Typically, conventional conveyors run all the time whether they are accumulating product or not. One of the greatest aspects of motorized drive roller conveyors is the fact that, with the proper control system strategy, MDR zones only run when they need to. In a typical MDR system, the rollers in any given zone only run 10% to 50% of operational time. You could realize a savings of 30% to 70% in energy savings alone, which means a faster return on investment for your business.

Large, conventional motors can be extremely dangerous for your warehouse personnel. A stray hand, limb, or piece of clothing can lead to tragic injury if caught up in a bad place or pinch point while the conveyor is running. In addition, such motors use tremendous amounts of power, which can also present warehouse dangers. The motorized drive roller in a typical MDR zone is powered by 24 volts DC, and has no major pinch points. Moreover, MDR only has to provide motive power and torque to a short zone, so there is never enough drive power to be dangerous. In most cases, you can literally grab a running motorized roller with your bare hand and make it stop with only a handshake grip.

Motorized drive rollers can help protect your ears, as well. MDR conveyor systems are much quieter than conventional conveyors. Conventional conveyor usually uses chains and sprockets somewhere in its drive train. Vibration is then transferred to conveyor frames, supports, and rollers, and the resulting noise can be a significant hazard. To make matters worse, in most conventional systems, the motor and drive train runs all the time, so you have chain noise and vibration whether or not you are conveying or accumulating product. Motorized drive roller conveyors operate relatively quietly, and only run when necessary. MDR systems typically achieve noise levels of 70dB or less.

The phrase "plug and play" has become ubiquitous in product marketing. Many companies and products promise you "plug and play" because it sounds nice, but fail to deliver the "plug" or the "play." Motorized drive roller conveyor systems make "plug and play" a reality.

With the proper control system strategy applied up front, a typical motorized drive roller section is electrically pre-wired at the manufacturer prior to shipment. A typical section will utilize plug connectors at each end to allow the unit to be set in place and simply plugged into the unit in front of it and the unit behind it to make it operational.

As a result, you can easily add or remove sections of conveyor as needed to alter or re-route your conveyor path (even temporarily) to accommodate the changing needs of your business. Also, with the proper control system strategy applied, this endeavor need not require a gaggle of engineers, programmers, or technicians to accomplish. In some cases, your own people can make changes and modifications with minimal assistance from the original conveyor equipment or control system provider.