Interroll presents modular conveyor platform

Interroll (Booth 1947) highlighted its new modular conveyor platform at a Monday press conference, calling it as the most important product introduction in its 55-year history due its flexibility, speed of installation, and the extent of the design work that went into it.

The product is well suited to today’s materials handling challenges, said Tim McGill, president of Interroll’s operations in North and South America, because it can be rapidly installed as a complete system, or a modular element such as high-speed divert, can be very quickly added to an existing system. “It’s infinitely modular and grows with the customer’s requirements,” said McGill.

Interroll designed the “MCP” product set after an extensive survey of customer needs, which found operators needed to quickly modify or install complete systems in response to business changes such as e-commerce fulfillment, the impact of dimensional weight shipping, and generally more products to manage and process through their facilities.

The MCP features modular components such as straights, curves, and high-performance diverts, said Christian Hagmaier, global product manager. The work on MCP involved changes in certain structural elements to allow for modularity, common electrical connectors, and a new network card that supports multiple fieldbuses, including EtherNet/IP. There also is a software “plug in” for AutoCad to help digitally design systems quickly.

The MCP choices include merge components for loading and unloading goods, and alignment and belt conveyors for overcoming steep inclines, for example. Depending on the application requirements, the conveyor modules can be equipped with various drive systems and can be combined with one another. Zero pressure accumulation conveyors can be built by using proven and extremely energy-efficient, 24-volt RollerDrive units that operate without any pneumatic actuators. A 400-volt drive solution that has been optimized to handle high conveying speeds and extremely heavy goods is also available for use in high-performance applications.

Modex 2016 is scheduled to be held April 4-7, 2016 in Atlanta’s Georgia World Conference Center. The tradeshow will showcase the latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain solutions in the material handling and logistics industry. Modern’s complete Modex coverage.