Material handling equipment (MHE) is mechanical equipment used to handle, store, control, and protect materials, goods, and products during the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal processes. The four categories of material handling equipment include transport equipment, positioning equipment, unit load formation equipment, and storage equipment.
Transportation Equipment
Transport equipment moves material from one site to another. On the other hand, positioning equipment manipulates material in a single location. Conveyors, cranes, and industrial trucks are the primary subcategories of transport equipment.
Conveyors
Conveyors come in handy when materials need to be transferred within a warehouse regularly, and there is a significant flow volume. Conveyors are classified according to the type of product handled or the placement of the conveyor. The classifications are in-floor, on-floor, and overhead. Examples of conveyors that handle bulk materials are magnetic-belt, troughed-belt, bucket, and screw conveyors. On the other hand, sortation conveyor systems identify and separate products to specific destinations. These sortation conveyors consist of flat-belt, roller, and chute conveyor segments and have various moveable arms. They can also have pop-up wheels and chains that deflect, push, or pull products to different destinations.
Positioning Equipment
With positioning equipment, the material is moved at a single spot using positioning equipment. This equipment is used in the workplace to feed, orient, load/unload, or otherwise orient materials into the proper position for future handling, machining, transport, or storage. When compared to manual handling, the use of positioning equipment can increase each worker’s productivity.
In many circumstances, positioning equipment is essential to meet a task’s ergonomic criteria. Tilt/turntables, hoists, balancers, manipulators, and industrial robots are examples of positioning equipment. Manipulators, which employ manual control, operate as muscle multipliers by counterbalancing the weight of a load such that an operator lifts only a small part (1 percent ) of the actual weight. These manipulators are more versatile than industrial robots since they use human control and can be manually, electrically, or pneumatically powered.
Choosing the Right Fit
We offer a variety of material handling equipment available to you. Tuffman has experts available to help you determine the best material handling equipment for your business. Contact us for a quote today!
