Two for one: Westfalia conveyor can accumulate and transport using the same motor

For most traditional conveyor systems, it's one motor to transport pallets and one motor to accumulate them. Material handling equipment manufacturer Westfalia Technologies, however, breaks that mold with its new spring chain pallet transport conveyor. The new conveyor, introduced at this week's Modex trade show, has one motor to power them all.

For example, users can install a 100-foot conveyor that has 20 zones (or pallet spaces), and 10 of those zones can be used for accumulation (or stopping and gathering the pallets—spaced appropriately apart—before releasing them for transport), while the remaining 10 are used for transport. The conveyor uses pneumatics to handle the accumulation and a stainless steel spring chain for transport.

Both the pneumatics and the spring chain are powered by the same motor. The main benefit of having only one motor is that it reduces maintenance costs and makes the overall system simpler.

"It's about doing more with less and reducing complexity," said Daniel Labell, president of Westfalia.