Joining kit pallet conveyor

Pallet conveyors are seldom finished at the first attempt. Flows grow, the dispatch area moves and the buffer that was enough last year is too short this year. The joining kit for pallet conveyor is the component that makes the extension possible: it links two pallet conveyor sections into one continuous run where the pallets roll over the joint without interruption.

With pallet goods the demands on the joint are higher than in a carton flow. A full pallet often weighs several hundred kilos, and a transition with play or a difference in level becomes a point where the pallet slows down or stops completely; a pallet stuck in the middle of a run is also a heavy and awkward problem to solve by hand. The joining kit holds the sections in line so that point never arises.

The kit weighs 1.88 kg and according to the specification of the manufacturer it is not rated as heat resistant. If the conveyor stands in an environment with raised temperature, for example near ovens or heating processes, you should check against the data sheet before ordering. In an ordinary warehouse and dispatch environment there is nothing to think about.

The strength of the pallet conveyor is that it turns floor area into buffer. Finished pallets are placed on the run at one end and collected at the other; the forklift driver does not have to hunt for gaps and the dispatch area gets a clear queue in the right order. When the flow grows you extend the buffer with more sections and joining kits instead of building something new, and that is exactly where this item comes in.

Count the joining points when you draw the run. Three sections give two joints, five sections give four; order the kits together with the sections so the whole run can be assembled in one go. At the same time check in the data sheet that the kit matches your conveyor model, since joining kits are made for the conveyor profiles of the manufacturer.

A concrete example: the dispatch buffer is to grow from three to five pallet positions ahead of a new customer agreement. Two sections and two joining kits later the run is extended, without the floor being broken up or the forklift routes redrawn. That is how pallet conveyors are meant to be used; the capacity follows the business instead of being built for a guessed maximum from the start. The next time the flow changes you do the same thing in the other direction.

Do not forget order on the floor either. A well joined pallet run keeps the pallets in a straight and predictable line, and that is a safety question in itself; forklifts and people move more safely around a flow where no goods stand at an angle or stick out into the aisles.

The weight of under two kilos says something about the principle: it is not steel in quantity that holds a good pallet run together, but the right part in the right place. That the part is small also makes it easy to keep in reserve.

Maintenance is simple but not nonexistent. Pallet goods shake more than cartons, so go over the joints when the run has been rebuilt and feel that the sections are level. A few minutes per quarter goes a long way; it is considerably cheaper than tracking down a pallet flow that has gone stiff.

The joining kit is used everywhere pallet conveyors are extended or rebuilt: dispatch buffers in manufacturing industry, pallet runs in distribution warehouses and sequencing conveyors at assembly. With a kit or two in reserve the rebuild never stands waiting for a small item.

Are you planning to extend the pallet conveyor? Contact us to discuss your run before you order.