pic: 4242 Preliminary CAD 1

[who716]

is that a two or three stage lift, and what the goal for stacking, due you really need to go up past the secound level with two totes?

[mrnoble]

Originally Posted by apm4242

the acrylic ramp

Please don't use acrylic.

[asid61]

Originally Posted by mrnoble

Please don't use acrylic.

Out of curiosity, why?

[Christopher149]

Originally Posted by asid61

Out of curiosity, why?

Prone to shattering, and cracking around bolt holes, even when all it does is support a sponsor decal.

[RonnieS]

Originally Posted by apm4242

Ronnie - Thanks for the input! We have limited experience with chain driven devices. Given the rollers and the carriage track, I'm not sure where we could put a tensioner. However, we might be able to use something like McMaster's Extended-Life Adjustable
Roller Chain Tensioners on our carriage to tenison it. One or both of the lift axles are going to be on adjustable flange bearings on the tslot. Do you think this will be sufficient to tension the chains?

RE the ramp - Right now, this ramp would only be able to make 1-stacks oriented in a consistent way for others to pick up (basically removing the inconsistencies of the chute). Although, one of our original designs was an articulating conveyor that would make quick 2 and 3-stacks from the tote chute but we nixed it because we didn't have a strong way to drive the cantilevered conveyor and grip was an issue.

That should do the trick. If not, you can always post again and we can give further instructions.
-Ronnie

[apm4242]

Originally Posted by who716

is that a two or three stage lift, and what the goal for stacking, due you really need to go up past the secound level with two totes?

I suppose it's a 1 stage lift? It's chain driven and one side of the chain is anchored to the carriage. As far as height - that's something we're deciding. I'd rather be shorter for stability but it seems silly when all that's limiting how high you can lift is length of tslot and chain (and of course the rules). We don't plan on lifting more than 2-3 totes at a time but we'd like to be able to cap a 3-stack on the platform with a bin. ~38" (3-stacked totes) + ~27"(to the lip of the bin) = 65" off the ground with a bin held by the lip.

Please don't use acrylic.

We've never had a problem with acrylic but this will be the first year we're considering drilling it. Maybe we'll just slide it into the tslot like last year. The .25" thickness works well with 1010.

[mrnoble]

Is polycarbonate (Lexan) not available for you? It will not shatter or crack.