Most of the attention focused on industrial automation tends to center on cutting edge technologies like artificial intelligence, digital twins and the manufacturing industry’s digital transformation. But core automation tech like motors, drives, PLCs, sensors and actuators continue to deliver the production efficiencies sought after by manufacturers.
Two good cases in point proving this point can be seen Dish Network’s use of Regal Rexnord’s ModSort Divert and Transfer module and a major poultry processing plant’s installation of Regal Rexnord’s Boston Gear SS700 speed reducers on its conveyors.
Dish Network’s package sorting issue
A receiving area at Dish Network’s facility in Colorado used manual labor to sort and scan large quantities of hardware packages for its satellite receivers into the correct locations. The problem was that the company’s reliance on manual labor for these duties resulted in significant errors causing a loss in productivity at the facility.
To improve accuracy in the placement of these hardware packages, Dish Network implemented the ModSort Divert and Transfer module to enable use of an automatic scanning system in the Dish Network facility. With help from Advanced Equipment Company, Dish Network installed the ModSort module and was able to streamline its operations and reduce manual hand scans while improving sortation accuracy.
Dish Network said that facility’s operational efficiency improved by 25% with the installation of Modsort, and employees benefitted from safer working conditions by not being required to handle heavy boxes of equipment.
The Modsort Divert and Transfer module features a System Plast 2253 roller top belt technology for zero-contact, zero-pressure accumulation and requires only a 24V DC power supply. These features enable the Modsort module to deliver 50-60% energy savings compared to traditional conveyors.
Poultry plant’s conveyor torque problem
At a major poultry processing plant in North Carolina, production operations frequently
encountered issues with processing line’s 90-degree transfer. As the conveyor separated
whole birds from the main line, birds would bunch up at the 90-degree turn, drastically
increasing the torque demand on the conveyor’s motor and speed reducer.
According to the poultry producer, the direct contact between the partially processed birds and the transfer line required rigorous washdowns, which added more strain on the system.
This combination of high torque demands and frequent washdowns caused the conveyor’s legacy speed reducer technology to fail every other month.
This led the facility maintenance manager to contact Boston Gear to help address the problem. Boston Gear replaced the plant’s failing speed reducer with the SS700 Gen2 speed reducer which met the fit-form-function requirements of the facility’s original IP69K-rated stainless steel speed reducers while also delivering key improvements.
Key features of the SS700 Gen2 speed reducer include its Domed Crown curved design that
eliminates pooling of fluids during washdown, field-installable shaft covers to protect against food traps and eliminate safety risks associated with rotating elements, and large output shaft bore sizes that enable the use of smaller speed reducers while still supplying the torque levels needed.
Within six months, the poultry producer noted an increase in operating life of 300% with the SS700 Gen2. The design of the new speed reducer also features a corrosion-free exterior—a key aspect for the poultry producer’s application.
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