Materials handling requires some equipments especially designed to meet the requirements of handling different materials. The materials handling equipments or devices include:
1. Trucks and similar vehicles.
2. Lifting and lowering devices.
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3. Combination of transporting & lifting devices.
1. Trucks and Similar Vehicles:
These vehicles are powered by hand, diesel or electricity and are capable of transporting materials and people in a horizontal direction. These are also variable path equipments and can be used so long as suitable travelling surfaces are available and the route is not obstructed. These devices occupy the space intermittently and as soon as its work is over, the space is free for some other operation.
The simplest of these are wheel barrows and hand trucks. But they require large amount of manpower for a relatively small load. These involve low cost, greater flexibility and easy portability from one job to the other.
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Tractors and trailers are other popular methods of horizontal transportation. Trailers can be left loaded and can be picked up by different tractors. This is one of the most important methods of handling materials inside the plant. Skids can be used with lift trucks. These are improvements over wheel barrows and hand trucks.
Pipelines and pumps can also be used for horizontal transportation of commodities like oil, natural gas, water etc.
2. Lifting and Lowering Devices:
These devices are suitable for vertical transportation of material. Cranes and Hoists are the common means of vertical movement. These equipments are able to move materials vertically and laterally in a space of limited length, width and height. If mounted on tractors, trucks, rail, road, etc., they can also move from one location to the other.
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Some common equipment are block and tackle, which are power hoist. Hoists are power driven devices, often operated between fixed guide rails. These are similar to elevators but do not carry the operator on it (Fig. 21.2).
3. Combination of Transporting and Lifting Devices:
Simplest of these are conveyors. It is a device which moves materials or people in either a vertical or horizontal direction between two fixed points. The other categories can be escalators, pipes etc. These provide a fixed route of travel and occupy a space continuously (Fig.21.3).
In conveyor system, transportation is affected by friction between materials being transported and the belt. For horizontal transportation, friction may not be of any great consequence, but for a slope of any kind, it becomes more important.
There can be conveyors for tin cans, flight conveyor, belt conveyor with lift etc. A conveyor provides a continuous transportation system occupying considerable space with relatively fixed and high cost of investment.