TKF 

Name: TKF 

Address: 726 Mehring Way  City: Cincinnati  

  Products: Conveyors President: R.L Eubanks

State: Ohio  Employees: 300  

Year Founded: 1947  

  Applying its engineering expertise to solve customers’ unique challenges, TKF, Inc. recently designed and built six Model 180 Continuous Vertical Conveyor systems, each with a capacity of 6,000 pounds — 50 percent larger than any system TKF has manufactured before.

  Designated the Model 180 because it utilizes RC 180 lifting chains, each conveyor system has five pallet zones of accumulation and is totally reversing. Powered by a 30 Hp motor and rated for 12,000 pounds, the conveyors can process three loads a minute with two pallets carrying 6,000 pounds in process at any one time, loading and unloading in a “Z” pattern.

  Custom designed for a plant in Mexico , the conveyor systems will transport pallets measuring 4' square by 8' high. Installed in a pit, the conveyors will load at floor level and lift 27' 4" to the second floor.

  TKF continuous vertical conveyors feature unique platform carriers that are rigid in the horizontal load-carrying position but flexible in the opposite direction, allowing them to rotate around the sprockets to travel in minimum distance on the return phase of each cycle.

  Indoff Inc., the country’s largest material handling distributor and the general contractor for the project, awarded the design and construction of the Model 180s to TKF.  Luna Technical Services Inc. of Dunedin , FL will carry out all of the logistics and the challenging installation at the plant.   TKF was chosen to build the vertical conveyors for the project based on several criteria, said Indoff Senior Partner Bob Goodwin.  At the outset of the selection process, Goodwin queried Indoff’s 180 material handling sales representatives via the Internet for recom-mendations about the best vertical conveyor manufacturers, based on the representatives’ experience and expertise. 

  TKF ranked highly in those recommendations, so Goodwin then made inquiries about the number of engineers on staff at each of the top companies recommended, and found that TKF had the most. Goodwin also carried out a financial examination of the companies on his short list. “TKF has far and away the strongest financial picture, which really sealed my decision,” he explained.

  One key addition made to the 6,000-pound conveyors that will simplify installation was their cabling. TKF Vice President-Sales Jim Walsh explained, “Instead of running hard conduit out in the field, everything will be a plug-in connect, so field wiring will be greatly minimized.”

  Prior to this system, the largest continuous vertical conveyor ever manufactured by TKF had a 4,000-pound capacity. 

  TKF is the leading manufacturer of continuous vertical conveyors, and has manufactured more than 1,500, said Project Engineer David Radford.  The Model 180 design was based on the principles of TKF’s standard continuous vertical conveyor, but posed its own unique challenges.

  Since the conveyors will be installed in pits, repair and replacement considerations became critical to the design. Radford explained, “It’s tough to get a 10' shaft out of an 11' pit when it’s at floor level.  Therefore, all the bolt-on plates are on the outside with large release slots on the inside.  The plates are simply removed so the shaft can be tipped up and removed from the pit.”  The plates are smaller and more manageable, he said, and costs were reduced since TKF didn’t have to machine large exterior plates. 

  Shipping considerations also played a significant role in the design process, Radford noted. To avoid oversize shipping permits from Cincinnati to Mexico , the conveyors were designed and built in modules that can be disassembled to fit on a standard trailer, and all the 6,000-pound conveyors are sized to stand no higher than 10 feet on the trailers.