Improving Carton Flow for Long Distance Applications

Sometimes product on a gravity conveyor track must traverse a long way to reach its destination. Whether it is headed for order pickers in a warehouse or to a box truck on a loading dock, there a few ways to improve long distance carton flow applications. One option to shore up the distance between the product and its destination is to change the location of the destination. When this is impractical or just not possible, there are a number of ways to create flow.

Overcoming Obstacles
Several things must be taken into account in order to choose the right carton flow design. For example, there may not be enough track available or a long enough track available to stretch the entire expanse that product must move through to reach its destination. Another issue may be that beams are in the way, disrupting a clear path to the order picking station. Some items may simply be too heavy to move across the available track without additional support. All of these issues can be remedied with careful planning.

Notching Tracks
One possible concern for roller conveyors is that the track is not sturdy or strong enough to handle the weight over a long track distance. This is easily remedied by putting notched tracks over an extra support beam in the middle. This maintains the integrity of the track, but does not cause the product to get caught where the notch occurs. When long spans are not supported, the tracks may sag or become unstable when used outside of suggested tolerances. For tracks that do not need the beam for support but must traverse it anyway, use of notches is helpful without interrupting carton flow.

Connections
Some long distance carton flow applications are used for case picking. Strong roller tracks can be bridged together to create one long track. When racks overlap each other, they may be uneven and slow the flow. When tracks are spliced together, the height is consistent and the tracks have proper pallet flow. This application is especially useful when there is a beam for support in the middle where tracks can be spliced together. They rest on top of the beam without sagging or pushing up.

Hangers
When an area has existing beam framework, roller tracks can be dropped in between the beams for a long, continuous track. When the system only requires a resting point between the two beams, hangers can be used to lower the track. Tracks are also available with splicing options to rest on top of the beams, rather than hangers.

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