A robot or automated machine is only as productive as the parts that reach it. When parts arrive out of position, in a pile or late, the cell waits. An automation conveyor system presents each part where the automation expects it, feeds the next one on time and carries finished work away so the machine is not left waiting on people.
Custom Conveyor & Equipment Corporation builds custom conveyors for automation in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: indexing systems, part feeders, robot presentation conveyors, fixtured conveyors and accumulation around cells. We handle products from six grams to six tons per unit, and you can order automation support equipment as hardware only or as a turnkey system with complete controls.
Talk to an engineer about your automation cell
Bring us the layout, the part and the cycle time. We work with your engineering, maintenance or operations staff to define how parts need to arrive and leave the cell.
What Automation Needs From a Conveyor
People adapt to a part that arrives a little crooked. A robot or fixture does not. Conveyors that support automation are designed around repeatability first and transport second, and in general practice that means controlling five things:
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Position: the part stops at a known location every cycle, against a stop, fixture or dog.
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Orientation: the part is presented the way the next process needs it.
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Singulation: one part at a time, with spacing the automation can handle.
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Timing: the next part is ready when the cell asks for it.
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Signals: sensors confirm a part is present and in position before anything moves.
Plants running several products on one line also need changeovers that do not mean rebuilding the conveyor, one of the unit handling challenges we design for.
Indexing Conveyors and Precise Positioning
An indexing conveyor moves a part a set distance and stops it at a precise location for the next operation. Our automation support system receives parts from one fabrication machine and indexes them into the next process step in a precise location, with non-marking contact surfaces to protect the product. The investment return on streamlining that process was less than one year.
Heavier parts often need fixtures rather than stops. We built a heavy-duty slat conveyor with integrated part fixtures so heavy parts are placed and retrieved in precise locations for an automated manufacturing cell. Our package reorientation machine combines lineshaft powered rollers, a ballscrew-driven linear rail and timing belt crowder arms to receive a 500 lb package vertically, rotate it to horizontal and feed it out on exactly the same centerline it came in on.
Part Feeders and Singulation
Bulk parts in a bin are easy to store but useless to a robot until they are separated and oriented. In a typical chain and dog feeder, dogs fixed to a moving chain pick parts from the bulk supply one at a time and carry them, spaced and oriented, to the pick point.
Our chain and dog part feeder was an engineering collaboration with the production team at a major manufacturer. It significantly reduced the footprint of the feeding process and properly singulated bulk parts for automated systems, which enabled partial automation of the cell and significantly reduced the labor content of the sub-assembly. We have also built an angle part feeder.
Presenting Parts to Robots
A robot pick point needs a consistent datum, room for the gripper and a clear signal that the part has arrived. In machining cells, the conveyor also has to hold that accuracy through chips, coolant and impact.
Our robotic integration conveyor is a single strand chain conveyor that catches a slug from an automatic band saw and delivers it to a position where a robot retrieves it for placement in a machine tool. It is built from stainless steel for long life in a harsh environment. For product mixes, we have built a multi-strand plastic chain conveyor with power-adjustable side guides and a five-strand chain pop-up transfer that handles many part lengths on the same conveyor in a mixed model line.
Accumulation and Outfeed Around Automated Cells
An automated cell rarely runs at exactly the rate of the processes around it. Infeed accumulation keeps the cell fed through upstream stops, and outfeed accumulation keeps it running while material handlers are busy elsewhere. Our article on accumulation conveyor types covers the options.
Our assembly cell conveyor is a multi-strand modular belt conveyor configured to accumulate and present parts to an assembly cell, with a pneumatic tip-up that aids loading. For a window and door manufacturer, we built an outfeed and accumulation system that significantly improved the throughput of an automated assembly cell by eliminating the need for the machine to wait for material handlers. Other work includes a three-lane divert conveyor, tote staging conveyors and lineshaft conveyors for a thermal-management manufacturer.
Controls: Hardware Only or Turnkey
You can order automation support equipment from us as hardware only or as a turnkey system with complete controls. Hardware only suits plants where an integrator or in-house controls team owns the cell logic. Turnkey suits projects where you want one supplier responsible for the conveyor and its controls, and our shop handles wiring and electrical testing.
Our controls work ranges from simple to demanding. A servo-driven vacuum bed conveyor carries 62 in wide lightweight sheet at 850 FPM, with an integrated vacuum sensor and VFD-driven blower holding vacuum levels that vary by production recipe. Either way, define the interface early: which signals pass between conveyor and robot, how faults are handled and where guarding and interlocks sit. Our articles on conveyor system integration and smart conveyors and Industry 4.0 go deeper.
Automation Conveyors We Have Built
Our work supports automation and assembly cells across manufacturing. Engineers and fabricators run validation tests before shipment, while the design is still easy to change.
Automation builds from our project list
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Indexing automation support system with non-marking contact surfaces; return on that investment came in under one year
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Chain and dog part feeder that singulates bulk parts in a reduced footprint
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Stainless single strand chain conveyor delivering band-saw slugs to a robot pick position
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Heavy-duty slat conveyor with integrated part fixtures for an automated cell
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Multi-strand modular belt accumulation conveyor with a pneumatic tip-up for an assembly cell
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500 lb package reorientation machine that returns the package to its original centerline
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Automation conveyor for a plastics processor, ring gear conveyors for an agricultural equipment manufacturer and an angle part feeder
Automation Conveyor FAQs
Related Resources
Explore related pages from Custom Conveyor.
Industries:Automation Assembly Machining General Manufacturing
Related equipment:Chain Conveyors Specialty Conveyors Lineshaft Powered Roller Transfer Equipment
Project examples:Automation Support System Chain & Dog Part Feeder Robotic Integration Conveyor Fixtured Slat Conveyor
Guides:Conveyor System Integration Understanding Conveyor System ROI
Keep your automation fed and running
Send us the part, the cycle time and a layout of the cell. Our engineers will help define how parts should arrive and leave, then build and test the equipment in Cedar Rapids, with or without controls.
Indexing conveyors, part feeders and robot presentation conveyors built around your cell.