Increasing the Speed & Accuracy of Your Roller Conveyor

Conveyors are the backbone of any distribution center warehouse or manufacturing plant. If you make something, you have to move it – often on a roller conveyor. These staples of material handling play a critical role throughout a factory or warehouse for optimization. Conveyor control systems can either be centralized, using a primary PLC, or decentralized using multiple smart field level devices such as block I/O.

Centralized or Decentralized Control?

Centrally controlled plants or warehouses in which a PLC issues the control commands for the entire facility is often subject to long cycle times. Even with high-performance controllers - especially when networks comprise many nodes, long cycle times can be a challenge.

When centralized control results in the PLC reacting too late, boxes or totes transported on a conveyor can jam or be controlled incorrectly. These errors require manual intervention in the facility. However, this problem could be avoided by implementing decentralized solutions.

• Slow response and long cycle times
• Line disruptions
• Added installation and commissioning costs

Download the Application Note to learn more.