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Fabrication of a Conveyor Belt with Object Sorting and Counting Facility

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 International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 6, Issue 5, May-2017
ISSN 2278-7763 60

Fabrication of a Conveyor Belt with Object Sorting and Counting Facility

Nasif Hassan Khan1, Deb Kumar Sarkar2, Asif Siddique3, Md. Mamunur Rahman3, Swarup Chakraborty3
1
B.Sc. in ME, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology,Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2B.Sc. in EEE, Chittagong University of Engineering
and Technology,Chittagong, Bangladesh,3Lecturer, Department of EEE, Port City International University,Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Email:nasifhasan.abir@gmail.com,deb.k.sarkar@gmail.com,asifsiddiquebzs@gmail.com,md.mamunurrahman37@yahoo.com,
swarup1103@gmail.com.

ABSTRACT
Present world is very much competitive world. Up growing technology is very much responsible in this case. The nation which
have more updated technology, it dominates the world. To survive in the competition technology is very much important. In-
dustry has very much influence on economy for a nation. Where there is industry, there must be production of some products.
Technological improvement is very much necessary to industry for better product. Automation is very necessary for industry.
Conveyor belt is used to carry this product from one station to another. It is a necessary tool in the production line of an indus-
try. The objects can be sorted in a conveyor belt according to its height. For this purpose, a product will have to be placed on a
conveyor belt which is operated by a motor. Then after checking the height of the product, the exact or lower than that height of
the products will be thrown to the product box and the greater than the exact height products will be rejected to the waste box
by automatic rejection process and the accepted products will also be counted automatically which is performed by user defined
rules.
Keywords : Automation, Conveyor Belt, Microcontroller, Sensor, Proteus Simulation.

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1 INTRODUCTION

A t nowadays, industries are playing a vital role in the na-

tional and international economy. To keep existence to-
day's viable world, it is necessary for industry to focus
quality levels. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a
step beyond mechanization. Though mechanization provides
anthropological operators with machinery to assistance them
both on quality and quantity of product. In the present state of with the brawny requirements of work, automation momentous-
intense competition, production efficiency is usually regarded ly decreases the prerequisite for human sensory and mental ne-
as the key of success. Automation is very necessary for indus- cessities while snowballing load capacity, speed, and repeatabil-
try currently. Many industries need to produce various types ity. It is Automation which plays an increasingly imperative role
of product at various types of range. It is important to system- in the world economy and in daily involvement [3].
atize the production of multiple assortments of goods, in Automation has had a distinguished influence in a wide varie-
moderate extent, as well as achieving higher inclusive produc- ty of industries elsewhere manufacturing. Industrial automation
tivity and requiring minimum investment and equipment. In pacts with the optimization of energy-efficient drive systems by
an industrial framework, we can express automation as noth- precise measurement and control technologies. Nowadays, ener-
ing but a technology that is concerned with the use of mechan- gy efficiency in industrial processes is becoming more and more
ical, electrical, electronic and computer-based systems in the relevant. Semiconductor companies like Infineon Technologies
maneuver and control of production [1]. In this project, the are offering 8-bit micro-controller applications for example found
task to be done is to design and enactment of an automated in motor controls, general purpose pumps & fans to reduce ener-
object sorting machine by their color using microcontroller gy consumption and thus increase efficiency. One of Infineon`s 8-
and sensors and count the accepted ones after sorting. Both bit product line institute in industrial automation is the XC800
these tasks are done over a conveyor belt. Conveyor Belt is family [4].
generally used to convey material from a station to another Conveyor belt is most advantageous stratagem in industry for
one, particularly in flexible manufacturing system (FMS) [2]. various resolution which is computerized. Conveyors are durable
The foremost feature of this proposal is using microcontroller and reliable components used in automated spreading and ware-
and sensors. Taking this matter under thought the project is housing. In combination with computer controlled pallet han-
made which is very convenient for industries. dling paraphernalia this allows for more well-organized retail,
wholesale, and industrial distribution. It is measured as a labor-
saving scheme that allows large dimensions to move rapidly
2 AUTOMATION AND CONVEYOR BELT through a process, allowing companies to ship or receive higher
Automation is the convention of apparatuses, control systems volumes with minor storage planetary and with fewer labor dis-
and information technologies to heighten productivity in the bursement [5].
production of possessions and conveyance of services. The cor- A conveyor belt (or belt conveyor) comprises of two or more
rect encouragement for applying automation is to increase pulleys, with an unremitting loop of material that interchanges
productivity, quality beyond that possible with current human about them. One or both of the pulleys are powered, affecting the
labor levels so as to realize economies of scale, realize expectable
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 International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 6, Issue 5, May-2017
ISSN 2278-7763 61

