Sheet Metal Fabrication for Material Handling
Conveyor guards and brackets, chutes, line-side racks, bins, carts, and packing workstations make up K-Display's material handling sheet metal fabrication. We build them in Chicago for warehouse operators, integrators, and conveyor makers.
Guards, chutes, racks, bins, carts and workstations for material handling
K-Display supplies conveyor guards and brackets, transfer chutes, line-side racks with dunnage, bins, carts, and packing workstations. They are cut, formed, and welded from carbon steel, powder coated, and fitted with casters, handles, and hardware, and delivered welded or knock-down. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.219 requires a horizontal belt with both runs 42 inches or less from the floor to be fully enclosed. In material handling sheet metal fabrication, that makes the guard for a low horizontal belt drive a full enclosure.
A formed chute hands product from one roller section to the next, a step lower. Raised sides hold each package on the path through the drop.
What we make for material handling
- Conveyor guards and mounting brackets
- Drive covers, side covers, and guard panels made to each conveyor section's frame and bolt pattern, with the brackets that hold them, cut and formed in sets per run.
- Chutes and transfer slides
- Formed chutes and slides cut to the drop height and package size between two conveyor runs.
- Line-side racks and dunnage
- Uprights, shelves, and dunnage frames sized to the tote or part they hold, for line-side storage and staging.
- Bins and totes
- Formed metal containers with dividers and stacking features sized to the part and to the shelf or cart they ride on.
- Carts and dollies
- Welded frames with decks, shelves, push handles, and caster plates for the payload and the aisle width.
- Packing and picking workstations
- Bench frames, metal tops, shelves, and monitor and scanner mounts arranged to the operator's task and the tote flow.
What material handling jobs require
- Loads per shelf, deck, and caster
- Load figures for the racks, carts, and workstations at each shelf, deck, and caster.
- Package-contact faces
- The faces packages slide against on chutes, bins, and cart decks, marked for deburred edges, dressed welds, and a continuous finish.
- Guarding standard and dimensions
- The safety standard the guard is built to, such as ASME B20.1 for conveyors, with guard heights, opening sizes, and fastener type.
- Floor-duty finish
- Powder coat color, such as safety yellow or OSHA orange, and a texture for the edges forklifts and carts bump.
- Layout dimensions
- Conveyor section lengths, frame widths, and bolt patterns, with rack elevations and cart drawings.
- Zones and install phases
- The zone or phase each delivery serves, with the parts and quantities in each, so guards, racks, and carts arrive when that stretch of the line is installed.
The mounting tabs hold the chute to the frame, and the inner face does one job, carrying packages. A fastener head or tab on that face would catch the corner of a sliding package.
How material handling work runs
Cut and weld the frames
We laser cut and press-brake form the guards, covers, brackets, and chutes, then MIG and TIG weld the rack, cart, and workstation frames.
Hardware in, then powder coat
We press in self-clinching nuts and studs before powder coat and mask the caster-plate holes and threads, so caster plates and rack bolts seat on bare metal.
Fit, label, and deliver by zone
We fit casters and handles after the coat, label each conveyor section, aisle, or cell, kit its hardware, and pack it as one delivery for its zone.