Activated Roller Belt

Automate your conveyor system with flexibility, reliability

Activated Roller Belt™ (ARB™) technology provides a flexible automated solution for reliably directing the movement of conveyed products. This revolutionary conveyance and sortation technology has proven successful in increasing productivity, eliminating unnecessary labor costs and reducing operational expenses in a variety of package handling applications. With greater flexibility, reliability, and safety, ARB technology introduces the advantages of modular plastic belting to package and case handling applications such as merges, switches, singulators, sorters, and aligners.

 

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How Activated Roller Belt (ARB) Conveyors Work

Activated Roller Belt conveyors are effective at handling products like polybags, envelopes and mixed parcels. They can support a variety of warehouse and distribution tasks like:

  • Product alignment
  • Palletizing support with product arrangement
  • Package descrambling, singulation
  • Case switching from one conveyor line to another
  • Sortation and merge functions, including perpetual merge
  • Case rotation for uniform alignment

ARB rollers can be orientated on either 0, 30, 45, or 60-degree angles. Depending on application requirements, they can also be configured in a combination of these angles. ARBs can use smooth rollers or high friction rubber rollers for applications that call for a high degree of positive drive.

ARB Applications

  • Flat bottom cases with a 6” x 6” or larger footprint
  • Polybags and padded envelopes
  • Corrugated products with a longer length than width
  • Works well when a small automation technology footprint is necessary
  • Applications where rates are too fast for pushers or plows

Features & Benefits

  • Save floor space by eliminating long runs of tapered roller sections
  • Offer inexpensive alternatives to traditional switches and shoe sorters
  • Provide a more positive product justification than typical tapered rollers
  • Turnkey solution that easily fits into existing systems to solve a large range of product flow problems

Considerations

  • Bastian Solutions’ experts will work with you to explore potential turnkey or custom options. Consider the following details when exploring ARB sortation solutions:

  • Type, size and weight of items being sorted
  • Product handling needs – singulation, merging, gapping, rotating
  • Desired throughput rate
  • Facility layout and available footprint

ARB Alignment Conveyor

An ARB alignment conveyor positively justifies product to one side of the conveyor in a short footprint compared to skewed rollers.

ARB Alignment Applications

  • Recirculation loops
  • Following depalletizing applications
  • Pre-sortation and merges
  • Aligning product prior to print and apply label areas, cameras, and scanners

ARB Alignment Benefits

  • Half the distance is required relative to skewed rollers
  • Very accurate and reliable product justification
  • Used for multi-sized products

ARB Alignment Specifications

  • 350 feet/min
  • 8" minimum belt width

ARB Palletizing Conveyor

ARB palletizing conveyor arranges cases into a pallet layer by using passive roller technology. This concept uses a combination of ARB case turn technology and a configured ARB conveyor that specifically arranges packages in a palletizable manner. The ARB layer former conveyor is ideal for handling a large number of cases per layer, a high rate of layers per minute, and a wide variety of product types.

ARB Palletizing Applications

  • Providing layer formation prior to a conventional palletizer
  • Used in combination with full-layer robotic palletizers

ARB Palletizing Benefits

  • Much lower cost than manual palletizing
  • Low maintenance
  • Small footprint

ARB Palletizing Specifications

  • Up to 60 cases per min flow rate
  • Standard capacity is about 75 pounds

ARB Descrambling Conveyor

An ARB descrambling conveyor’s primary function is to help move packages into a singular formation. It descrambles a bunch of packages and manipulates it into a single line.

ARB Descrambler Applications

  • Singulating packages prior to sortation or merging
  • Descrambling and singulating packages during depalletization for a pallet layer

ARB Descrambler Benefits

  • Reduces sortation errors and jams
  • Reduces recirculation rates
  • Small footprint
  • Improves scanner read rates
  • Easy and inexpensive to maintain

ARB Descrambler Specifications

  • 12” minimum belt width
  • 350 ft/min belt speed
  • 120 cases/min

ARB Switching Conveyor

ARB switching conveyor moves cases in from a single line of conveyor and diverts each case to its appropriate parallel conveyor line. ARB switching provides a much less expensive alternative to slat dividers and pusher arms.

ARB Switching Applications

  • ARB switching conveyors are often used in the beverage industry
  • Wide or heavy-duty applications
  • Multi-sized package flow

ARB Switching Benefits

  • Increased line efficiency
  • Low maintenance
  • No safety cage needed

ARB Switching Specifications

  • Rates up to 90 cases/min or 300 ft/min
  • 8” minimum infeed gap
  • 8” minimum belt width
  • Switching types include; 1:2 center in-feed, 1:2 side infeed, and 1:3 center infeed
  • Also available in more complex configurations such as 2:2 and 2:3 infeed

ARB Sorting Conveyor

The ARB sorting conveyor is a medium speed conveyor that works with several diverts positioned on the same belt to sort products to their appropriate spur. Conveyor rollers can be set at either a 45, 60- or 90-degree angle. The ARB sorter can either be left-handed or right-handed with bidirectional sorting also is an option.

 

ARB Sorting Benefits

  • Divert zones can be more tightly spaced offering a smaller overall footprint
  • Low maintenance and long life
  • Small footprint
  • Ability to sort multi-sized packages

ARB Sorting Specifications

  • Sortation rates up to 100 cases/min
  • Minimum gap ranges from 12” to 36”
  • 8” minimum belt width
  • 30, 45, 60- and 90-degree divert angles

ARB Perpetual Merge Conveyor

The ARB perpetual merge conveyor allows merging of two or more lines into one without using accumulation methods or control technology. This concept allows packages to move continuously at slower speeds while still meeting throughput requirements.

ARB Perpetual Merge Benefits

  • Elimination of complex controls, such as photo eye sensors and brake meter belts
  • Increased throughput due to continuous motion and product merging
  • Low maintenance and long life
  • Layout flexibility, requiring a significantly smaller footprint due to reduction of accumulation conveyor needs
  • Continuous motion and precise gapping
  • Gentle case handling and reduced damage costs

ARB Perpetual Merge Specifications

  • Up to 60 cases per minute flow rate

ARB Case Rotating Conveyor

The ARB case rotating conveyor rotates products 90-degrees while uniformly aligning product along the side rail leading into the turner, ensuring that each package reaches the turner at a consistent point every time. This step reduces the number of misaligned cases before other sortation operations begin. In addition, the product turner increases productivity by eliminating skewed packages that are caused by interruptions in momentum at the turner. Case rotating can be an easy solution to change the way a product flows down a conveyor.

Applications

  • Rotating a box to present to a scanner or printer
  • Depending on application, can use ARB belting or dual lane conveyor
  • Correcting boxes that are in the wrong orientation

Case Rotating Specifications

  • Constructed of steel or UHMW (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene) to fit the product being rotated
  • Can be designed and built to slide in extruded metal guide for infinite adjustability

Case Rotating Benefits

  • No downtime caused by jams or skewed packages along the carryway
  • Handles a variety of product shapes and sizes
  • Easily retrofitted into existing systems
  • Ability to start and stop
  • Can change the orientation of a product in a very short footprint
  • Can easily attach to existing conveyors for a cost-effective solution
  • Provides a solution to product orientation without the need for controls or long line shutdowns

Resources

  • intralox-polybag-whitepaper
    Learn more about polybag handling with Intralox ARB
    See Brochure
 

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