Conveyor Rotators – Know Your Options

Overhead Conveyor rotators are parts that can be attached to a moving overhead conveyor chain. The attachment can be rotated manually or automatically, at various speeds, and either continually or in an indexing fashion (90 degrees or 180 degree rotational increments).

Rotators can be used in many different conveyor applications whenever a product needs to be turned or rotated in order to complete a process, whether it be the assembly of a refrigerator door, taking a product through tight spaces or through a finishing process.

For example, in a paint finishing line presenting all sides of a raw part to the spray equipment or operator is important if you want to ensure a high-quality finish with minimal chance of defects. You can’t have operators touching the product, whether it’s lifting, pushing, or rotating. Therefore Conveyor rotators can provide an economical and efficient solution to this problem.

Overhead conveyor rotators can be manufactured for a variety of functions and product weights. For instance, round items such as propane tanks can be rotated quickly and continuously as they pass in front of the spray nozzles; mount the nozzles on an automatic reciprocator for best results.

Long items with a rectangular cross-section such as a pallet rack load beam are best attached to a 4 position indexing rotator. The rotator will “hold” the part in 4 set positions, 90 degrees/ 180/ 270/ 360. This will allow the spray nozzles to spray directly onto each of the four flat faces of the parts.

The same rotators may even be useful in helping the product to dry uniformly, particularly if a “bank” of Infrared Lamps is positioned in a line on one side of the conveyor. Rotating the wet, painted parts in front of the drying elements will ensure that all sides are receiving heat and thus drying properly.

If you would like to learn more about the various rotator types and how they might be used in your application take a look at this video or contact a Pacline engineer at 1-800-955-8860.