Chapter 4

Classifications of Materials
Handling Equipment
 Lesson Learning Outcome
On completion of this lesson, the students will
be able to:
 Recognize the basic principles of material
handling for a variety of scenarios pertaining
to manufacturing and service industry;
 Apply analytical skill for selecting optimal
material handling systems for a specific
purpose;
 Apply analytical skill to evaluate the
utilization of material handling equipment for
a specific purpose;
4.1. Categories of Material Handling Equipment

 Material handling equipment can be broadly

classified into four categories.

1) Design features

2) Nature and type of work

3) Working area

4) Movement or motion of materials

2.1. Types of Material Handling Equipment

1) Design Features:

• According to design, material handling

equipment classified as:

A. Hoisting equipment

B. Conveying equipment

C. Surface and overhead equipment.

2.1. Types of Material Handling Equipment
2) Nature and Type of Work:
• Equipment used for the movement and storage of
materials at site are classified as:
A. Transport Equipment
• Equipment used to move material from one
location to another (e.g., between workplaces,
between a loading dock and a storage area, etc.).
• The major subcategories of transport equipment
are conveyors, cranes, and industrial trucks.
• Material can also be transported manually using no
equipment.
4.1 Types of Material Handling Equipment
2) Nature and Type of Work…
D. Storage Equipment
• Equipment used for holding or buffering
materials over a period of time.
• Some storage equipment may include the
transport of materials (e.g., the S/R machines
of an AS/RS, or storage carousels).
• If materials are block stacked directly on the
floor, then no storage equipment is required.
2.1. Types of Material Handling Equipment
2) Nature and Type of Work…
E. Identification and Control Equipment
• Equipment used to collect and communicate
the information that is used to coordinate the
flow of materials within a facility and between
a facility and its suppliers and customers.
• The identification of materials and associated
control can be performed manually with no
specialized equipment.
2.1. Types of Material Handling Equipment
3) Working Area:
In this category, equipment are classified as
A. Unrestricted Area: equipment such as trucks,
tractors, carts etc.., which are restricted to move in
any direction.
B. Restricted Area: Equipment such as gantry cranes,
overhead travelling cranes and stacker cranes,
which are confined to working area.
C. Line Restricted: Equipment such as lifts and
elevators, conveyors, AGV's etc .. Which follows a
continuous specified path for transportation of
materials.
2.1. Types of Material Handling Equipment
3) Working Area:
D. Position Restricted: Equipment such as job
cranes and other industrial robots which are
fixed units and works in specified areas from its
position.
E. Auxiliary Equipment: Equipment used to
improve the effectiveness of handling such as
unit load carriers, dispatch Equipment,
assembling and securing Equipment.
2.1. Types of Material Handling Equipment

4) Movement or Motion of Materials:

According to path of move the equipment are
classified as:
A. Vertical motion (for lifting and lowering)
B. Horizontal motion (for transportation)
C. Combined horizontal and vertical motion
 Basic Types Of Material Equipment
Basic material handling equipment are:-
(i) Industrial Vehicles/Trucks.
(ii) (ii) Conveyors.
(iii) Hoisting Equipment.
(iv) Bulk Handling Equipment/System.
(v) Robotic handling system.
(vi) Containers and Supports.
(vii) Auxiliary Equipment
1. Industrial Vehicles/Trucks:- These are manual or
power driven vehicles suitable for movement of mixed
or unitized load, intermittently, where primary function
is maneuvering or transporting.
2. Conveyors:- These are gravity or powered equipment
commonly used for moving bulk or unit load
continuously or intermittently, uni-directionally from
one point to another over fixed path, where the primary
function is conveying of the material by the help of
movement of some parts/components of the equipment.
The equipment as a whole does not move.
3. Hoisting Equipment:- These equipment are generally
utilized to lift and lower and move unit and varying loads
intermittently, between points within an area known as the reach
of the equipment, where the primary function is transferring.
A hoisting equipment may also be mounted on a powered
vehicle when the movement of the lifted load is not limited
within a fixed area of operation.
4. Bulk Handling Equipment/System: - in the large
process industries and constructional projects, a wide range of
heavy equipment are used for handling and storage of large
amount of bulk solids. These are called bulk handling
equipment.
5. Robotic Handling System:- Specially designed robots
are increasingly being used in materials handling application,
particularly in loading and unloading of jobs to and form a
machine or a machining cell.
6. Containers and Supports:- This classification generally
includes all types of secondary devices and aids which are
utilized for storing, unitizing and movement of materials.
Different types of pressure, tight, loose, closed and open-top
containers; platforms and coil supports and different
securements such as strapping, cinches (chain, rope, cables
with tighteners), bulkheads, dunnage etc. are examples of
secondary devices and aids.
7. Auxiliary Equipment
A large number of equipment and attachments
which cannot be classified under above heads,
but are frequently used independently or in
conjunction with some other materials handling
equipment, are classified in this type.
 CLASSIFICATION OF HANDLING EQUIPMENT
I. Industrial Vehicles / Trucks
A.Non-Powered B. Powered
1. dolly 1. fork lift truck
2. wheelbarrow 2. front-end truck
3. 2-wheel hand truck 3. narrow aisle truck
4. wheel hand truck (a) pallet
(a) box (b) skid
(b) platform 4. platform truck
(c) special 5. platform lift truck
5. hand lift (jack) truck 6. reach truck
(a) pallet 7. side loader truck
(b) skid 8.straddle truck (out-rigger)
(c) special. 9. straddle carrier
Cont..