belt and the material on the belt forward. The powered hoist is Product is conveyed directly on the belt so both regular and ir-
baptized as the drive pulley while the unpowered pulley is called regular shaped objects, large or small, light and heavy, can be
the idler. There are two main industrial classes of belt conveyors; transported efficaciously. These conveyors should use only the
those in general material handling such as those moving boxes highest quality premium belting products, which reduces belt
along inside a factory and bulk material handling such as those stretch and results in not as much of preservation for tension ad-
used to transference industrial and agricultural materials, for ex- justments. Belt conveyors can be used to transport product in a
ample grain, coal, ores, etc. largely in alfresco sites. Commonly, straight line or through changes in elevation or direction. In cer-
companies providing general material handling type belt con- tain bids, they can also be used for static accumulation or cartons
veyors do not provide the conveyors for bulk material handling [11].
[6]. There are numerous types of conveyor belt systems which are
The belt consists of one or more layers of material. They can be classified on the basis on power supply and mechanical setup
made out of rubber. Many belts in general material handling similar pneumatic conveyor systems, vibrating conveyor systems,
have two layers. An under coating of material to afford linear flexible conveyor systems, vertical conveyor systems and spiral
strength and shape christened a carcass and an over layer bap- conveyors, vertical conveyor with forks, heavy duty roller con-
tized the cover. The carcass is habitually a woven fabric consum- veyors, mechanical conveyor belt. For categorization object in
ing a warp & weft. The most communal carcass materials are industry height sorting system is very much useful. Color and
polyester, nylon and cotton. The cover is frequently various rub- size are the most significant feature for precise classification and
ber or plastic compounds quantified by use of the belt. Covers categorization of product [12].
can be made from more exotic materials for unusual applications Many researches have done on conveyor belt. Daniyan pre-
such as silicone for heat or gum rubber when traction is indispen- meditated a belt conveyor system by using 3 roll Idlers for
sable [7]. Crushed Limestone [13] while Aniket discussed the design calcu-
Material flowing over the belt may be weighed in transit using lations and contemplations of belt conveyor system for biomass
a beltweigher. Belts with recurrently spaced partitions, recog- wood by means of 3 rolls idlers [14]. There was also an analysis
nized as elevator belts, are secondhand for transporting loose carried out by Seema on DISA pattern moulding machine to meet
materials up steep inclines. Belt Conveyors are castoff in self- the obligation of advanced weight castings [15]. For weight re-

