Conveyor completed

With the on-site delivery of the third stage of the Chip Mill Log In-Feed Conveyor, Patton Engineering has reached the end of another successful project for long standing client Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd.

The conveyor is to be used in the new Chip Mill at Pan Pac, and is part of a multi million dollar project they have undertaken over the past 12 months. 

The conveyor is able to receive whole truck loads of logs dropped directly into it from the loader. 

The design of the conveyor ensures logs will be unscrambled and sorted into single file as they move along its 45 metre length.  Beyond the conveyors, the logs enter a chipper and then de-barker, with the total length of the process approx 70 metres.

The fabrication of the conveyor was a significant project for Patton Engineering that had a series of logistical challenges. 

Due to the overall length of the conveyor (45 metres) it was not possible to manufacture it in a single stage.  The project was therefore broken into three stages, with each section weighing 24, 34 and 60 tonnes respectively.

Additionally, the sheer size of each of the sections required careful project planning right from conception. 

A temporary moveable jig sitting on railway tracks was installed into the workshop.  Fabricating the conveyors on the jig allowed the ability to move the conveyors out of the workshop for painting, turning and loading onto trucks.

Now all in place, the conveyors will be fully operational later this year.