Astec Conveyors has helped Walkers Snack Foods increase output at its Leicester plant by modifying its carton handling system.
Cartons of product are now transported on high-level conveyors, via a series of inclined belts, and combine on a common transit conveyor.
When space limitations restricted the use of an inclined belt to transfer cartons to an upper level in a confined space, Astec installed a compact spiral conveyor to solve the problem.
A line divider was installed to enable products to be sorted efficiently and was combined with detection equipment for quality control purposes.
A barcode scanner is used to determine whether the carton should proceed to the robot palletising cell and rejected items are automatically diverted to a manual stack down station. In the event of such a 'stop', product is also diverted.
The equipment can be used in the packed food, pharmaceutical, chemical and industrial product sectors.
Walkers' Kris Nash said: "Astec Conveyors was able to provide a full package that met the needs of the project with quality-engineered conveyors. Therefore, we did not hesitate to return to Astec when the system needed upgrading."
Contact: Astec Conveyors Tel: 01283 210444