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What’s the Footprint/Space Savings with an IntelliFinishing System?

Manufacturers can reclaim valuable factory floor space by switching from traditional conveyor systems to a more compact finishing solution

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By MarketScale · Conveyor SolutionsIntellifinishingJohn ClamanShuttle Systems
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Key takeaways

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Manufacturers can reclaim valuable factory floor space by switching from traditional conveyor systems to a more compact finishing solution

When space is tight, every square foot counts—especially in finishing operations. According to John Claman of IntelliFinishing, one of the key advantages of an IntelliFinishing system is its ability to significantly reduce the footprint compared to traditional conveyorized systems.

One of the key advantages of an IntelliFinishing system is its ability to significantly reduce the footprint compared to traditional conveyorized systems.

Traditional chain-based systems often require wide loops and large turning radiuses, especially for long or oversized products. IntelliFinishing addresses this with shuttle systems, which move carriers laterally, allowing process equipment like washers and ovens to be placed side by side. This means products don't need to travel in wide loops just to change direction—they're simply shifted from one station to the next.

Another space-saving method is the deadhead turn. Here, a carrier moves to the end of a conveyor lane, reverses direction, hits a switch, and seamlessly turns 45 or 90 degrees into the next process. This eliminates the need for sprawling looped layouts.

Finally, because IntelliFinishing doesn't rely on continuous chain loops like power-and-free systems, there's no need to route return chains throughout the facility. Carriers can split into different process lanes without requiring extra space to loop back—offering even more layout flexibility.

Together, these innovations allow for a more compact, efficient system—perfect for facilities where space and flow optimization are critical.

Video TranscriptExpand ↓

Hi. This is John Clayman with IntelliFinishing. How can IntelliFinishing system save space within my facility compared to more traditional conveyorized finishing systems? One way we can save space is when dealing with large products, often traditional chain based systems need a fairly wide space to turn a corner. And telefinishing systems, on the other hand, employ a couple techniques to try to squeeze that space down and put process equipment closer together. One of the ways we do that is with shuttle systems. So if you happen to have really large or long products, a shuttle system can turn that corner much quicker. So what do we do with a shuttle system? Well, we move a carrier out onto a shuttle and then we move it sideways, side to side laterally. And so then it backs up out of that shuttle back into another process, perhaps going from loading to wash and then out of wash to maybe another shuttle very quickly back into a dry oven. So that process can squeeze together the wash and the dry oven literally side by side where that long product may have had to make a big loop to make it to its dry oven in a traditional system. Another way we can do something very similar is that we can dead head turn. A carrier will go out to the end of a lane of conveyor and then reverse direction and then hit a switch and turn a forty five or ninety degree turn and then go into another process. So that ability to simply back up and go to in a different direction often saves considerable space on a finishing system. And then lastly, because an IntelliFinishing system doesn't have, for example, like a power and free, you have multiple chains running through the system, and all of those chains may only accomplish a portion of the process for itself. Well, with our type of technology, if we wanna split off into different lanes, for example, and go to different booths, we can simply split off and there's no return chain coming back to the beginning. And oftentimes, that will save space. If you want more information about our shuttles or our deadhead turns, we have videos on our website that will show you systems where we've employed those techniques. Now I think it'll teach you everything you need to know. Thanks.

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