Combilift, based in Monoghan, Ireland, are a major manufacturer of specialised Side Traversing Fork Trucks and Bespoke Trucks for a wide variety of Industries. In 2016 Combilift built a new manufacturing plant in Monaghan and requested Midland Handling Equipment design, manufacture and install two Trakmaster 406 Twin Channel Heavy Duty Power & Free Overhead Conveyors to handle various components through a new painting facility.
Each Conveyor consists of a Main Power & Free Loop 107mtr in total length with integrated Drop Sections, and are fully controlled by PLC. Each System has 15 Flight Bars to carry products through the plant. Midland Handling were responsible for all aspects of the design, manufacture and installation of both systems including support steelwork and controls.
The Conveyors are virtually identical in design, however one system handles individual loads up to 5 tonnes and the other individual loads up to 10 ton. The conveyors sit side by side in the painting facility with a Shotblast Machine between the two, which feeds each conveyor with parts ready for spraying.
Parts are loaded onto the conveyors via a Drop Section which lowers the Track with empty Flight Bar to a height suitable for loading. The Drop Section Track then re-engages with the main track and the Flight Bar is transferred into the first process (Wash Booth). At each process stage the Flight Bar is held in position by an Automatic Blade Stop activated by the PLC Control System. As the Flight Bar moves through each process operators can check the status of any part via the HDMI Screen Interface. There are eight stages in total, Wash, Dry, Primer, Flash Off, Top Coat, Flash off, Cure and Cool.
After the Flight Bar and Product Load has completed all stages of the painting process and the final stage it enters the Unload Drop Section. The Track with Loaded Flight Bar is the lowered for unloading by operators to be taken to the next stage of manufacture.