COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
GT Bunning & Sons Ltd new paint plant conveyor
With over 50 years of manufacturing experience , G . T . Bunning & Sons Ltd . a well-established manufacturer of rear dis-charge muck spreaders is synonymous within the farming communities of domestic and export markets for quality and reliability , and more recently for appearing on BBC Top Gear ’ s “ car vs manure spreader ”.
The Autotrack 500 power & free conveyor system forms part of Amber Industries Ltd product portfolio , and can be viewed in greater detail on their website https :// www . amber-industries . ltd . uk /
Within their planned expansion of their current manufacturing facility at Gressenhall , GT Bunning recognised that there was a requirement for a new finishing plant that would include a shot blast booth , two paint booths , an oven and an automated conveyor system that would streamline the production process and future proof increasing demand of their machines . At the time of building works commencing , it was one of the largest construction project in East Anglia .
Working closely with the engineers at GT Bunning and other associated contractors , Amber Industries Ltd designed a system layout for the new finishing line , utilising their industry proven , heavy duty Autotrack 500 overhead Power & Free conveyor system .
The design brief required the conveyor system to handle components up to 6500kg in weight , 9mtrs in length and 2.5mtrs high with an easily adjustable raise / lower feature , for ease of painting by the booth operators and safe product un-loading .
In order to achieve all of these requirements , the system was designed using heavy duty flightbars onto which the chassis would be suspended , and 3 off x 10mtrs long drop sections , one sited in each paint booth and one at the un-load station . Each drop section is powered by a hydraulic powerpack & two cylinders and includes safety fall arrestors , to protect the operating personnel in the event of a hydraulic cylinder failure .
Integrated with the various plant items , using a Siemens PLC and HMI touchscreen , the conveyor system ensures the correct and safe product movement around the plant . A dongle WiFi remote access facility , allows Amber software engineers to connect to the system from their Oldham offices , therefore offering immediate system support if required .
The conveyor components , support structure and drop sections were manufactured at Amber ’ s manufacturing facility in Oldham , with all mechanical & electrical installation being co-ordinated along with the customer ’ s production and other contractors , giving a fully tested and commissioned hand-over in June 2021 .
Amber Industries Ltd are specialist in conveyor and handling equipment and offer a complete design & manufacture service , installation & control and service & spare parts .
2 JUNE 2021 read online : www . surfaceworld . com