Knife-Edge Conveyor Cell
LVP Automation recently built a knife edge conveyor cell with a 90-degree curve for a pharmaceutical client, designed to transport small, fine packages with precision. Adaptability is crucial in production environments, allowing businesses to save costs by using the same machinery for multiple processes. LVP’s Belcon Mini conveyors, powered by Oriental Motor Brushless DC motors, can now achieve speeds of 1-80 m/min, making them incredibly versatile. With 8 points of I/O on the BLE2 series, the Belcon Mini delivers flexibility and efficiency unmatched by competitors. This adaptability ensures optimal material throughput, maximising profit while minimising overhead costs.
What the Knife-Edge Cell Delivers
Chanelle Pharmaceuticals
Chanelle Pharmaceuticals, based in Galway, tasked LVP with developing a space-efficient conveying system to transport small cartons of tablets from their automatic packing machine to the end of the line. Space was a significant constraint, so LVP installed an aluminium belt conveyor from the Belcon Mini range, featuring a small radius bend to maximise floor space. The system seamlessly integrated into existing machinery, automating a previously manual process, which not only increased production efficiency but also reduced labour costs and improved space utilisation within the facility.
What the Chanelle System Delivers
Plug and Play Conveyor Systems
LVP Automation designed and installed a large-scale system for a medical drug manufacturing facility, using Belcon Mini and Carryline conveyors to take blister packs from the outfeed machine through to the flow wrapper.
The line runs at up to 100 blisters per minute and handles two blister sizes, 90mm x 64mm and 90mm x 95mm. A manually adjustable magazine with a servo drive makes the transfer into the flow wrapper, which is the point where a line like this usually jams. The mini conveyors are modular, so the layout can be adjusted as production changes rather than rebuilt.
What the Blister Line Delivers
Powder Drum Handling, FMC International Cork
FMC International, a bulk pharmaceutical site in Cork, sought an automated solution to streamline the manual filling of large powder drums. LVP installed a powered roller conveyor system that allowed for the accumulation and separation of drums, which were then rotated 180 degrees to eliminate any foreign bodies before manual filling. The system also automated the transportation of empty and filled drums to an automatic palletiser, significantly speeding up the production process and reducing the need for manual handling, ultimately enhancing safety and efficiency on the production line.
What the Drum Line Delivers
Curve Conveyors
Curve conveyors solve the problem of turning a line where there is no room to turn it. LVP Automation supplies them in stainless steel, anodised aluminium and powder-coated mild steel, with inside radii from 200mm to 900mm and configurations at 45, 90 and 180 degrees.
Low-friction belting and knife-edge rollers keep the transfer smooth at the point where product changes direction, which matters most with small or light items that can tip or snag. Material choice follows the environment: stainless where the line is washed down or the room is controlled, aluminium or coated steel where it is not.
What Curve Conveyors Deliver
Common Questions
Can you work in a controlled or cleanroom environment? Yes, and the specification follows the room rather than the other way round. Material choice, surface finish and how the frame is built all change depending on what the environment requires, so it is worth involving whoever owns the room’s validation before anything is designed.
How fast can a blister line run? The system above handles up to 100 blisters per minute across two pack sizes. The right rate depends on the machines either side, since a conveyor rarely sets the ceiling on its own.
Can one line handle more than one pack size? Yes. That build runs two blister sizes, 90mm x 64mm and 90mm x 95mm, using an adjustable magazine at the flow wrapper. How many variants are practical depends on how much they differ and how often you change over.
We have no floor space. Is that the end of it? Usually not, and it is the most common constraint on this page. The Chanelle system used a 200mm inside radius bend to fit the space available, and curve conveyors exist precisely to turn a line where a conventional layout will not fit.
Can you provide design specifications and qualification records? Yes. Risk assessments, functional and system design specifications and qualification documentation are covered under documentation services, and they are far easier to produce alongside the build than afterwards.
Do you work on equipment supplied by others? Yes. Much of this work ties new conveying into machines already installed.
Where do you cover? We are based in Finglas, Dublin 11 and work with customers across Ireland.
