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High-Speed Wet Wipe Laning and Diverting - System Spotlight
This system was designed for one of our customers that wanted to transport, divide and accumulate stacks of unwrapped wet wipes at a rate of 375 products a minute. A custom diverter was created for this system to ensure the stacked products could be diverted and maintain the specified rate without compromising the stack integrity of the wet wipes. The stacks enter the system on a modular plastic belt conveyor while being contained between flexible guides. As the products reach the diverting zone, servo-controlled paddles extend on either side of the wipe stacks to guide the product through the diverting process for each necessary lane change. When the divert is complete, the paddle guides retract to its starting position. Sensors count the product as they pass through one of the 5 lanes. When a given lane is supplied with the specified amount of product, the paddle guides extend again to direct the lane change. The modular plastic belt conveyor was chosen due to the ease of lateral movement while being conveyed without disrupting the underside of the stacks. Although 375 products per minute was the target rate, our max is rated to work at speeds up to 500 products per minute. After the wipes are diverted into one of the 5 lanes, a tabletop chain conveyor transports the wipes to a series of speed changes to accumulate and index the products in preparation for wrapping.
Welcome to System Spotlight, giving you an in-depth look at Shuttleworth’s more advanced product handling systems and conveyor applications. In this video, we will showcase a solution for one of our customers that wanted to transport, divide, and accumulate stacks of unwrapped wet wipes at a rate of 375 products a minute.
A custom diverter was created for this system to ensure the stacked products could be diverted and maintain the specified rate without compromising the stack integrity of the wet wipes. The stacks enter the system on a modular plastic belt conveyor while being contained between flexible guides. As the products reach the diverting zone, servo-controlled paddles extend on either side of the wipe stacks to guide the product through the diverting process for each necessary lane change.
When the divert is complete, the paddle guides retract to their starting position. Sensors count the product as they pass through one of the five lanes. When a given lane is supplied with the specified amount of product, the paddle guides extend again to direct the lane change. The modular plastic belt conveyor was chosen due to the ease of lateral movement while being conveyed without disrupting the underside of the stacks.
Although 375 products per minute was the target rate, Shuttleworth designed the high-speed diverter to work at speeds up to 500 products per minute. After the wipes are diverted into one of the five lanes, a table-top chain conveyor transports the wipes to a series of speed changes to accumulate and index the products in preparation for wrapping.
For more information on Shuttleworth capabilities and solutions, please visit our website at Shuttleworth.com.
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