LOADS OF EFFICIENCY: A Custom Conveyor Solution for Hotel Laundry

LEWCO recently designed a custom belt conveyor system for a hotel laundry application to automate the movement of linens through the facility. To reduce manual handling, LEWCO engineered a system that automatically transports hotel linens more than 60 feet. The system utilizes three belt conveyors with two 90-degree transfers to navigate the facility’s narrow footprint, while integrated controls ensure smooth, controlled operation with minimal operator intervention.

This application required each conveyor to communicate with the next. Four integrated photoeyes and a custom PLC control panel, built in LEWCO’s UL-Certified Panel Shop, coordinate system operation, ensuring each conveyor starts only when product is detected and runs until the product clears the sensor. This moves the linens through the system while also preventing product jams.

Linens drop from a chute onto the first conveyor, where a photoeye detects the product and automatically starts the conveyor. The product is then transferred to a second conveyor, where it makes a 90-degree turn before discharging onto a third, 60-foot-long conveyor. At each transfer point, photoeyes regulate product flow to maintain proper spacing and ensure the linens arrive at a manageable pace for the operator at the outfeed.

When the fourth photoeye at the outfeed detects product, the system automatically stops until it is manually restarted. An audible and visual stack light alarm alerts the operator that linens have reached the end of Line 3. The audible alarm can be silenced while the visual indicator remains active until the product is removed. Operators can also manually jog the conveyor to discharge linens directly into a laundry cart as needed.