Turning a Year of Challenges into a Year of Opportunities
To say this year has been challenging for companies would be an understatement. While the pandemic continues to surge in many U.S. states and countries around the world, companies are beginning to shift from implementing short-term changes for adaptability and survival to looking toward permanent changes and trends for the road ahead.
One of these is automated material handling. While the march toward automation has been progressing for quite a while, it’s to companies’ advantage to consider and expedite solutions for automation throughout their production environment — particularly where the dirty, dusty, and dangerous continue to pose safety and other productivity risks that inhibit companies from gaining ground lost during the shutdowns.
Today, speed is becoming more important than ever. But with production delays caused by the pandemic and difficulty returning equipment that was either unused or not maintained during periods of low activity back to peak performance, it must become even more of a focus for companies if they want to succeed in the rapidly approaching new year.
With 2021 planning already underway, now is the time to consider automated material handling solutions throughout your facilities. Depending on your industry and production, there are numerous opportunities for you to invest in solutions that will yield greater returns — both immediately in the more effective use of factory and warehouse labor and long-term through cost savings and greater production output.
3 Material Handling Solutions for Success in 2021
1. Feeders
Multiple industries require automated feeders for supplying parts from one phase of production to another. But not all automated feeders offer the same functionality that you might need in your environment. Depending on the part design, size, volume, and the next stage of production, a customized solution may be needed. Like conveyors, feeders are an essential part of your production environment. That’s why it’s critical that your feeder works for your organization in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
A customized feeder system allows you to tailor the loading of parts in a way that works best for your team, facility, and production demands. From magazine-style feeders for bar-shaped components to various types of orienting feeders for positioning parts for the next step in production, feeders are a must-have automated material handling solution for managing a high volume of components every hour of every day.
Explore Feedall Automation’s full line of automated feeder solutions, each of which is customized to your specific part feeding application needs.
2. Conveyors
Similar to feeders, conveyors are essential automated material handling solutions. We often call them the circulatory system of a production environment as they move critical components from one part of the facility to another, ensuring that everything has what it needs to function. But just as with any other piece of industrial automation equipment, conveyors should be customized to achieve your specific production goals.
From thru-feed conveyors with complete feeding and exiting capabilities between systems to bidirectional orienting conveyors for the gentle conveyance of parts requiring positioning prior to the next stage, your conveyor system should provide the part handling, speed, and other capabilities needed to ensure a seamless operation. If your parts require cooling after a heat-intensive process or even drying following a wet phase of production, forging cooling conveyors are an ideal solution.
Feedall Automation offers a complete line of conveyor systems tailored specifically to your application, environment, and goals. Learn more about our conveyor solutions here.
3. Bulk Material Handling
Beyond conveyance and feeding parts and components between phases of production, also consider the importance of automated material handling equipment. These machines perform a variety of tasks such as accumulating parts during or at the end of production, metering parts between phases, and elevating parts between machines where loading or dumping occurs above the previous stage.
Examples of automated material handling solutions include tub and box dumpers for rotating a loaded hopper to the required discharge height or dump angle; vibratory metering hoppers for the controlled flow of bulk materials that eliminates the harshness found in other solutions; and part accumulation tables that receive parts from conveyor systems and discharge them in a single-file line while creating a buffer zone for low-speed lines.
Feedall Automation has developed a full portfolio of automated material handling solutions that can be upgraded and modified according to your part handling needs. Browse our material handling solutions and case studies here.
Achieve Your Automated Material Handling Goals in 2021
If you’re considering upgrading, replacing, or adding to your production line in 2021 with new automated material handling solutions, Feedall is the partner you’ve been looking for. We specialize in the engineering, manufacturing, and integration of cost-effective equipment for many industries and applications. Whatever your equipment needs may be, our team offers complete cradle-to-grave services and support that include custom engineering, building your designs, fabrication support, replacement parts, field support, and low-cost monthly financing.
Ready to learn more about our capabilities, request a quote, or talk with an expert from our engineering team? Connect with us today.