Avancon says its zone-based conveyor design cuts cabling and cabinet needs

Avancon SA says its Zone Powered Concept uses AS-Interface, aluminum framing and decentralized control boxes to simplify conveyor automation and reduce wiring. The company says the approach can cut cable-setting costs by at least 50% and support a wide range of conveyor applications.

Why it matters: - Avancon says its conveyor architecture is designed to reduce wiring complexity, lower installation cost and eliminate the need for a central control cabinet. - The company says the system is built to scale across many conveyor applications, from short goods to long cartons and boxes. - Avancon says the design can save at least 50% of cable-setting cost.

What happened: - Dieter Specht, founder of the Interroll group, and two young engineers developed Avancon SA in Switzerland around a new conveyor concept. - The company built the system around AS-Interface, a globally standardized fieldbus system for sensor and actuator wiring. - The concept is called ZPC, short for Zone Powered Concept.

The details: - The conveyor is split into single equal zones that communicate with each other. - Each zone contains the needed components inside the frame construction through snap-in assembly. - Avancon uses extruded aluminum profiles, frames and stands for the system. - The company says aluminum makes the structure light, easier to handle, cheaper to ship and easier to machine with CAD/CAM. - The profiles include snap-in grooves for cables and section connectors. - Each zone includes a 48V, 40-watt BLDC motor, a photo sensor, timing-belt drive components and related control electronics. - The system is powered by a newly developed supply created with Germany’s Puls Group and patented exclusively by Avancon SA. - The power supply is AS-i compatible. - The yellow flat AS-i cable supplies 30.5 volts for control and carries data at the same time. - The 48V DC motor power is also AS-i compatible. - Cables are fitted inside guiding ribs of the aluminum profile in an upside-down position. - The design allows connection points to be made anywhere along the AS-Interface cable. - Avancon says no screws or tools are needed, with only a security slider required. - The company says each control has its own box to avoid cable congestion.

Between the lines: - The core shift is away from centralized conveyor control and toward modular zones with distributed intelligence. - That approach can simplify installation and maintenance while also making system layouts easier to adapt. - Avancon is positioning aluminum construction and AS-Interface compatibility as the two enablers of the design.

What's next: - Avancon says the BLDC motor may later be replaced by a flat axial flux motor. - The company says the ZPC concept is meant to work for up to 1,000 applications. - The modular zone design suggests future expansion will focus on adapting zone length and configuration rather than redesigning the full system.