The innovative iCon conveying system, which has been developed jointly by conveyor system specialists AlphaChase & packaging experts Linkx Systems, is said to offer a convenient and flexible solution to the problem of accurate product positioning on conveyors.
With the iCon system, options for product positioning are almost unlimited; they include lateral movement across the conveyor, rotation, merging, diverting and gapping, all of which are achieved without the need to use conventional diverters or guides. This not only simplifies the design and construction of conveying installations, but also provides greatly enhanced versatility, as the operational parameters of an iCon system can be easily reprogrammed.
As the iCon Conveyor system has no readily accessible moving parts it is considerably safer than conventional product positioning solutions. The fact that it needs far less, if any, inconvenient guarding provides the additional benefits of improved maintenance access and reduced maintenance costs.
Having a smaller footprint than the traditional conveyor solutions, and considerably smaller transfer areas, the iCon system can be used in areas previously considered impractical.
The key to the versatility and convenience of the iCON system is a multidirectional roller top conveyor belt manufactured by System Plast. This belt is made up of a large number of cells, each of which contains a freely rotating ball. By arranging for the balls to be driven by subsidiary belts beneath the main conveyor, the speed and direction of rotation of the balls can be controlled. Since products on the main the conveyor rest on the balls, this means that the products can be made to rotate or to move in any required direction.
In the iCON system, the System Plast belt is complemented by a sophisticated control system that has been developed by Linkx Systems to provide a convenient yet flexible way of precisely controlling the subsidiary belts that drive the balls.
Designed for use with flat-bottomed products, the iCON conveying system is ideally suited for end-of-line applications in the food and beverage sector, and for warehousing applications. So versatile is the technology, however, that it can be readily adapted for many other uses – both AlphaChase and Linkx Systems will be pleased to provide further advice and guidance to prospective users.
