Overhead and ground conveyors

We won't attempt too rigorous a classification and definition in order to pinpoint the precise position to be assigned to the type of material that is the subject of this study.

The techniques described here are those of a common type of equipment which, through use and extreme versatility in application, has managed to stand out from the multitude of devices on the market. The SIMMA (Syndicat des Industries de Matériels de Manutention), which represents a large percentage of French manufacturers, publishes a yearly directory of equipment under the heading 2.2 Manutention continue pour charges isolées. The equipment listed below is of particular interest:

• single-track overhead conveyors (SIMMA ref. 22.08);

• double-track overhead conveyors (SIMMA ref. 22.09);

• overhead conveyors driving ground carts (SIMMA ref. 22.10);

• floor conveyors (SIMMA ref. 22.11);

• monorail conveyors with electrified carts (SIMMA ref. 22.12).

Before describing the most common applications, it's important to remember that conveyor technology was developed in parallel with the continuous process, the cornerstone of mass production. For this reason, conveyor technology cannot be dissociated from working and handling methods in the broadest sense of the term, as they result from the division of manual, inter-operational and machine operations leading up to storage and distribution.

These include

• product design to make them suitable for the continuous process;

• standardization of sub-assemblies and components, generating mass production and implying a high level of quality control;

• the specialization of workstations, workshops, factories, stores and sales outlets, favourable to the continuous process;

• the creation of machines for continuous processing, treatment, assembly, testing, packaging, palletizing or containerizing;

• computerized information processing, which brings to the means of production itself the indispensable support of a management system that is becoming increasingly integrated thanks to a common language: electronics;

• conveyor systems, which are the result of the...