Efficient material handling is critical in modern manufacturing. A century ago, moving materials from one place to another depended primarily on manual labor. It was cumbersome and time-consuming. Today, advanced technologies and equipment design innovations automate much of the work. To remain competitive, however, manufacturers must constantly search for ways to further streamline their operations.
Industrial pneumatic components can help with that
Incorporating pneumatic cylinders into material handling equipment design can:
- Boost machine efficiency and overall production
- Allow you to standardize equipment design for added operations and cost efficiencies
- Broaden production capabilities by allowing you to handle a wider range of products
- Increase throughput to meet distribution demands
For example, in many types of industries, materials must be sorted and moved into different positions as they travel on conveyors. These items may have to be lifted, turned, or rotated as part of this process. Using pneumatic cylinders supports automated sorting that is not only faster but more accurate. That’s a bottom-line benefit.
There’s another benefit, too. Automating sorting and other material handling tasks eliminate potential human injuries caused by ergonomically unfriendly movements. Any workers’ comp manager knows that musculoskeletal injuries from lifting account for a significant percentage of claims and lost time.
W.C. Branham makes the pneumatic components you need
While there are many types of actuators out there, our OVLPRO and DURATRK lines are specifically helpful for material handling applications. They offer a wide variety of stroke lengths, speeds, load capacities, and other design details. That adds up to the versatility you need to meet physical limitations as well as manufacturing requirements.
Short on space? OVLPRO low profile cylinders are designed just for that. Instead of the traditional NFPA or ISO-type round piston and bore, this ingenious cylinder features an oval design that cannot rotate while extending or retracting. The oval piston gives the entire cylinder a lower profile, so it takes up less space whether mounted flat or on its side. It can be used with a variety of mounts and can be fitted with positioning sensors.
The OVLPRO comes standard with a high-strength aluminum body that ensures exceptional reliability. The MX model has a high-performance composite rod bearing, stainless steel hard chrome-plated rod, and stainless steel fasteners.
Our DURATRK rodless cylinders feature an extruded, high-strength aluminum body that reduces deflection and slot width under pressure. This pneumatic cylinder provides direct power transmission through the tube slot onto the piston yoke assembly.
There are two standard core cylinder modules, the DTS and the DTK, both of which can be configured in myriad ways using any of the available attachment guides. These can be spec’d initially or added later with our add-on kits. The DTK has a shorter piston/yoke assembly than the DTS, allowing an overall length footprint as much as 42 percent shorter, while still offering the same stroke length as the DTS.
Want to know more about OVLPRO or DURATRK pneumatic cylinders? We offer downloadable 2D and 3D CAD files for all our products. And our W.C. Branham engineers are always happy to answer specific product and design questions to create more streamlined material handling.
