With extensive experience in the food industry, L-A-C were called upon by a well-known dairy company to supply a new stainless-steel belt conveyor system for an improved butter tub checking line.
What did the belt conveyor system need to do?
The customer realised that significant financial gains could be made on their existing sample check-weigh system by implementing a new conveyor line that would check-weigh every tub as well as utilising a vision inspection system.
The requirement from the belt conveyor system
L-A-C designed, manufactured, and installed the new belt conveyor system from the butter depositor right up to an existing case packer.
- Stainless steel modular belt conveyors
- Reject roller conveyor
- The stainless steel frame unit
- Vision system camera housing unit
- All controls
- Factory acceptance testing
Solution
To accommodate the new constant check-weigh system, the butter tubs had to be reduced from a six-lane modular belt conveyor system down to a twin lane modular belt conveyor system. This was in order for an ink coding station, vision inspection system, reject station, constant check-weigher, and a final reject station to be fitted in prior to the tubs being split again out to a four-lane modular belt conveyor for final delivery to an existing case packing station. The reject stations incorporate an automatic pusher that sends the rejected butter tubs down a gravity roller conveyor and into a waste tub.
Benefits
- Increased throughput to 300 tubs per minute
- The new constant check-weigh system means less overfill required at deposit stage
- Guaranteed minimum tub weights are achieved
- Increased life cycle of capital equipment
Conclusion
The modular belt conveyor system has delivered an increased throughput of tubs with a guaranteed minimum weight of butter per tub providing cost savings on the amount of butter being deposited as the overfill requirement has been reduced and an incredible capital longevity with over 50 million tubs having been processed before there was a requirement for a spares order.
About L-A-C Logistics Automation
Who we are: Founded in 1992, L-A-C Logistics Automation are a leading UK supplier who’ve been successfully supplying conveyor systems, belt conveyors, roller conveyors, automation, and robotic solutions to the UK’s blue-chip industry. Located in Bulwell, Nottingham, L-A-C are known for their outstanding customer service, continual support, flexibility, and bespoke service. With a full in-house service team, and an engineering team who’ve worked together over 20 years, L-A-C covers all aspects of control system design, build and associated software, and ongoing support.
What we do: L-A-C has a wealth of experience supplying conveyor systems and robotic solutions to a range of industries including automotive, aerospace, food and beverage, heavy engineering, and logistics. L-A-C design, assemble, incorporate testing, and deliver with training and after-sales support for a smooth handover. With an in-house mechanical design team, project managers, and engineers, all the builds are undertaken on the five-unit 60,000 sq. ft premises.