Highly Configurable, Low-Cost Automated Handling Systems

Automating can be an expensive proposition with a discouragingly long lead time. Systems configured from the 3,000 or so products in Item International’s (Solingen, Germany) catalogue save time and money because they rely on gravity, inertia, and weight of the object being moved, an automation principle called karakuri, instead of motors and difficult-to-program software.

With lean production system (LPS) building kits, for example, D30 aluminum tubes and fasteners are assembled on-site to build racks and factory equipment. All connections are stable as soon as they’ve  been tightened. Employees use a few basic hand tools to quickly create new configurations as needed.

Material movement is easily and ergonomically actuated by an employee or using a simple drive or other timed actuator to set the process in motion. There’s no need to shut down a line to wait for a programmer. The result is an automated process that improves efficiency for a fraction of the price of fully automated systems.

LPS D30 comes in a heavy-duty version that has the same outside diameter as the regular D30 pipe but with thicker walls. The same connectors work for both lines.

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