8/25/2017 MaterialhandlingequipmentWikipedia

Materialhandlingequipment
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Materialhandlingequipmentismechanicalequipmentusedforthemovement,storage,controlandprotectionof
materials,goodsandproductsthroughouttheprocessofmanufacturing,distribution,consumptionanddisposal.[1]
Thedifferenttypesofhandlingequipmentcanbeclassifiedintofourmajorcategories:[2]transportequipment,
positioningequipment,unitloadformationequipment,andstorageequipment.

Contents
1 Transportequipment
1.1 Conveyors
1.2 Cranes
1.3 Industrialtrucks
2 Positioningequipment
3 Unitloadformationequipment
4 Storageequipment
5 Seealso
6 Notes
7 References
8 Externallinks

Transportequipment
Transportequipmentisusedtomovematerialfromonelocationtoanother(e.g.,betweenworkplaces,betweena
loadingdockandastoragearea,etc.),whilepositioningequipmentisusedtomanipulatematerialatasingle
location.[3]Themajorsubcategoriesoftransportequipmentareconveyors,cranes,andindustrialtrucks.Material
canalsobetransportedmanuallyusingnoequipment.

Conveyors

Conveyorsareusedwhenmaterialistobemovedfrequentlybetween
specificpointsoverafixedpathandwhenthereisasufficientflowvolume
tojustifythefixedconveyorinvestment.[4]Differenttypesofconveyors
canbecharacterizedbythetypeofproductbeinghandled:unitloador Differencebetweenuseofconveyors,
bulkloadtheconveyorslocation:infloor,onfloor,oroverhead,and cranes,andindustrialtrucksfor
whetherornotloadscanaccumulateontheconveyor.Accumulation transportwithrespecttotheirpathand
allowsintermittentmovementofeachunitofmaterialtransportedalongthe areaofoperation.
conveyor,whileallunitsmovesimultaneouslyonconveyorswithout
accumulationcapability.[5]Forexample,whileboththerollerandflatbelt
areunitloadonfloorconveyors,therollerprovidesaccumulationcapabilitywhiletheflatbeltdoesnotsimilarly,
boththepowerandfreeandtrolleyareunitloadoverheadconveyors,withthepowerandfreedesignedtoinclude
anextratrackinordertoprovidetheaccumulationcapabilitylackinginthetrolleyconveyor.Examplesofbulk
handlingconveyorsincludethemagneticbelt,troughedbelt,bucket,andscrewconveyors.Asortationconveyor
systemisusedformerging,identifying,inducting,andseparatingproductstobeconveyedtospecificdestinations,
andtypicallyconsistsofflatbelt,roller,andchuteconveyorsegmentstogetherwithvariousmoveablearmsand/or
popupwheelsandchainsthatdeflect,push,orpullproductstodifferentdestinations.[6]
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Cranes

Cranesareusedtotransportloadsovervariable(horizontalandvertical)
pathswithinarestrictedareaandwhenthereisinsufficient(orintermittent)
flowvolumesuchthattheuseofaconveyorcannotbejustified.Cranes
providemoreflexibilityinmovementthanconveyorsbecausetheloads
handledcanbemorevariedwithrespecttotheirshapeandweight.Cranes
providelessflexibilityinmovementthanindustrialtrucksbecausethey
onlycanoperatewithinarestrictedarea,thoughsomecanoperateona
portablebase.Mostcranesutilizetrolleyandtracksforhorizontal
movementandhoistsforverticalmovement,althoughmanipulatorscanbe
usedifprecisepositioningoftheloadisrequired.Themostcommon
cranesincludethejib,bridge,gantry,andstackercranes.

Industrialtrucks Jibcrane

Industrialtrucksaretrucksthatarenotlicensedtotravelonpublicroads
(commercialtrucksarelicensedtotravelonpublicroads[7]).Industrial
trucksareusedtomovematerialsovervariablepathsandwhenthereis
insufficient(orintermittent)flowvolumesuchthattheuseofaconveyor
cannotbejustified.Theyprovidemoreflexibilityinmovementthan
conveyorsandcranesbecausetherearenorestrictionsontheareacovered,
andtheyprovideverticalmovementifthetruckhasliftingcapabilities.
Differenttypesofindustrialtruckscanbecharacterizedbywhetherornot
theyhaveforksforhandlingpallets,providepoweredorrequiremanual
liftingandtravelcapabilities,allowtheoperatortorideonthetruckor
requirethattheoperatorwalkwiththetruckduringtravel,provideload
Palletjack
stackingcapability,andwhetherornottheycanoperateinnarrowaisles.

