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We’re all told from an early age that straight lines are the shortest, most efficient routes between two points. Did mom ever tell you “go straight to your room young man/lady?” She meant to get there as quickly and efficiently as possible. In as straight a line as possible.

Some years later, it’s time to design an powder coating line or even a warehouse layout. Who can blame anyone for thinking in straight lines after a lifetime of being told they are the shortest, quickest route. But overhead conveyors let you change your thinking.

How Overhead Conveyors can Mean a Straight Line Isn’t the Best Route

Let’s use a spray painting line as an example. Here are the general stations on an average spray painting line.

-Load bare aluminum parts onto a conveyor
-Run parts through a cleaning/pre-treatment process
-Apply the base coat
-Dry the paint
-Apply the second coat
-Dry and cure the paint
-Unload the painted part

Even if every station isn’t in a straight line through the entire process, they can be in a series of straight lines.

Overhead conveyor systems can interrupt those straight lines while adding efficiencies to the painting process.

1. Pre-Treatment

Overhead conveyors can reduce the space required for pre-treatment by looping the parts through the pre-treatment station. This can increase how many parts are treated at once.

2. Paint Drying

With the ability to take the parts up over the plant floor, overhead conveyors can eliminate the floor space needed for drying and curing each paint coat.

This is a very simple example. Every painting or assembly line has its own requirements that mean there is no single solution that works in every case.

But, in every case, overhead conveyors can make your production lines more efficient, even though they’re not in straight lines. Contact us here at Bridgeveyor to learn more about how overhead conveyors can improve your operations.