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Thoughts, Articles, and Outlooks on the Industry

Conveyor beltAdvanced Equipment

Conveyors 201: Their Many Types

Conveyors can be found everywhere in our society. They feed the silos that hold the grain that helps feed the world. They grease the wheels of commerce and tourism by moving luggage through airports. And of course they are the arteries of e-commerce, moving through warehouses the thousands of items each hour that online shoppers expect to be out the…
March 10, 2020
Advanced Equipment

What is a conveyor system?

For many not in the material handling industry, the words “conveyor system” may bring to mind the miles of it they’ve seen in the news or on YouTube – or in the news on YouTube – snaking through Amazon fulfillment centers. Conveyors, however, do more for society than help fill our online orders. If you’ve ever driven past grain farms…
February 18, 2020
Yellow robotic arm carry cardboard box in warehouseAutomation

What is warehouse automation?

Warehouse automation by definition Warehouse automation is a broad term encompassing most modern upgrades in a warehouse environment. Robots, autonomous vehicles, and automated storage and retrieval systems are of course ‘automation.’ But so are the systems and software that enable these machines to work, such as ABC inventory management and data management systems. Even people, when enabled by such technologies…
February 11, 2020
Automation

6 Tips and Best Practices for Integrating Warehouse Automation

Modern warehouses and distribution centers do what warehouses have done for millennia – receive, store, process, and ship goods. For thousands of years, these jobs were done without automation – unless you consider automation to include the wheel and pulley. Still today, warehouses aren’t required to be automated – all of their primary jobs can be done without it. Of…
February 4, 2020
aerial image of warehouse automationAutomation

What are the warehouse automation trends transforming the industry?

Ours is a trying time for technophobes, and for them the future must look bleak. For technophiles, on the other hand, everyday must be like Christmas. The world has embraced computers and automation, and our contact with them is becoming increasingly intimate and subtle. They are in our purses and our pockets, on our wrists, and even in our shoes.…
January 28, 2020
balerOperations

Balers or Compactors: Deciding Which to Use

At PeakLogix, many of the integrations we’ve completed over the years have fed corrugated boxes to a baler as part of a facility’s recycling operations. Recently, we were asked if a compactor could achieve the same outcome. In short, compactors are used for disposing of waste, while balers are more appropriate for recycling processes. Here’s a quick summary of the…
January 21, 2020
AutomationAutomation

The Benefits and Applications of Robotic Palletizers

What are robotic palletizers? Robotic palletizing systems automate the process of stacking product onto pallets. They can also be programmed to depalletize – an essential part of many production lines. Robotic palletizers solve some issues that their older counterpart – conventional palletizers – could not. Conventional palletizers have been around for more than half a century. They consist of a…
January 14, 2020
ASRS InsideAutomation

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems

What is an Automated Storage and Retrieval System? At its most basic, an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (abbreviated AS/RS or ASRS) consists of an automated Storage and Retrieval Machine (SRM), a storage area, and computer controllers that both archive product data and guide the system. AS/RSs date back to the 1960’s and were designed for large and heavy loads.…
January 7, 2020
image of automated guided vehicleAutomation

Material Handling with Automated Guided Vehicles

What is an automated guided vehicle? Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are, put simply, driverless vehicles used to move material. They can look very much like traditional forklifts, though they may lack a cockpit. Depending on the application, they can also take less traditional shapes. Low-profile AGVs may look like industrial Roombas and move material by jacking up shelving from below.…
December 24, 2019
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