ATS Group: MAHLE Behr Mexico Project – Conveyor system for radiator processing

System description

The line spans 127 metres and is based on a double-deck conveyor system. It comprises:

• 250 roller conveyors, including 8 removable units to facilitate maintenance
• 29 pop-up chain diverters (single and double) for perpendicular transfers
• 1 lifting section (lifter) with a fully enclosed safety enclosure, to transfer pallets from one level to another
• 6 loading/unloading stations distributed along the line
• 65 blade stoppers for managing the flow of pallets
• 8 gravity conveyors for the removal of empty frames
• 2 safety ramps (panic ramps)
• 1 Part Recognition System (PRS) with overhead and side cameras, enabling each type of radiator to be identified as it exits the furnace and automatically directed to the correct unloading station

The throughput reaches 300 transport units per hour, which equates to one pallet entering the oven every 12 seconds.

 

 

Implementation process: an international collaboration

This project demonstrates ATS’s ability to deliver complex international projects. The mechanical design and automation were carried out in France, with manufacturing and testing taking place in India (ATS Conveyors India), and on-site installation in Mexico led by French, Slovakian and Indian teams working alongside MAHLE’s local Mexican teams.

Before shipment, a test installation was carried out at the ATS India workshops to mechanically and electrically validate the entire system using actual radiators, before dismantling and shipping in 16 containers.

The on-site installation was completed in 10 weeks, in a working factory — without shutting down the furnace — with all the constraints of concurrent operations that this entails.

A fine example of success and collaboration.