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unloading bulk freighters and in live bottom trucks. Conveyor duction in sugar industry, Vijay also proposed a conveyor belt
technology is also used in conveyor transport such as moving system [16].
sidewalks or escalators, as well as on numerous manufacturing
assembly lines. Stores often have conveyor belts at the check-out
counter to move shopping items. Ski areas also habit conveyor
belts to conveyance skiers up the hill [8].
A wide diversity of related conveying machines is available,
dissimilar as regards attitude of operation, resources and direc-
tion of conveyance, counting screw conveyors, vibrating convey-
ors, pneumatic conveyors, the moving floor system, which uses
reciprocating slats to passage cargo, and roller conveyor system,
which routines a sequence of powered rollers to convey boxes or
pallets [9].
Rubber conveyor belts are generally used to transport items
through irregular bottom surfaces, small items that would fall in
among rollers (e.g. a sushi conveyor bar), or bags of product that
would sag amid rollers. Belt conveyors are generally fairly similar
in construction consisting of a metal frame with rollers at either
end of a flat metal bed. The belt is looped from place to place each
of the rollers and when one of the rollers is motorized (by an elec-
trical motor) the belting slides crosswise the solid metal frame
bed, moving the product. In heavy use submissions, the beds
which the belting is pulled over are substituted with rollers. The
rollers allow weight to be carried as they decrease the amount of
friction generated from the heavier loading on the belting. Belt
conveyors can now be factory-made with curved segments which
use tapered rollers and curved belting to bear products around a
corner. These conveyor systems are commonly used in postal
sorting offices and airport baggage handling systems. A sand-
wich belt conveyor uses two conveyor belts, face-to-face, to firmly
contain the item being carried, making steep incline and even
vertical-lift runs doable [10].
Belt conveyors are the most commonly used powered convey-
ors because they are the most adaptable and the tiniest expensive. Fig. 1. Block diagram of the whole process of the project

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 International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 6, Issue 5, May-2017
ISSN 2278-7763 62

3 METHODOLOGY 7 BASIC STRUCTURE

The first step before the project implementation was to review The basic structure has been made by wood as shown in Fig. 2.
the project scope and research area. Then the next task was to
design the mechanical structure of the conveyor belt which is
to be built. Then, if all the design had been finalized, the im-
plementation of the hardware and the circuitry took place.
Reaching the pick of the project, the programming segment
took place especially for the sensor input, sensing process and
output to the servo motors in the punching mechanism. Last
but not least, certain modification on the circuitry and soft-
ware took place in order to make the system perform in finer
movements. Thus, troubleshooting process also took place to
correct certain faulty processes while the system was perform-
ing its task. While the whole process as shown in Fig. 01 was
completed then a fully operational system had achieved.

4 DESIGN FACTORS
The following factors are considered to design the project:
 Material strength.
 Elasticity of the belt.
 Sorting time.
Fig. 2. Wooden Structure
 Length.
 Velocity of the motors.

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 Power consumed.
 Maximum size of the object. 8 CIRCUIT
The circuit diagram as shown in Fig. 3 is simulated in Proteus
software [17].
5 BASIC COMPONENTS
The components of the project are listed below
 DC Motor (12 Volt)
 Shafts
 Bearing
 Wooden Base
 Rubber Belt
 Aluminum Plate
 Bread Board
 Transistor
 IR Sensor
 20 MHz Crystal Oscillator
 Connecting Wires
 Microcontroller
 Light Dependent Sensor (LDR)
 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
 Battery
 Capacitor.

6 WORKING PRINCIPAL
To fabricate an automatic conveyor belt with object sorting
and counting facility different types of motions, control sys-
tems, sensors and power supply need to be studied about.
At first, a wooden structure has been made. After that a cir-
cuit has been constructed to control the movements of the
conveyor belt, the sorting system and the counting system. So,
there are mainly three sections to construct this whole project. Fig. 3. Proteus Simulation
They are Mechanical Section, Electrical Section and Control-
ling Section.

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 International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 6, Issue 5, May-2017
ISSN 2278-7763 63

through conveyor belt.

 In different industries where huge amount of produc-
tion is occurred.
 Ensuring quality control in mass production.
 By some modification, it can be used to detect any
colored object.
 By some modification, it can be used to measure the
dimension of a product.
 By increasing its sensing capacity, it can be used in
industries.
 It is also very useful in laboratories and workshops.

10.2 Advantages of the system

The practicalities are below.
 Less time required to sort the product.
 Less manpower required.
 As the whole system is performed by machine there is
less possibility of mistake.
 It can reduce cost of inspection.
Fig. 4. Implemented Circuit  It can increase the percentage of good product.
 Conveyor belt can handle huge products with low
cost at hazard environment.
The implementation of circuit diagram on circuit board as  The installation cost and running cost of this system is
shown in Fig. 4 is as above. very low. So, it is very economic.

