How Continuous Vertical Conveyors Improve Material Flow

From Lift Cycles to Continuous Flow

When products need to move between floors, the lifting height is not always the main issue.

In many warehouses and production facilities, time is also lost waiting for a goods lift, loading and unloading pallets, or transferring products again after they reach another floor.

A continuous vertical conveyor (CVC) can make the vertical transfer part of the conveyor line. Products enter the conveyor on one floor, move through the vertical section and continue to the next process after reaching another level.

The difference is not simply lifting speed. It is the way the vertical transfer fits into the overall material flow.

A continuous vertical conveyor connecting different levels of a warehouse or production line.

A conventional goods lift normally works in cycles: load, lift, discharge, return, and load again. For a few pallet transfers each day, this may be completely practical.

The situation is different when hundreds or thousands of cartons need to move between floors every hour.

A CVC uses multiple carriers that circulate through the machine. While one carrier is transporting a product through the vertical section, other carriers are returning to the loading position. Products can therefore enter the machine at regular intervals instead of waiting for one complete lifting cycle.

This makes the CVC suitable when vertical transportation is part of a regular production or warehouse flow.

Reducing Manual Handling

Consider a warehouse located on the fourth floor where cartons need to be loaded into containers at ground level.

A conventional process may involve moving the cartons onto pallets, sending the pallets through a goods lift, unloading them at the lower level and then transferring the cartons again before loading the container.

With a CVC connected to a telescopic conveyor, the process can be integrated into one line:

4F warehouse → Infeed conveyor → Z-type CVC → 1F → Telescopic conveyor → Container

The cartons can enter the CVC directly on the fourth floor and continue onto the telescopic conveyor after reaching the first floor.

There is no need to palletize the cartons only for the vertical transfer and then handle them again after unloading.

This can reduce the number of manual handling steps and make the vertical transfer part of the loading process.

Throughput Depends on the Complete System

X-YES standard CVC operating speed is normally around 25–30 m/min. Depending on the load and configuration, a Z-type machine can reach approximately 35 m/min.

However, conveyor speed alone does not determine the actual throughput.

If the upstream conveyor supplies 500 cartons per hour, increasing the CVC speed does not automatically increase the complete system capacity to 1,000 cartons per hour. The conveyors before and after the CVC also need to handle the required product interval.

For this reason, we normally look at the complete flow:

Product → Infeed conveyor → CVC → Discharge conveyor → Next process

Product dimensions, carrier size, carrier spacing, lifting height and the surrounding conveyor system all affect the final capacity.

For example, a CVC designed for 600 × 400 × 300 mm cartons at 20 kg per carton will have different carrier and spacing requirements from a system designed for pallet loads.

The conveyor should therefore be designed according to the actual material flow rather than the vertical lifting speed alone.

Load and Carrier Selection

The carrier is designed around the product being transported.

For cartons and totes, the carrier needs to provide sufficient support and maintain the required spacing between products. For pallet applications, the carrier structure needs to accommodate the pallet dimensions and load distribution.

X-YES has designed continuous vertical conveyors for pallet loads of up to approximately 1,500 kg.

The following ranges can be used for preliminary selection:

Load class	Reference load
Light duty	0–50 kg
Medium duty	50–150 kg
Heavy duty	150–500 kg
Extra heavy duty	Over 500 kg

These are reference ranges rather than fixed machine categories. The actual design depends on the product, carrier dimensions, lifting height, throughput and operating conditions.

C-Type or Z-Type: Start With the Layout

The CVC configuration is normally determined by the position of the infeed and discharge conveyors.

With a C-type, the infeed and discharge are on the same side of the machine.

With a Z-type, the infeed and discharge are on opposite sides.

This difference becomes important when connecting conveyors on different floors.

If the upper-floor and lower-floor conveyors are located on the same side, a C-type may be suitable.

If the product needs to enter from one side and leave from the opposite side, a Z-type may provide a more direct connection.

