Automatic Mail Tray Lidding Systems

OWEGO, NY, April 14, 2003 – Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $2.8 million contract from the U.S. Postal Service to supply systems that will automatically place lids on mail containers and help achieve cost savings in dispatch operations.

The initial contract is for 20 Automatic Flats Tray Lidder (AFTL) systems, with options for up to 200 systems. The base contract period of performance is now through September. Installation of the 20 AFTL systems will begin at U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution centers (P&DCs) and airmail facilities (AMFs) throughout the nation in July.

"The AFTL system is one more piece of the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to automate its mail processes," said Brian Tanton, vice president of Material Handling and Identification Solutions for Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies. "Winning this contract illustrates Lockheed Martin’s ability to provide technology that supports the U.S. Postal Servic’s quest to improve productivity, increase material movement efficiencies and reduce manual interface in material handling tasks."

The AFTL system automatically places lids on mail containers commonly called "flats trays" by the Postal Service. The system is part of an overall dispatch modernization effort aimed at providing increased throughput and performance during peak periods, while capturing sustainable labor savings.

Lockheed Martin will provide program management, engineering, manufacturing, integration, testing, training, technical data, and operation and training manuals. Industrial Manufacturing and Installations Inc. (IMI) of Littleton, CO, the designer of the prototype system, will provide engineering support as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin.

The AFTL system complements other dispatch automation technology and equipment designed and deployed by Lockheed Martin for the Postal Service such as systems that automatically sleeve and band letter trays as well as automatically assign airline flights to both trays and sacks of mail.

Lockheed Martin Distribution Technologies, Owego, NY, designs, produces and integrates mail automation, recognition, information processing and online postage systems for postal services, package delivery operations and corporate mail centers, airline and airport baggage handling systems, and material handling systems for distribution, fulfillment and manufacturing centers worldwide. Distribution Technologies is a unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD.

About Automatic Flats Tray Lidder System

Designed specifically to automate the process of manually lidding flats trays, the Automatic Flats Tray Lidder (AFTL) system is an economical solution that was developed with an emphasis on ease of operation, low maintenance and low life cycle costs.

The AFTL is a simple machine comprised of four main components:

• A conveyor for supplying stacks of lids
• A mechanism to lift the stacks of lids to a consistent height
• A transfer device to pick the lid and transfer it to a waiting tray
• A tray conveyor to transport the flats trays through the machine

The touch-screen graphical user interface (GUI) provides clean, concise error messages and graphics, which allows operators to quickly and easily recognize and resolve any faults that occur.

The system includes data collection and reporting as well as compliance with interoperability requirements, including remote commands.

Features

• Processes in excess of 900 trays per hour with an error rate of less than 1 percent
• Convenient four-button operator controls, located over the tray conveyor exit
• Detects and passes through lidded and over-filled flats trays and letter trays
• Bidirectional lid conveyor design, allowing lids to be loaded and unloaded with the same ease
• Field configurable for right- or left-handed operation
• Telescoping legs in the frame support to accommodate a wide range of heights and conveyor designs; interfaces well with existing or new conveyor systems
• Minimal maintenance required

Benefits

• Compact design minimizes the amount of floor space required
• Operators can load on the fly, increasing operator and machine productivity, which means the system never stops processing trays for lid loading and operators are free to load lids at their convenience
• Easy on-site installation and integration
• Significant return on investment (ROI)
• Easily reconfigured to perform unlidding operations with the addition of an unstrapper module

source: Lockheed Martin