Rockwell Automation offers a broad portfolio ofcontrol and information products, a global serviceand support network, and a resource-rich networkof business and technology partners.

Automation Control for Conveying EquipmentLower Total Cost to Design, Develop, and DeliverSM Solutionsfrom Rockwell Automation

OverviewConveyors and conveying systems are key components in many materialhandling processes. Responsible for moving bulk goods or unit loadsthroughout a manufacturing or distribution facility, conveyors have asignificant impact on efficiently managing product flow and supply chaindemands.

If your end users are concerned with improving production and reducingmaintenance, incremental gains in conveyor performance, reliability andefficiency can lead to significant cost reductions. In addition, increasedmodularity and flexibility means easier reconfiguration to meet changingdemands and new product introductions.

Since conveyors play a central role in an operation, it is essential thatconveying equipment operates with maximum availability and minimumdowntime – ensured by global service and parts availability. For end usersbuying for today’s needs – and tomorrow’s – machine builders can providethe most value from these assets with energy management through sleepmodes and automatic variable speed control. Through tighter conveyorcontrol, machine builders can maximize throughput at more efficientspeeds.

Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture™ system reduces programmingtime, improves information flow betweencomponents, and brings unmatched flexibilityto machine design.

Easy-to-use, off-the-shelf (OTS) componentsreduce time to market and meet end userdemands for simplicity and global support.

With the introduction of Integrated Motionon EtherNet/IP, Rockwell Automationbecomes the first automation supplier toprovide integrated motion control on standardEthernet, allowing you to use a single networkfor complete machine control.

One development environment for control,motion, and drives programming reducesdevelopment time and cost

Extensive offering of Rockwell Automationsafety products and services teamed withour application expertise increases overallequipment effectiveness

On-MachineTM products allow for distributedarchitectures, reducing panel space, loweringinstallation time and wiring errors

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Advantages

ChallengeInadequate conveying systems can create a bottleneck.For many end users, the differentiator is the ability todeliver quicker than anyone else through highlyautomated, highly reliable systems. Machine builders canprovide those systems through redundant controls andnetworks supported by off-the-shelf (OTS) components.

For example, efficient conveyor operation can minimizeongoing system expenses and achieve superior reliabilityat a competitive price – optimizing maintainability withoutthe need for large investments in equipment and designtime.

Flexibility is required to meet changing seasonal demandsand new product introductions. Machine builders canreduce lead time to build, test, and ship machines andreduce time to market for new machine designs throughscalable architectures and On-machine distributedsolutions.

While many conveying systems are purchased to meetcurrent requirements, the conveying system should beoptimized to handle future needs, with flexible networkcapabilities built to standards for easy integration withother equipment.

For machine builders who want to provide end users withdata to identify trends and opportunities for improvement,an information-enabled architecture improves operationaland maintenance alerts, diagnostics, trouble shooting, andparts access for optimal on-demand machine performancethat reduces inefficiencies and ultimately saves energy.

SolutionRockwell Automation Integrated Architecture bringstogether a powerful multi-disciplined control engine,seamless networking, a scalable visualization platform andthe information technologies. Unlike conventional controlarchitectures, the Integrated Architecture provides fullyintegrated, scalable solutions using a single controlplatform and a single development environment. It allowsmachine builders to build standardized code withimproved access to production and diagnosticinformation. This helps machine builders shorten designcycles and increase their focus on innovations that lead toa competitive advantage.

The Allen-Bradley® ArmorStart® family of distributed motorcontrollers provides machine builders with a controlssolution that reduces installation time and providesflexibility for your system. Zone control capabilities ofArmorStart are ideal for conveyors with built-in DeviceNetcommunications, DeviceLogix™ technology, and addedZone Interlocking Parameters (ZIP).

When paired with our application expertise, the vast varietyof photoelectrics from Rockwell Automation allowsmachine builders to efficiently solve the most complexconveyor sensing applications; selecting a single providerwith global availability allows machine builders to improvereliability.

New developments by Cisco and Rockwell Automation haveled to significant advancement in EtherNet/IP for conveyingapplications. Utilizing dual port switches, linear topologiesallow for less wiring while increasing cable segmentlengths. Device level ring (DLR) topologies offers resilientsingle fault tolerant networks to improve reliability.

Working with Rockwell Automation you can lower your Total Cost to Design, Develop, and DeliverSM a machine. This totalcost approach solution accounts for all costs of delivering a machine or system to market over a given period of time. It is afinal result of the purchase and build costs plus all aspects in the future use and maintenance of the machine componentsconsidered.

Conveying Equipment: Typical Architecture on EtherNet/IP Network

Rockwell Automation solutions deliver improved production capabilities and reduced total cost of ownership byproviding unparalleled functionality, flexibility and scalability. Machine builders can respond more quickly to customer ormarket demands, reduce maintenance costs and downtime and easily gain access to actionable plant and productioninformation for improved management and decision-making.

Conveying Equipment: Typical Architecture on DeviceNet Network

Publication OEM-AP108A-EN-P – August 2010 Copyright ©2010 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA.

Allen-Bradley, ArmorStart, DeviceLogix, Integrated Architecture, On-Machine, ControlLogix, CompactLogix, ArmorPOINT, ArmorBlock, Block I/O, PanelView, POINT I/O, Flex,KwikLink, PowerFlex and Total Cost to Design, Develop, and Deliver are trademarks of Rockwell Automation.