Handtrucks(includingcartsanddollies),thesimplesttypeofindustrial
truck,cannottransportorstackpallets,isnonpowered,andrequiresthe
operatortowalk.Apalletjack,whichcannotstackapallet,usesfront
wheelsmountedinsidetheendofforksthatextendtothefloorasthepallet
isonlyliftedenoughtoclearthefloorforsubsequenttravel.[8]A
counterbalancedlifttruck(sometimesreferredtoasaforklifttruck,but
otherattachmentsbesidesforkscanbeused)cantransportandstackpallets
andallowstheoperatortorideonthetruck.Theweightofthevehicle(and
operator)behindthefrontwheelsoftruckcounterbalancesweightofthe
load(andweightofvehiclebeyondfrontwheels)thefrontwheelsactasa UnitloadAGV
fulcrumorpivotpoint.Narrowaisletrucksusuallyrequirethatthe
operatorstandupwhileridinginordertoreducethetrucksturningradius.
Reachmechanismsandoutriggerarmsthatstraddleandsupportaloadcanbeusedinadditiontothejustthe
counterbalanceofthetruck.Onaturrettruck,theforksrotateduringstacking,eliminatingtheneedforthetruck
itselftoturninnarrowaisles.Anorderpickerallowstheoperatortobeliftedwiththeloadtoallowforlessthan
palletloadpicking.Automatedguidedvehicles(AGVs)areindustrialtrucksthatcantransportloadswithout
requiringahumanoperator.

Positioningequipment

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Positioningequipmentisusedtohandlematerialatasinglelocation.Itcanbeusedataworkplacetofeed,orient,
load/unload,orotherwisemanipulatematerialssothatareinthecorrectpositionforsubsequenthandling,
machining,transport,orstorage.Ascomparedtomanualhandling,theuseofpositioningequipmentcanraisethe
productivityofeachworkerwhenthefrequencyofhandlingishigh,improveproductqualityandlimitdamageto
materialsandequipmentwhentheitemhandledisheavyorawkwardtoholdanddamageislikelythroughhuman
errororinattention,andcanreducefatigueandinjurieswhentheenvironmentishazardousorinaccessible.[9]In
manycases,positioningequipmentisrequiredforandcanbejustifiedbytheergonomicrequirementsofatask.
Examplesofpositioningequipmentincludelift/tilt/turntables,hoists,balancers,manipulators,andindustrial
robots.Manipulatorsactasmusclemultipliersbycounterbalancingtheweightofaloadsothatanoperatorlifts
onlyasmallportion(1%)oftheloadsweight,andtheyfillthegapbetweenhoistsandindustrialrobots:theycan
beusedforawiderrangeofpositioningtasksthanhoistsandaremoreflexiblethanindustrialrobotsduetotheir
useofmanualcontrol.[10]Theycanbepoweredmanually,electrically,orpneumatically,andamanipulatorsend
effectorcanbeequippedwithmechanicalgrippers,vacuumgrippers,electromechanicalgrippers,orothertooling.

Unitloadformationequipment
Unitloadformationequipmentisusedtorestrictmaterialssothatthey
maintaintheirintegritywhenhandledasingleloadduringtransportandfor
storage.Ifmaterialsareselfrestraining(e.g.,asinglepartorinterlocking
parts),thentheycanbeformedintoaunitloadwithnoequipment.
Examplesofunitloadformationequipmentincludepallets,skids,
slipsheets,totepans,bins/baskets,cartons,bags,andcrates.A[pallet]isa Fourwaypallet
platformmadeofwood(themostcommon),paper,plastic,rubber,ormetal
withenoughclearancebeneathitstopsurface(orface)toenablethe
insertionofforksforsubsequentliftingpurposes.[11]Aslipsheetisathickpieceofpaper,corrugatedfiber,or
plasticuponwhichaloadisplacedandhastabsthatcanbegrabbedbyspecialpush/pulllifttruckattachments.
Theyareusedinplaceofapallettoreduceweightandvolume,butloading/unloadingisslower.

