes pointing end to end on both sides to shut it down if someone leans over or falls on conveyor.

 

[mordred]

for high speed barcode readers that can be mounted over head the best one I've worked with is Accusort however the datamax series is also very reliable at higher speed lines. YOu will need some means of diverting your products this will depend on the type of product you need to kick off. Also you may need accumulation belting. This is belting thats designed that if a box is in the way it will simply roll underneath till the lead box clears. Other details if you need exact speed control use electric motors not hydraulic. If this is not an issue then hydraulic works fine and is cost effective. For the barcode scanner you will need a photoeye to trigger the scanner. A photoeye to activate the diverter. Possibly a proximity senser that is designed to read teeth on a sprocket (distance measurement). This depends on how you wish to program it the use of the diverter photoeye may make this unnecessary. For the diverter a couple of options are available. (keeping in mind you did not state the nature of the product or how heavy it is. You may be able to divert it through a pneumatic cylinder (kicker) or you can use a popup conveyer system for heavier products. There is several companies that are around that have good conveyer systems. instead of googling the automatic conveyers systems try googling pop up conveyer, diverter, or accusort this is some of the differnet types of conveyer lane diverter systems available. The PLC itself is an easy matter make sure its set up to read ascii. 99% of them do. if it has an RS 232 port then it will. hope this helps

 

[brucechase]

You asked where to start in your goal so I thought I would give you the true starting point.

Safety! Always keep this at the front when considering your design (and a photoeye is NOT a safety rated device).

What kind of powered conveyor do you want? Will this be an accumalation style or a roller top (for diverting) and at what speed? I would be careful about mounting a BCR upside down. Those grocery store kinds sometimes have a spinning mirror and that could really screw everything up. Focal distance and depth of field is very important. I would pick a BCR for your application instead of forcing an application to fit your BCR. How will the labels be applied (machine or person). What kind of kick off device do you want - pneumatic push arm, belt driven pop-up, shoe divert, tilt style or other. What kind of incoming power do you have (480 3 phase, 240 1 phase, etc). Do you want an HMI for indication or are lights good enough? What kind of control system do you want (what kind of PLC). How will you tell if that package needs to be discarded or not? Will there be some interface with a computer system that will include a lookup and repsonse? If there will be people near this, then at a minimum you need rope switches that go to a safety controller. Who will be doing the maintenance on the system? Don't forget that panel will need an arc flash analysis done on it along with a short circuit study to properly rate all the devices.


As for cost, I would just guess that you will be in the $10K - $20K range to do this (for a real basic system but realize that I spend $30K just on one BCR). I would be more than happy to give you any more insight, I've designed miles of conveyors with controls, diverts, and BCRs integrated with process equipment and I am also in GA.

 

[todster]

for high speed barcode readers that can be mounted over head the best one I've worked with is Accusort

A misnomer if you have them install and set it up. Their way = SortofSort. If you use the Axiom X, firmware 44 and up is dyslexic with I2/5.

 

[mordred]

never really considered that Todd lol it was a conveyer type designation that I've seena couple of companies use essentailly its a roller bed conveyer with a rubber belting under the rollers that are pressed against the rollers with diaghram cups (this part was called the accuglide conveyer. The accusort element would lift a different set of rollers again driven by pneumatics and diaghram cups. The company was called Bushman and at one time was called Pinnacle conveyers systems. No idea if they are still around we do have two sections of their conveyer left however this is only 10% of the original equipment from the equipment left. It was actually a nice system but we had to removed 90% of it as it was no longer suited to our needs

As far as the Accusort scanner the Accusort is the company name for the scanner I was using on that system. The one we had was an Industrail scanner with 2 Rs 232 ports could read barcodes at 2' sensing distance at around 200 boxes per minute. Used a 45 degree optimum sensing distance and had barcode rebuild software. The rebuild software would essentailly use the entire length of the barcode lines to correct lines that had flaws in them

 

[RussB]

I suggest that a good starting point may be finding and hiring an integrator with experience in this field.