Intelligent Material Handling
Short Lead-Time Decline Conveyor for Secondary Inspection
Built and running in 30 days, a decline conveyor routes half of all castings to a new floor-level inspection station.
CLIENT
INDUSTRY
SOLUTION
DURATION
The Challenge
The customer needed to add a secondary inspection step without slowing production, and it needed it fast. Half of all castings had to be diverted off the elevated production deck and carried down to a new inspector station on the concrete floor. Parts on a decline want to run away under gravity, so the conveyor had to control every casting’s descent and stage parts for the inspector, all on a 30-day build-to-run schedule.
Key Requirements
- Build and run in 30 days
- Route 50% of castings off the production deck
- Carry parts down to a floor-level inspection station
- Control gravity descent on the decline
- Stage parts zone by zone for the inspector
- Handshake with the production line
The ICR Solution
ICR designed, built and commissioned a decline conveyor in 30 days. Castings selected for secondary inspection leave the production deck and travel down a motor-driven roller conveyor powered by 46 roller drive motors. Because a decline lets parts gather speed, ICR added SMC gate stops at every zone: the PLC releases one casting at a time into the next zone, controlling gravity descent and staging parts in sequence for the inspector at the floor-level station. Photo eyes and a laser sensor track every position, and a touchscreen HMI gives operators clear status and manual control. A safety relay and a lockable air supply protect the station.
Equipment & Technology
- PLC with discrete I/O
- Touchscreen HMI
- Motor-driven roller conveyor (46 roller drive motors)
- SMC gate stops at every zone, reed-switch confirmed
- Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 523 VFD
- Keyence photo eyes and laser sensor
- IFM proximity sensors
- Allen-Bradley Guardmaster safety relay
- SMC air prep, master valve and pressure switch
Scope of Work
- Up-Front Engineering
- Mechanical Design
- Controls Design
- Fabrication and Assembly
- Panel Build
- PLC/HMI Programming
- Installation
- Commissioning
Results
The conveyor went from design to running in 30 days. By moving secondary inspection off the production deck, it let the line double its previous throughput while every diverted casting still gets a second look. Gate-controlled zones bring each part down the decline under control and stage it for the inspector, so castings arrive undamaged and in order, around the clock.