Dec
31
2011
Setting Boundaries but Raising the Bar for Conveyor Inventions
Author: Paul TimmermanAlbert Einstein, the Wright brothers, Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Graham Bell, geniuses all, have taken creativity and ingenuity just about to the limits of human brainpower. The one thing they all have in common is that their genius has sent history down a new path that has raised the standard of living for all of us. Many people attribute the invention of the conveyor to the advent of the assembly line, but in fact, it came along before the assembly line was put into operation.
Beginning in the 19th century there were mechanical devices to move items from point A to Point B. The Swedish company Scandisk is the company most business historians point to as being the first to bring widespread commercialization to the mass market by installing a conveyor-like system into production. The conveyor belt began its life in the mining industry moving huge objects long distances, but now they can be seen everywhere in a multitude of applications in every industry. This article will look into how some industries are pushing the boundaries of conveyor technology and what some of these might be doing to gain a better comprehension of where the conveyor industry is at present and what its future may look like.
Long gone are the days of men and women hand cranking and turning conveyor apparatus’ to allow for the movements of belts and pulleys to maneuver objects around. Conveyors are now highly specialized and flexible mechanisms that are responsible for such important projects as assembly of the Hubbell telescope. Certainly not exclusive to the space and exploration fields, conveyor implementation and invention reaches a broad spectrum of product and business categories.
Conveyor systems are working their way through even more industrial uses such as in pulp and paper mills, auto manufacturing (where they have always been used, but now they are far more innovative), steel fabrication, logging, airplane and helicopter manufacturing and assembly, cargo loading and unloading, cell phone assembly, and in warehousing and distribution, to mention just a few.
As the world is constantly met with new production dilemmas, it never hesitates to call on conveyors to come to the rescue to help solve the latest object moving necessity. It is always interesting to take a look at some of the more recent conveyor gadgets and concoctions that have recently surfaced throughout the previously mentioned industries.
Most conveyors now are electronic and computer based giving them more power and a huge flexibility when it comes to design improvements. Contemporary advances include such ideas as the pneumatic conveying system and the travelator, a conveyor based people moving system. The one thing that is for certain is that people are working day and night to develop and maximize the operating characteristics of conveyors for improvements in such areas as pressure, conveying line velocity, efficiency and performance. Even futuristic ideas like parking cars using conveyors instead of human drivers might not be too far off in the distance. As robotics and artificial intelligence are introduced more and more into conveying solutions, future conveyor advancements and inventions should be impressive and exciting.
One of the most cost-effective, time saving and labor reducing devices, conveyors have a long standing tradition of industry aid. Over the years conveyor inventions have facilitated numerous benefits to the products deployed into the world everyday. We must never lose sight of the fact that conveyors are partly responsible for so many of the comforts we relish.
Visit Wilkie Brothers Coveyors for more information on conveyors or to order Smooth Link Replacement Parts, Tsubaki Replacement Parts or any other related replacement parts.