Because the surfaces of the conveyed items are in direct contact with the conveyor, the characteristics of the items directly influence equipment selection and system design. These characteristics include size, weight, surface properties (soft or hard), processing rate, packaging method, and center of gravity, all of which must be considered.
During planning, all items to be conveyed should be listed, including the smallest and largest, the heaviest and lightest, and both sealed and unsealed items. Equipment design is not solely influenced by the largest or heaviest items.
For example, lighter items may not trigger sensors, and smaller items can affect the choice of equipment type, such as roller conveyors or belt conveyors. For some cumulative conveyors, the weight distribution of the items has a significant impact. During planning, if the main system does not need to handle all items, a secondary system or manual handling of less frequently used items may be more economical.
All new conveyors must be optimally integrated with existing goods handling equipment. This ranges from simple systems like forklifts to complex systems like robots, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), or storage and retrieval systems. These existing systems will influence equipment selection and configuration, especially at handover points.