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10.3 Limitations of the system
9 FINAL SETUP The confines are
The final setup as shown in Fig. 5 is as follows:  Conveyor belt can be used for transporting heavy ma-
terial at long distance, but the project has designed
considering light weight and small distance.
 The sorting machine will only be able to sort the
products according to their height.

11 COST ANALYSIS
The basic components and corresponding approximate prices
are listed below:
TABLE 1
LIST OF PRICES OF DIFFERENT COMPONENTS

No Components Price(BDT)
01 DC Motor (2 pc) 260
02 Bearing (4 pc) 360
03 Belt 50
04 Screws 30
Fig. 5 A camera view of the project from the top.
05 Microcontroller 200
10 PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS 06 LDR, Oscillator, Resist- 350
er, Wires, IR sensors
In the performance analysis, the applications, advantages and
07 LCD 250
limitations are discussed.
08 Bread board 300
10.1 Applications of the system
The sectors where the system can be implanted are described 09 Aluminum sheet 100
below.
 Sorting the product according to their height. Total 1900
 Transportation of specific product to a desired place

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Copyright © 2017 SciResPub.
 International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 6, Issue 5, May-2017
ISSN 2278-7763 64

12 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT [10] S. M. Shinde and R.B. Patil, “Optimization Technique Used for the
Roller Conveyor System for Weight Reduction," International Journal
Effectiveness of this project can be improved by following this of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), vol. 1, no.5,2012.
recommendation: [11] D.A. Hounshell, From the American System to Mass Production, The
 An additional power can be included for the absence Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States,
of mains. (The Johns Hopkins University Press,1984) 1800-1932.
 The limited motor power limits the mechanical struc- [12] Vanamane, S. S., Mane, P. A. and Inamder, K. H., “Design and its
ture and a heavy structure can be obtained increasing Verification of Belt Conveyor System Used for Mould Using Belt
power to have a smarter look & more effective power. Comp Software,” International Journal of Applied Research in Mechanical
Engineering, vol. 1, no.1, pp. 48-52 ,2011.
 Taking more care of the sensitive devices from the
[13] I. A. Daniyan, A. O. Adeodu and O. M. Dada, “Design of a Material
unwanted emissions can augment sensitively. Handling Equipment: Belt Conveyor System for Crushed Limestone
 Sorting by every way of dimension can be done by Using 3 roll Idlers,” Journal of Advancement in Engineering and Technol-
some modification. ogy, vol.1, no.1,2014.
 Improving the sensor quality, sorting can be done [14] Aniket A Jagtap, Shubham D Vaidya, Akash R Samrutwar, Rahul G
more accurately. Kamadi and Nikhil V Bhende, “Design of Material Handling Equip-
ment: Belt Conveyor System for Crushed Biomass Wood Using V
 Decreasing time delay, one can make the process fast.
Merge Conveying System,” International Journal of Mechanical Engi-
neering and Robotics Research, vol.4, no.2,2015.
13 CONCLUSION [15] Seema S. Vanamane and Pravin A. Mane, “Design Manufacture and
Analysis of Belt Conveyor System used for Cooling of Mould,” Inter-
Nowadays, in highly competitive world the industries need to be national Journal of Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA), vol.2,
well equipped. The management of the highly integrity of supply no.3,2012.
of a production, through raw material to deliver finish product, [16] Mr. Memane Vijay and Prof. N. S. Biradar, “Design and Analysis of
through quality manufacturing is of paramount importance. To Belt Conveyor System of Sugar Industry for Weight Reduction,”
Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR), vol.2,
accelerate the process and to maintain the quality of the products, no.5,2015.
automation is required. Automatic production related process [17] About Proteus, available at: https://www.labcenter.com (15 March

IJOART
needs to be introduced. It is very necessary to bring diversity in ,2017).
products considering shape, size and colors, etc. By applying the
idea of this project, an industry can easily sort the required prod-
uct according to its height, convey them to the required destina-
tion and also count them. Though it has some limitations, by
some modification this concept can be implemented in wide
range of application.

References

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