SPECIALIST CONVEYOR SYSTEMS FROM CONTAX

Contax Ltd - UK

16 February 2005

Production automation system specialist, Contax Ltd, is announcing the availability in the UK and Ireland of the complete range of specialist conveyor systems from Shuttleworth. This includes two products designed specifically for a clean environment, so making the systems ideally suited to the pharmaceutical or medical industry.

Shuttleworth is renowned for its Slip-Torque® technology, a patented system used in all its conveyors that reduces product damage. Custom-engineered, the conveyors are particularly well-suited to applications requiring gentle conveyance, low line pressure accumulation, dividing, combining, indexing or positioning for robotic interfaces.

For example, the Easy Clean Conveyor is designed for any application requiring a high level of cleanliness, for example, in pharmaceutical, health or food preparation environments.

The stainless steel conveyor frame is constructed using continuous welds and innovative 45 degree steel strength bends or ‘hems’. By eliminating the horizontal surfaces debris accumulation is reduced as the contaminants fall through the conveyor rather than collect on the surfaces.

In addition, the Easy Clean conveyors incorporate thermoplastic rollers, featuring a custom compounded anti-microbial additive. These factors, coupled with ‘user friendly’ removable parts, ensure that the conveyor remains as clean as possible during operation, whilst its design facilitates fast and efficient cleaning.

For users requiring clean room standard equipment, Contax can offer the Slip-Trak®, a safe and quiet clean conveyor. This has been independently certified to be compatible with Federal Standard 209E Class 10 and Class 1 (ISO Class 4 and Class 3) clean rooms. It allows for multi-lane, simultaneous bi-directional or reversing product flow and is user friendly with low vibration and noise levels.

Other products in the portfolio include Shuttleworth’s Low (Thin) Profile Conveyor which offers a particularly small footprint and allows ease of operator use; whilst its Vertical Conveyor is designed to work with other systems to provide a bridge over congested areas; and its 30 Degree Twist Conveyor allows a change in product orientation for downstream operations.

Additional features available include: SmartFeeds, to index products into the wrapper faster and more accurately; and Corners, designed to maintain product speed, orientation and spacing around corners, whilst maximising floor space.

In all, a range of 12 conveyors and additional devices are available, and for more complex situations, Contax is able to provide totally bespoke solutions.

“We can now provide a conveyor for every situation,” commented Jan O’Connor, Managing Director at Contax Ltd. “Shuttleworth has an extensive portfolio of products for every demanding environment.

“In particular, we believe that pharmaceutical and medical applications will benefit greatly from this innovative technology. These industries require the highest levels of cleanliness and especially careful product handling. Shuttleworth conveyors are ideally suited to the task.”

About Slip-Torque® Technology

Slip-Torque was pioneered by Shuttleworth and is implemented in each of its conveyors. It is based on polished stainless steel shafts individually powered by flexible belts on a line shaft or by continuous chain. These stainless steel shafts are covered with segmented, loose fit rollers, which become the conveyor surface. It is the weight of the product being conveyed combined with the co-efficient of friction between the shafts and the inside diameter of the rollers that provides the driving force. As the weight of the product increases, there is a corresponding increase in the driving force supplied. As the products stop, the segmented rollers beneath them also stop, creating very low backpressure accumulation and reducing product damage.

About Contax

Contax is one of the UK and Ireland’s most comprehensive suppliers of automation equipment. Products range from PCB assembly, automatic optical and x-ray inspection, reflow solder, screen printing, precision liquid dispensing, cable preparation, robotic soldering and robotic assembly as well as cleaning systems. All of this is backed up by Contax’s unique support programme called ‘hands-on’ and an extensive second user department to fully support their installed base.