Painted Bumper Handling: A Low-Contact Chain Conveyor (2007)
From the Central Conveyors archive. Originally documented in December 2007; restored here as a historical account.
Central Conveyors designed this system for a manufacturer of car bumper assemblies used by prestigious marques, including Jaguar. The handling route connected robotic painting with quality inspection, polishing and storage stillages.
Freshly painted assemblies needed support with very little surface contact. The conveyor also had to accommodate different bumper dimensions through adjustments to its height and width. A conventional belt was unsuitable for this particular handling requirement.
The solution used two chain tracks with independent drives. Each track stood on its own mobile frame, allowing the units to be brought together and their separation set using locking bars. Adjusting that gap changed the effective conveying width.
Instead of resting on a continuous belt, the assemblies travelled on numerous narrow metal blades attached to the chains. A specialist silicone covering on the top of each blade helped protect the painted finish while keeping the contact area small. The blades returned beneath the conveying surface.
The original project account described a trial carrying a Jaguar bumper assembly. This was a project for a bumper manufacturer; the archive does not identify Jaguar as Central Conveyors' direct customer.
This historical installation illustrates how the support surface, conveyor spacing and transfer route can be designed around a sensitive product. Any new application needs its own assessment of product geometry, finish and process requirements.
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