Installation Photos

Case Study - The Document Company, Xerox

Developer manufacturing plant eliminates
production bottleneck

THE DOCUMENT COMPANY, XEROX, a leader in office information systems, whose core business is copiers and printers, was experiencing a production bottleneck at their Webster, NY developer manufacturing plant.

The process requires iron core to be staged and weighed before going through a rotary kiln. Staging the core, which is received in drums ranging in weight from 850 to 1200 lbs., was a labor intensive process. The drums were dumped into large hoppers and the iron core then pneumatically sent to weigh scales and staging hoppers.

Company Researches Potential Ergonomic and Productivity Solutions
A project manager for Xerox saw the ALM drum lift being demonstrated at a trade show in Chicago, IL. After discussing equipment capabilities, which included programmability, safety and productivity goals, Xerox decided to purchase multiple units.

The ALM drum dumpers are currently being used to lift drums from a delivery conveyor, rotate over a processor, invert for discharge of iron core and then return the empty drums to a takeaway conveyor. This process, being completely automated, eliminates all interaction between production workers and the heavy drums.

Drum Dumper Versatility an Asset
"The ALM dumper provides the versatility of a robotic type dumper in its ability to be programmed" said project manager Frank Sutherland. Sensing the presence of a full drum from one conveyor automatically clamping, lifting and rotating the drum over the storage hopper, dumping the material and then rotating back to the empty drum conveyor is a desirable asset to this type of equipment.

"The ALM Dumper provides the versatility of a robotic type dumper in its ability to beprogrammed"

This application provides movement of material through the process in an automatic mode meaning very little man-machine interface. It saves labor and is ergonomically helpful due to the elimination of interaction between production workers and the heavy drums.

"The low cost of the dumper and the ability to reprogram it for different applications is what first attracted us to ALM."

Drum Dumper Can BeEasily Programmed
The movement and function of the lift can be alteredby adjusting the limit switches and PLC program. This accommodates different operating cycles. Sutherland stated "The low cost of the dumper and the ability to reprogram it for different applications is what first attracted us to ALM. Working with ALM we were able to fit the dumper into our application instead of having to design our process around a two dimensional dumper.

"Working with ALM we were able to fit the dumper into our application instead of having to design our process around a two dimensional dumper"

Per Sutherland, the dumpers were installed in July 1998 and are in operation 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.