6. lift table 10. walkie

7. semi-live skid 11. tractor
8. trailer 12. industrial car
(a) mine and quarry car.
(b) furnace and oven car.
(c) hot metal and ladle car.
13. truck (road)
14. locomotives
II. Conveyors
A. Belt Conveyor C. Haulage Conveyor
1. flat (A special class of chain conveyor in
which
2. trough load is pushed or pulled and the weight is
3. closed carried by stationary troughs, surfaces or
rail.)
4. metallic 1. drag chain
5. portable 2. flight
6. telescoping 3. tow
B. Chain Conveyor (a) over-head
1. apron or pan (b) flush-floor
2. slat (c) under-floor
3. cross-bar or arm
Cont..
B. Chain Conveyor D. Cable Conveyor
4. car type/pallet E. Bucket Conveyor
5. en-mass 1. gravity discharge
6. carrier chain and flat-top 2. pivoted bucket
7. trolley 3. bucket elevator (also included under
III)
8. power and free F. Roller Conveyor
9. suspended tray or swing-tray 1. gravity
2. powered/driven
3. portable
G. Screw Conveyor I. Hydraulic Conveyor
H. Pneumatic Conveyor
1. pipe line
2. air-activated gravity (airslide)
3. tube
III. Hoists, Elevators and Cranes IV. Bulk Handling Equipment

A. Hoist A. Excavator
1. chain B. Belt wagon/mobile transfer conveyor
2. powered C. Spreader
B. Winch D. Stacker, Reclaimer and Stacker reclaimer
C. Elevator E. Ship loader and unloader
1. bucket
(a) centrifugal discharge F. Container handling crane
(b) positive discharge
(c) continuous discharge G. Dumper and Loader
2. skip hoist
3. freight H. Tippler truck, Wagon tippler etc.
4. lift
D. Crane V. Robotic Handling Systems
1. jib
(a) fixed pillar
(b) travelling
(c) fixed-tower hammerhead
2. travelling (on rail runways)
(a) bridge
(b) gantry
3. wharf
4. pillar
5. tower
6. mobile
(a) crawler
(b) truck and wagon
(c) railroad/locomotive
(d) floating
7. derrick
VI. Containers and Supports VII. Auxiliary Equipment
A. Shop Containers A. Gates
1. bag B. Feeders
2. box and container
3. craton C. Chutes
4. crate
5. pallet box D. Positioners
6. skid box
7. tote box, pan and basket E. Ball table
8. tray
F. Weighing and Controlling Equipment

B. Bulk Containers
G. Pallet Loaders and Unloaders
1. barrel
2. drum H. Forklift Truck Attachment
3. tank
4. bin and silo, bunker, hopper. I. Crane Attachment
5. ladle
J. Packaging Equipment
VI. Containers and Supports…
C. Shipping Containers
1. bulk
2. freight
3. Liquid
D. Supports
1. pallet
2. skid
3. tables and tray
4. rack
5. reel, spool, cone, core
6. securing devices (strappings, cinches, bulkheads
etc.)