Industrial Plant, Processing

Sketchers turns to Beumer belt tray sorter

The Beumer BS 7 BT fully automatic sortation and distribution system. Photo: Beumer Group GmbH & Co. KG

Sketchers footwear has installed a Beumer BS 7 BT belt tray sorter in its recently expanded European Distribution Centre to improve the accuracy and speed of its high-volume sorting processes.

Skechers is a US$2 billion high-performance and lifestyle footwear company which designs, develops and markets more than 3,000 styles for men, women and children.

After being manufactured at facilities around the world, Skechers’ products are shipped to the distribution centre in Milmort, Belgium, and then shipped to wholesalers and retailers.

“In the past years, we have seen an increasing demand for our products,” Sketchers logistics centre head Sophie Houtmeyers says. “This is why we had to consistently expand our logistic centre.”

Beumer says this sorting and distribution system is fully automatic, modularly designed and well-suited to applications needing accurate and quick sorting of large numbers of items.

“One of the reasons for choosing the BS 7 BT was its long service life and high reliability,” Beumer Group sortation and distribution technology sales manager Thomas Wiesmann says, adding that the platform-mounted system was designed not only to be faster and more efficient, but also to handle the products more gently.

At a speed of 1.75 metres per second, the system reaches a sorting output of 15,750 items per hour. This increases to 22,500 items per hour at the maximum speed of 2.5 metres per second.

Beumer says the BS 7 BT has the potential to deliver significant operating cost savings through its use of 50 percent fewer individual parts (which reduces energy consumption in production and operation, and maintenance expenditure), a contactless power supply and durable, lightweight aluminium construction.

“Maintenance effort is 80 percent less than with conventional cross belt sorters,” it says. “The gap between the carriers has been bridged with a strong flat cover which reduces damage to articles, conveyor jams and system downtimes. At the same time, the high sorting quality prevents complaints from your customers.”

The sorter is also able to be maintained remotely, reducing the number of service trips that need to be made.

The contactless power supply is the outstanding feature of the BS 7 BT belt tray sorter, Beumer says.

“The usual mains supply is converted into a medium-frequency current, enabling electrical energy to be transferred from a fixed power supply source to a moving transformer via an air gap of approximately 5mm or ‘finger width’,” it says.

A very high coupling efficiency of up to 98 percent is attainable due to the selected frequency. On the belt tray, the medium frequency current is converted into direct current by means of the MF/DC converter.

“The MF/DC converter is equipped with a microprocessor-controlled power output stage for controlling the belt tray DC motor. The MF/DC converter likewise receives the control commands by contactless means via an infrared data interface,” Beumer adds.

 

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