AIR Springs says Reeves Engineering of Sydney has developed an automated pallet handling system using its Firestone Airstroke air spring actuators.
The company developed the system for a manufacturer of diverse metal products that needed them to be collected from production and packaging stations, and transported to warehouses and dispatch areas in one seamless operation.
The trolleys are electrically driven along a 50m floor slot, which links the production, packing and warehouse areas. Along the way, they collect loaded pallets of up to 1700kg, deliver them to warehouse areas, and despatch more pallets for new loads.
Newly loaded pallets are retrieved from pallet stations aligned along the trolley system’s path within the factory, and returned to the warehouse area, where they are transferred via scissor lifts within the trolleys to lateral conveyors.
These scissor lifts are actuated by Airstroke air spring actuators, as is the automated twin stack dispenser. They were chosen because the pneumatics required less ancillary equipment, and had compact starting heights.
According to the system designers, the streamlined automated handling system enabled its client’s warehouse to operate on a single-shift basis, and eliminated the need for forklifts to transfer pallets.