Accurate CAD blocks are obviously required in the world of application design. As you’re developing an automated assembly system layout, estimate, proposal, and final design, accuracy could be hindered as conveyor system blocks or configurators that lack flexibility, innovation, or generally slow you down.
Traditional configuration tools haven’t changed in the past ten years. They still require multiple phone calls to sales representatives at the manufacturer, downloads from a website, engineering involvement to double-check measurements, obtain accurate blocks, and part numbers, and they generally lack innovative solutions for complex problems. What’s worse, if you need a solution that doesn’t currently exist, you could be looking at expensive customizations for your automation system.
100% configurable conveyor technology software lives locally on your own computer and interacts directly with SOLIDWORKS. When you update details on your layout, the configurable conveyor technology software dynamically updates part numbers and pricing instantly from the millions of SOLIDWORKS configurations available. It even provides tools to evaluate the application itself. The updated process using an in-context configurator cuts down your pricing and design process significantly while giving you highly detailed and accurate layouts perfect for 3D solid modeling. This in-context configurator, available from Glide-Line, is called IMPACT!.
In addition to changing how the design process works, IMPACT! also improves the lead time in the manufacturing process. In decades past (and still the case for many manufacturers), once the order is placed, engineers would get involved to check everything that had been requested in every order; the technologies did not speak to one another to make the process faster. Now, when using the in-context configurator, the wide variety of flexible conveyor models available from Glide-Line can go directly from IMPACT! into a manufacturing and fulfillment system without the need for engineering involvement. Many parts are modular, and stored on-site, which also shortens the lead time.
Additionally, for any parts or pieces machined on command, the configurator gives the information automatically to the machine operations without requiring detailed design or engineering. This is because of the use of parametric models driving machining operations. Simplifying the designing and ordering processes have shortened the manufacturing and fulfillment lead times across the board for Glide-Line. We’re focused on turning around orders as quickly as possible for our clients and their customers.
One of the biggest, recent innovations made by Glide-Line has been the expansion of the definition of standard when it comes to conveyor designs and what conveyors can accomplish. Standard conveyors from our competitors are available in a set number of sizes, are built to accomplish a set pattern of movement and are unable to deviate from the intended use case for each conveyor. It’s different for Glide-Line, which has opened many opportunities for unique conveyor solutions. For example, the Glide-Line 360 suite of solutions is so flexible it can solve all sorts of challenges never before considered for a standard conveyor. Our ebook Ultimate Guide to Creating a Flexible Automation Conveyor Application Solution discusses these solutions at length; download it for all the details. From using a lift and rotate conveyor in a VTU, to bypassing using an open center pallet elevator, to lift and locates with open access for operations to the bottom of your product, it’s clear that conveyor technology has come a long way, giving applications engineers greater opportunity to creatively solve automation problems.