New conveyor increases efficiency and throughput

ZyroFisher is one of the largest privately owned distributors of parts, accessories and clothing to the UK and Irish cycling markets. As experts in multi-brand distribution, ZyroFisher represents more than 50 leading brands and also supplies its own Altura products to specialist retailers.

Amid a business merger and rapid sales growth, the company installed a modern conveyor system incorporating 24V DC conveyor to streamline operations and increase warehouse productivity by improving the efficiency of their daily order fulfillment process.

The 100,000-square-foot facility now ships more than 800 cartons daily and required solutions for carrying totes, boxes and cartons. Previously requiring high levels of manual handling for pick, pack and dispatch operations, the company needed a solution to make the movement of goods from the packing area to dispatch more efficient.

Working with a conveyor manufacturer and provider of turnkey materials handling systems (Advance Automated Systems), ZyroFisher selected energy-efficient 24V DC technology and control components (Interroll). A bespoke, zoned roller conveyor now transfers various sized cartons directly to the dispatch trailer.

The system uses a zero line pressure conveyor system incorporating energy-efficient 24V DC technology and includes a combination of quiet running roller drives and a control system that simplified and reduced commissioning time on site.

The control solution is a network card that connects four zone sensors and four roller drives and directly integrate at fieldbus level. Real-time communication can be realized by adjusting settings. The configuration of sensor or roller drive properties is done with programmable logic controller software, a Web user interface or with a teach-in procedure.

This makes automatic addressing possible and provides information on the order of all connected controls or conveyor zones. IP54 protection meets the plant requirements, and can be used in temperature ranges of between -30°C and +40°C.

Flexible, modular and efficient, the plug-and-play technology allows for quick replacement, requiring no addressing or configuring. Because each individual conveyor module is driven independently, they only operate when containers are present. If required, product can accumulate over the full length of the conveyor.

So as not to restrict access through the warehouse, the conveyor system was equipped with lift access gates both single-width for pedestrian and fire escape access and double width for pallet access. An extendable gravity roller for loading on the back of a box trailer completed the configuration. The project has enabled the optimization of complex flows of goods while increasing throughput.