Conveyor systems are often difficult to clean, plus they generate dirt and dust of their own. An alternative, the Quickdraw system from MagStar Technologies, Hopkins, Minn. (qdraw.com) solves these problems with an open, powered-roller design. The conveyor is divided into zones and built-in sensors detect if a product is in that zone. If there are products that need to move, and there are no products in the way, the servomotor dedicated to that zone will switch on and turn a Kevlar edge-belt drive. This saves energy and avoids products crashing into each other and potentially damaging themselves. Zones can be any length between 2 and 60 in. but are usually just slightly longer than the item being moved. The system can run forward or backward. Sealed bearings, slip-driven rollers and an open design lets the conveyor meet most cleanroom requirements.

The company builds a variety of modules that can be incorporated into a conveyor system, including a rotater, microplate stacker, a lift-and-locate dock, pallet pushers, and a product elevator. The module approach makes for flexible configurations and quick set ups. For protection against electrostatic discharge, components are made from high-performance, static-dissipating materials and all metal surfaces that provide a path to ground are nickel plated. Plastics in the grounding path, for example, are conductive or static dissipative (static discharge <2 seconds per Mil B 81705c).