Software automates conveyor design

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 21, 2003

SpanTech of Glasgow, Kentucky, USA, is using SolidWorks and DriveWorks to automate the design of food processing machinery.

SpanTech of Glasgow, Kentucky, USA, produces the Designer System family of continuous plastic chain curving conveyors.

The Designer System is a truly modular conveyor capable of horizontal and vertical bends within one chain design.

These systems are widely used in food production, packaging, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing.

In addition to conveyor systems, SpanTech also produces a complete line of transfers for handling products at the start and end points of the conveyor.

SpanTech conveyor systems are designed as a complete system, with all parts created specifically to work together and reduce noise.

SpanTech equipment is designed to be safe, clean, easy to maintain, and easy to modify.

The company has also concentrated on optimising its production processes to provide customers with the highest quality in the shortest possible time.

All USDA and BISSC Certified, Designer System conveyors are built as complete systems by SpanTech in its Glasgow plant.

SolidWorks ease of use was the most distinguishing factor in the choice for a 3D design package.

Other aspects that influenced the purchase included the overall quality of the product and available add on tools.

The cost of the software was an added bonus.

SpanTech has been using ProE and AutoCad.

Over the years, the company had outsourced the automation of a number of tasks required in AutoCad and ProE.

However it found this to be a time consuming and expensive solution.

SpanTech had also invested considerable time 'in house' developing its own VBA estimating application using Excel and wanted to integrate this with its design and manufacturing systems.

Appreciating the ease of use of SolidWorks, and aware of the SolidWorks Gold Partner programme, SpanTech has found DriveWorks to be the perfect application to achieve this integration while also providing an effective means of automating SolidWorks.

This has all been achieved without the additional cost of outsourcing.

"We knew SolidWorks was capable of minimal automation through Design Tables but we needed to apply engineering rules, not just equations, that affected parts and subassemblies throughout the entire model just from the minimum of input", said Dale McDaniel, President of SpanTech.

"Our requirement was that separate customer specific files, not configurations, needed to be automatically created along with the necessary drawings and DXF files.

Design tables would not satisfy this requirement".

McDaniel continued, "Although one feature of DriveWorks is the ability to create a front end user form for specifying the design of a conveyor, without the need for programming, this was not the most important benefit for us.

The main benefits have come from working through the DriveWorks user form interface, to dynamically populate control fields, to validate and eliminate errors, and to manipulate images and models".

"From our own experience we knew that Microsoft Excel was more than capable of providing an effective means for equating the most complex of engineering rules.

The fact that DriveWorks uses Excel to capture and assign the engineering rules has enabled us to implement the software easily and very quickly".

After only a short period into the investment, DriveWorks can be seen to be easy to implement, capable of achieving the automation of the most complex of engineering tasks, fully scaleable, and completely integrates with existing applications.

SpanTech offers modular custom conveyor solutions, and its Designer System conveyors can be combined for near infinite materials handling possibilities.

Multiple chain types are available for even more variety.

DriveWorks enables swift and efficient selection, design and output of manufacturing data to SpanTech's manufacturing plant.

SpanTech's aim is to roll out the user interface as a sales tool for the salesforce and for customers via the Internet.