A manufacturer of parts for the heating and cooling industry has a very small heat exchanger that weighs about 11 lbs. The heat exchanger looks like a radiator and can be damaged easily during manufacturing. The company wanted to be able to transport these heat exchange units from sub assembly to the final assembly area without damage.
Previously, the company stacked work cells next to each other in an attempt to minimize damage during long transit. However, even close proximity did not stop the damage happening to the heat exchanger as it moved across the plant.
Material Handling Solution
To provide a safe material handling solution for the heat exchangers, a standard delivery style industrial cart was selected (common parts) and modified with individual pockets on two shelves. Twenty pockets were added per shelf enabling the delivery industrial cart to carry 40 heat exchangers. The pockets protected the heat exchangers from damage during transit and were easily accessible by the operators at the work cells.
The pockets were built with durable sheet metal to provide the protection needed. However, there was a need to keep the overall weight of the industrial cart down. The solution was to drill holes in the pockets to remove some of the excess material and weight while maintaining rigidity and durability.
The industrial carts with pockets enabled the ease of manual movement of the heat exchangers between work cells while providing the flexibility of a towable solution to move the products throughout the plant.
Tags: delivery industrial cart