Storageequipment
Storageequipmentisusedforholdingorbufferingmaterialsoveraperiod
oftime.Thedesignofeachtypeofstorageequipment,alongwithitsusein
warehousedesign,representsatradeoffbetweenminimizinghandling
costs,bymakingmaterialeasilyaccessible,andmaximizingtheutilization
ofspace(orcube).[12]Ifmaterialsarestackeddirectlyonthefloor,thenno
storageequipmentisrequired,but,onaverage,eachdifferentitemin
storagewillhaveastackonlyhalffulltoincreasecubeutilization,storage
rackscanbeusedtoallowmultiplestacksofdifferentitemstooccupythe
samefloorspaceatdifferentlevels.Theuseofracksbecomespreferableto
floorstorageasthenumberofunitsperitemrequiringstoragedecreases.
Similarly,thedepthatwhichunitsofanitemarestoredaffectscube
utilizationinproportiontothenumberofunitsperitemrequiringstorage.

Palletscanbestoredusingsingleanddoubledeeprackswhenthenumber
ofunitsperitemissmall,whilepalletflowandpushbackracksareused
whentheunitsperitemaremidrange,andfloorstorageordriveinracks
areusedwhenthenumberofunitsperitemislarge,withdrivein Singledeeppalletracks
providingsupportforpalletloadsthatcannotbestackedontopofeach
other.Individualcartonscaneitherbepickedfrompalletloadsorcanbe
storedincartonflowracks,whicharedesignedtoallowfirstin,firstout(FIFO)cartonaccess.Forindividual
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piecestorage,binshelving,storagedrawers,carousels,andAframescan
beused.Anautomaticstorage/retrievalsystem(AS/RS)isanintegrated
computercontrolledstoragesystemthatcombinesstoragemedium,
transportmechanism,andcontrolswithvariouslevelsofautomationfor
fastandaccuraterandomstorageofproductsandmaterials.[13]

Seealso
Materialhandling
Caster Verticalcarousel
Conveyorsystem
Conveyorbelt
Crane(machine)
Forklifttruck
Automatedguidedvehicle
Pallet
Slipsheet
Industrialrobot
Electrictrackvehiclesystem
Palletracking
Automatedstorageandretrievalsystem
Bulkmaterialhandling
Warehouse

Notes

1."Materialhandling"(http://www.mhi.org/fundamentals/materialhandling).MHI.Retrieved20141002.
2.Chu,1995.
3.Chu,1995,pp.33113312.
4.Kay,2012,p.25.
5.Kulweic,1985,p.336.
6.Kay,2012,p.33.
7."FEDERALMOTORCARRIERSAFETYREGULATIONSGENERAL"(http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regul
ations/title49/section/390.5).U.S.DEPARTMENTOFTRANSPORTATION.Retrieved20150720.
8.Mulcahy,1999,p.7.21.
9.Feare,T(1993)."WorkpositionersmakingthemworkforYou".ModernMaterialsHandling.
10.Kay,2012,p.23.
11.Kulweic,1985,pp.123134.
12.Kay,M.G.(2015)."Warehousing"(http://www.ise.ncsu.edu/kay/Warehousing.pdf)(PDF).Retrieved
20150721.
13.Thompkins,2003,pp.261264.

References
Chu,H.K.,Egbelu,P.J.,andWu,C.T.,1995,"ADVISOR:Acomputeraidedmaterialhandlingequipment
selectionsystem",Int.J.Prod.Res.,33(12):33113329.
Kay,M.G.,2012,MaterialHandlingEquipment(http://www.ise.ncsu.edu/kay/Material_Handling_Equipmen
t.pdf),Retrieved20141002.
Kulwiec,R.A.,Ed.,1985,MaterialsHandlingHandbook,2ndEd.,NewYork:Wiley.
Mulcahy,D.E.,1999,MaterialsHandlingHandbook,NewYork:McGrawHill.

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Tompkins,J.A.,White,J.A.,Bozer,Y.A.,andTanchoco,J.M.A.,2003,FacilitiesPlanning,3rdEd.,Wiley,
Appendix5.B.

Externallinks
CollegeIndustryCouncilonMaterialHandlingEducation(CICMHE)(http://www.mhi.org/cicmhe)
EuropeanFederationofMaterialsHandling(http://www.femeur.com/)
IndustrialTruckAssociation(http://www.indtrk.org/)
MaterialHandlingEquipmentDistributorsAssociation(http://www.mheda.org)
MaterialHandlingEquipmentTaxonomy(http://mhwebportal.org/taxonomy)
MaterialHandlingIndustry(http://www.mhi.org/)

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