Canadian Finishing and Coatings Manufacturing: Nov/Dec 2022 - 18

INDUSTRIAL FINISHING: MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEMS
In the 90s, TTX developed the SlideRail Square Transfer
(SST) system, which Scoville says is an indexing system that's
commonly used for ecoat finishing. The SST uses only a fraction
of the space needed for traditional monorails and is designed
for high volume finishing operations. With this system, racks of
product can be suspended from load bars and raised or lowered
in processing tanks.
" This is a unique design as we're basically using an end-to-end
carrier that's being pushed throughout the process and it can be
designed in either an over/under or a side-by-side application, "
says Scoville. " And one of the biggest reasons we developed the
SST is to save floor space. "
This compact unit is managed by a PLC, features a modular
build for a fast installation or relocation, and can be integrated
with any conveyor system.
One of TTX's newest material handling technologies is the
Automatic Conveyor Carrier (ACC), an electrified monorail
system, which it featured at FABTECH USA in Georgia in
November.
" Similar concepts have been around for a few years, but TTX
put its own spin on it by making an autonomous, battery powered
version, " says Scoville. " So instead of using a conductor bar that
would go the whole length of the track and having all of that
equipment that has to be track based, we are battery powering our
ACC around a simple overhead track. "
What's more, this unit can be charged while in operation.
" Let's say you're in a finishing system and you come to the oven
station or a wash station where the part will have to sit for five
or 10 minutes. When you have those longer wait times, you can
charge the battery in process, " says Scoville.
This unit can use a lithium battery or an older style AGM
battery like you would see in forklifts. There is a growing interest
in the lithium batteries because they require less charging time
and they have a longer lifespan-AGM batteries might last five
years, where the lithium will last seven to 10 years.
" Another advantage is that with a monorail system or power
and free system, it can take different paths (left or right) on
what we call a track switch. When you get to those switches, it's
difficult to have a power rail go around that switch because of all
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the interface points, which are maintenance areas that need to be
maintained. With our ACC you can just fly through, and you don't
have to worry about that, " says Scoville. " The owner of TTX liked
the ACC technology so much that we built a new section of our
fabrication plant to put a new ACC system in. We're painting our
equipment with the ACC and it's a great tool to show customers
that technology. "
For companies with large parts and lower throughput systems,
TTX's programmable hoists are custom designed to handle
the heaviest workloads and can be integrated with a variety of
conveyor systems.
" Hoists can be programmed for different tank times, " says
Scoville. " On a monorail or an SST system, when it travels into
the cleaning tank or paint tank, every product goes in for the
same amount of time. On a programmable hoist, you can vary
those times from product to product. The immersion times can
all be varied a lot easier. And if you have a specialty product that
needs to be coated in a certain process, but the next product has a
completely different process, it can skip around tanks. Of course,
with such flexibility you do sacrifice some production rates. "
TTX also offers a variety of power and free solutions and
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Canadian Finishing and Coatings Manufacturing: Nov/Dec 2022

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