The choice is therefore mainly a matter of layout and material flow.

C-type and Z-type machines also have different mechanical arrangements. A C-type requires the carrier and chain system to complete the return path within the machine, while the Z-type provides a more direct path between the two transfer points.

We have built continuous vertical conveyor systems with lifting heights of approximately 30 m. The final configuration depends on the building layout, product flow and transfer positions.

Project Example: 4F Warehouse to Container Loading

One warehouse project demonstrates how a CVC can become part of the loading process.

The customer's warehouse was located on the 4th floor, while containers were loaded at the lower level.

The cartons weighed up to approximately 30 kg, and the required capacity was around 1,000 cartons per hour.

The previous process involved pallet handling and separate vertical transportation. The new system used a Z-type CVC together with a telescopic conveyor.

The material flow was arranged as:

4F warehouse → Infeed conveyor → Z-type CVC → 1F → Telescopic conveyor → Container

The cartons enter the conveyor system on the fourth floor, pass through the CVC and continue directly onto the telescopic conveyor at the lower level.

The telescopic conveyor then extends into the container for loading.

The complete container loading process takes approximately two hours, including the continuous conveying and loading operation.

In this application, the main improvement was not simply the speed of the vertical conveyor. The CVC removed several manual handling steps from the process and connected the upper-floor warehouse directly with the container loading operation.

Project Example: 800 Cartons per Hour Over 8 m

Another project involved cartons measuring 600 × 400 × 300 mm, with a maximum weight of 20 kg per carton.

The required lifting height was 8 m, and the required throughput was 800 cartons per hour.

The application required a Z-type CVC.

The system was designed for approximately 900 cartons per hour, providing some capacity above the customer's required throughput.

The carrier arrangement and product spacing were selected according to the carton dimensions and required flow rate.

In this case, the machine did not need to operate at its maximum possible output simply to meet the customer's requirement. The carrier configuration was designed around the actual product and throughput.

When Does a CVC Make Sense?

A continuous vertical conveyor is worth considering when vertical transportation is part of a frequent and repetitive material flow.

Typical applications include carton handling, packaging lines, multi-floor production, warehouse transfers, logistics systems and pallet handling.

It is particularly useful when the existing process involves frequent goods-lift cycles, manual transfers or waiting between operations.

A CVC is not necessarily the best solution for every project.

If only a few pallets need to move between floors several times a day, a vertical reciprocating conveyor may be more practical.

If hundreds or thousands of cartons need to move between levels every hour, continuous movement can provide a more suitable solution.

The equipment should be selected according to the actual material flow.

Information Required for CVC Design

For a preliminary CVC design, we normally need the following information:

Information	Examples
Product	Dimensions and weight
Throughput	Required cartons or pallets per hour
Lifting height	Floor-to-floor height
Transfer positions	Infeed and discharge locations
Installation space	Available footprint and height
Existing conveyors	Conveyor type and transfer height
Product spacing	Required distance between products
Installation environment	Indoor or outdoor

These details determine the carrier size, machine configuration, operating speed and connection with the surrounding conveyors.

A high-speed CVC cannot compensate for a bottleneck in the upstream or downstream conveyor.

Likewise, a high-capacity vertical conveyor will not eliminate manual handling if the products still need to be transferred by hand before or after the machine.

The CVC needs to be designed together with the process around it.

Conclusion

A continuous vertical conveyor can make vertical transportation part of the normal conveyor flow rather than treating it as a separate lifting operation.

For high-frequency carton or tote movement, this can reduce waiting and manual handling between floors. For pallet applications, the same principle can be applied when the required flow and layout are suitable.

C-type and Z-type configurations provide different ways to connect the upper and lower conveyor lines, while carrier size, spacing, load and lifting height determine the mechanical design.

The starting point should be the product, material flow and site layout. The conveyor configuration comes after these requirements are clear.