Material Handling Equipment Enhances Transport for Manufacturers

How Material Handling Equipment Enhances Transport for Manufacturers

With the rapid growth of industrialization, manufacturing processes got more and more complex giving rise to better systems and equipment for the handling, processing, and producing of goods and materials. Technological advancement resulted in the advent of newer kinds of material handling equipment. Manual labor gave way to material handling systems for lifting and transporting heavy materials. In this article, we will discuss how material handling equipment enhances transport for manufacturers.

When it comes to material handling for transporting products around your facility, there are several kinds of equipment available depending on where the products or materials are being transported, such as within an assembly line, between facilities, on a loading dock, or into storage. For manufacturers, material handling equipment can enhance the transport of raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods within the production floor or to storage facilities. Let us explore how.

Cranes

Cranes are one of the most popular ways to transport material within the factory. They are used to transport loads over variable (horizontal and vertical) paths within a restricted area. Cranes provide more flexibility in movement than conveyors because they can handle loads that are more varied with respect to their shape and weight. The most common types of cranes include the jib, bridge, gantry, and stacker cranes. Jib cranes can further be classified into straight arm jibs and articulating jibs with articulating jibs being more popular in the manufacturing sector due to their flexibility and versatility of use. They have great reach and can transfer objects with amazing speed. Cranes enhance transport for manufacturers owing to their speed, maneuverability, and reach-in capabilities.

Conveyors

Conveyors are used when material is to be moved frequently between specific points over a fixed path. They are installed in facilities where there is a sufficient flow volume to justify the fixed conveyor investment. They have a fixed path of operation and as such, are suitable for transporting material within a fixed area. They can also be classified by the type of product being handled; namely unit load conveyors and bulk load conveyors. Conveyors enhance transport as they ensure continuous flow of goods with minimal effort. Moreover, there are different conveyors for different applications, so installing one that suits your product requirements can greatly enhance the transport in the facility.

Other transport equipment

There are numerous other kinds of material handling equipment for the purpose of transporting goods. Industrial trucks are widely used to enable fast and seamless transport of goods over variable paths when there is insufficient (or intermittent) flow volume in which case a conveyor system cannot be used. Then there are industrial trucks like hand trucks, forklifts and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV’s).

With an in-depth analysis of a facility’s requirements and the knowledge of all kinds of transport equipment, a manager knows how material handling equipment enhances transport for manufacturers.