“Unlike conventional merges with a handful of necessary control devices, the Perpetual Merge, with its no-controls approach, limits and simplifies maintenance and improves up-time.”

Features / Benefits Provided: Enabled continuous flow, accumulation-free merging Eliminated 600 feet of accumulation conveyor Saved $240,000 in conveyor costs

Working with a logistics and distribution engineering firm, a global apparel manufacturer combined two facilities into one and accommodated a shipping throughput of 42,000 cartons per day. A key part of the facility design was the receiving area. The project requirements called for a conveyance system to receive floor-loaded cartons from six containers simultaneously. In the design, six flows of cartons merge first into three accumulation lanes; those three lanes then feed a saw-tooth merge prior to an in-line scale and carton sorter. The consolidation of these flows into a single stream of cartons had to occur on a busy receiving dock with limited space for accumulation conveyor.

Two vendors presentated designs that required 600 feet of accumulation conveyor between the receiving docks and the merges. Additional conveyor curves were also required to weave the accumulation conveyor through the confined receiving area. These factors led to designs with large conveyor footprints and complex controls. Intralox presented a concept for reducing the cost and space requirements by merger 18 conveyor lines into 3. In its design, 6 mobile extendable conveyors unload the 18 dock doors. Each conveyor feeds its own static belt conveyor incline, which directly feeds three Intralox 2:1 Perpetual Merges. Unlike alternative technologies, the Intralox Perpetual Merge does not require upstream accumulation. Intralox won the project.

By using these 3 continuous flow merging systems that require no starting/stopping of infeed conveyors, the solution eliminated 600 feet of accumulation conveyor required by the traditional solutions—and saved $240,000. The solution also reduced the equipment footprint in the receiving area. Finally, because the Perpetual Merge mechanically merges cartons without upstream accumulation, it eliminated most controls. The resulting distribution center now handles the combined capacity of the 2 original facilities, and the manufacturer realized lowered freight costs and improved shipping response time. Perpetual Merge is a good option for a retrofit project where lines are added and need to be merged prior to a sorter.

is a proud member of the Integrated Systems & Controls Industry Group of the Material Handling Industry of America

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