Shoe Zone, formerly Benson Shoe, is a major retailer of footwear with 570 branches throughout the UK selling 30 million pairs of shoes a year, and Midland Handling Equipment Ltd has worked closely with the company providing Belt & Powered Roller Conveyors in the main distribution centre, throughout its carefully planned but rapid expansion over the last few years.
Two conveyors were supplied, a Trakmaster ‘406/406’ Power & Free for handling standard components up to 250kg, and a Trakmaster ‘406’ Free Track, housed in its own facility, for special large or heavier parts.
The Power & Free Conveyor is 600ft in total length and incorporates a specially designed ‘Index Conveyor’ running parallel to the main system to synchronise the conveyor to the load and offload devices. At various points throughout the system automatic chain rotation units turn the product to give even spraying or cleaning.
TRAKMASTER CONVEYOR SYSTEMS
The system is driven by three Trakmaster ‘406’ Caterpillar drives. These powerful units are PLC controlled to ensure they run in perfect harmony at all times, ensuring the chain travels smoothly and evenly throughout system. Overload protection is achieved with Autogard Torque Limiters linked to the PLC so that if and overload is detected the system is shut down and the drive in question is displayed on the panel to enable swift identification and rectification of faults.
All the mechanical and electrical supply and installation was carried out by Midland Handling over a period of 10 weeks.
The free track conveyor utilises the same ‘406’ Track section with the incorporation of track switches and junctions to allow loads to be manoeuvred through traversed through the system. Loads are put on and off the line with a specially manufactured lift station operated with an electric hoist attached to the track carriage frame.
The whole project, including mechanical and electrical installation totalled £225,000
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