New wheel conveyor for Mini plant

To make the process more efficient, the fitting position needed to be moved further up the line, so a new conveyor system was needed. LB Foster, the Leicester-based materials handling equipment supplier, designed and manufactured zero line pressure accumulating roller conveyors, complete with pop-up transfers and tilting units for each side of the line. These conveyors are now used to transport the wheels in the correct sequence from the ground floor lifts to the cars as they progress down the line. LB Foster's electronics team also designed a control system for the conveyor and integrated it into the plant's existing software. Gary Bale, MD at LB Foster, commented: "Due to the time restraints on this contract it was vitally important we successfully completed the project within the tight deadline specified. To eliminate production downtime, we carried out the installation during a planned shutdown period. "The innovative system has successfully delivered on a number of levels for Mini Plant Oxford; not only improving on the ergonomic design, but also significantly reducing the amount of time taken to complete the task."