Roles of Material Handling Equipment

Material handling is a broad phrase that refers to the tools and equipment used to make cargo handling work more effective and employ fewer labour resources in cargo handling activity that lays a heavy burden on workers. These machines and pieces of equipment are known as material handling devices. This section outlines the material handling equipment used at logistics work locations in terms of their work.

At logistics worksites, there is a lot of heavy labour required, such as loading, unloading, and transporting material. Therefore, the phrase “material handling device” refers to the machines used to make logistical operations more efficient. These machines carry out a variety of functions, including the movement of raw materials, works in progress, and finished items. At logistics work locations, a variety of material handling devices are used. Forklifts, pallets, conveyors, sorters, picking systems, and automated warehouses are examples.

1. Forklifts

Forklifts are utilized in various settings, including industries, warehouses, port facilities, and freight terminals. They can readily lift massive objects and turn in a small radius, making them immensely versatile. Forklifts exist in a range of shapes and sizes.

2. Palletizers

Palletizers are machines that load cargo onto pallets automatically. Palletizers are classified into high-level palletizers and low-level palletizers, which pack products from their respective levels, and palletizing robots, which use industrial robots to grab (suction) and stack cargo.

3. Depalletizers

A depalletizer is a material handling device that unloads merchandise stacked on pallets, which is the inverse of a palletizer. Depalletizers, like palletizers, come in various configurations based on the sort of cargo handled.

4. Overhead Trolleys

Overhead trolleys are carts that run on tracks mounted on the ceiling to take advantage of available space. Overhead trolleys, like automated guided vehicles, may operate autonomously and can be used to convey freight and in applications such as automatically restocking products to picking shelves, sorting goods by shipping destination, and transporting parts between operations in factories.

5. Conveyers

A conveyor is a material handling device that transports things at a steady speed. For example, conveyors (belt conveyors) are often utilized on construction sites.

6. Automatic Labeling Machine

Material handling equipment produces purpose-specific labels and automatically attaches them to containers and cardboard boxes on a conveyor line.

7. Automated Warehouses

There are numerous automated warehouses in which the storage and management of items on shelves have been automated, ranging from large types that store and manage goods by pallet to picking-specific types. There are warehouses where the entire building has been converted into an automated warehouse for significant kinds, which notably benefits from increased efficiency and decreased workforce requirements.