Smart Factory – the future of production logistics

 

Fully automatic high-bay warehouses, robots that navigate independently through the warehouse and technically sophisticated conveyor systems – in warehouse logistics, permanent technical progress is tangible at every point.

But what about production logistics, in which a significant part of industrial value creation takes place? According to a number of manufacturers, there is still a lot of untapped potential to be exploited here. One approach is the intelligent automation of the material flow, with the help of which goods can be moved even more quickly from the warehouse to the workplace and production sites. And this is exactly where the two companies Kardex Remstar and Servus Intralogistics come in. Under the keyword Smart Factory they have developed a new solution to optimize their customers' internal production logistics. The primary goal is to intelligently interlink the storage and provision of goods as well as assembly and production and thereby realize a consistently automated material flow between all storage, production and assembly areas.

Smart routing

The core components of the solution are dynamic storage systems from Kardex Remstar and a specialized transport system from Servus Intralogistics, consisting of autonomous transport robots. separately for some time. What's new is that the components are integrated into an efficient overall solution using newly developed software.

The parts required for assembly are stored in a space-saving manner in Kardex Remstar's vertical storage lifts, carousel racks, or container storage systems and retrieved as needed. At the time of retrieval, the Servus transport system automatically retrieves the parts from storage and transports them to the assembly workstations using autonomous transport robots. Depending on the process, the pre-assembled parts are then transported to quality control, intermediate storage, final assembly, or shipping. The Servus transport system proves to be particularly flexible, as it allows for free routing within the factory hall and adapts optimally to existing building structures. This means the track can be installed anywhere – from floor to ceiling – in the storage and production halls.

The system is aimed at a customer base that can be characterized as follows:

• produces finished or semi-finished products
• is integrated into a flow production process
• works with just-in-time delivery
• manufactures small and medium batch sizes
• operates with a wide range of components and semi-finished products

Smart Factory is therefore a solution that is ideally suited for customers in the manufacturing industry, such as the automotive or mechanical engineering sectors.

Customer requirements

To streamline internal production processes and achieve time savings, the principle of efficient, automated transport of components and semi-finished products is becoming an increasingly vocal customer demand. The goal is an optimized material flow with reduced setup and downtime, which also allows for seamless traceability through the company's data processing systems. The software within the package plays a crucial role, recording all movement data of the stored goods. The system identifies the availability of components for current orders, reserves the anticipated demand, and detects stock shortages. In summary, this results in the following requirements for the concept:

• Reduction of storage and production space, reduction of walking distances
• Faster access to the stored goods
• Real-time inventory tracking, warehouse management, and restocking
• Increasing picking accuracy
• Increased safety and ergonomics for personnel in production and storage

The process in detail

The parts required later in assembly are stored compactly in Kardex Remstar's vertical storage lifts, carousel racks or container storage systems, taking up minimal floor space, and are kept ready for production.

The process begins with the production order, based on which the required materials are retrieved from the individual storage systems. In most cases, this process step is automatically initiated and processed via the customer's ERP system. The replenishment of materials for the assembly station is generally possible from a wide variety of storage systems (e.g., small parts, high-bay, or shuttle systems). The only requirement is that the ordered inventory is available so that a sufficient quantity of components can be provided for assembly.

This is where the transport robots from Servus come into play. They automatically receive information about the necessary work steps and complete all further steps independently. The Servus system requires no central control, as the transport robots communicate directly with other transport robots and workstations via infrared, thus reacting to their immediate surroundings. The core of this sophisticated transport system is an autonomously operating transport robot capable of carrying loads up to 35 kg. Individually configurable according to features, size, and loading equipment, it can transport everything from simple cardboard boxes or crates to bulk goods or customer-specific workpieces. The integrated loading equipment enables autonomous loading and unloading from the storage racks.

The units maneuver on a rail system consisting solely of support profiles, requiring no cabling or wiring. This allows for completely unrestricted track layout, enabling ideal integration with the company's existing infrastructure. Depending on the circumstances, the transport systems can be installed on the floor, at working height, or, to save space, on the ceiling. Short-term modifications due to changing production processes or future expansions are also easily accommodated.

The third main player is the so-called assistants. These are the units with which the robots communicate and through which they navigate to storage locations, assembly or picking stations.

When the autonomous vehicle approaches an assistant, the assistant identifies itself and informs the transport robot of its position within the system and the available options. The robot then autonomously decides how to proceed. The robot communicates with the individual workstations it visits sequentially in the same way.

In addition to information exchange via infrared, simplified communication via electrical impulses is also possible. This can be used, for example, when only simple commands, such as stop and go, are required for the process.

At the assembly station, the employee removes the parts delivered to him by the various robots. After removing the container with the transported goods and a Upon receiving an electronic signal, the cart either returns to its original location and places the unneeded goods back, or it proceeds to the next workstation where the item is required. This keeps the carts constantly in motion, delivering, loading, and unloading, allowing assembly workers to focus entirely on production without additional walking. The resulting time savings and improvements in workplace ergonomics for employees are significant, helping companies increase efficiency while simultaneously promoting the health of their staff.

Of course, the concept is not only suitable for pure production. After assembly is complete, the robot can also pick up the finished pieces and transport them to a warehouse, or take them to the next station, such as quality control or order picking.

Advantages and customer benefits of the Servus system

In a system like this, goods receipt, storage, order picking, and goods issue are integrated into a compact flow process that companies can design with extreme flexibility. This eliminates unnecessary intermediate storage and significantly increases throughput, leading to reduced lead times and simultaneously increased production. Work-in-process inventory and the associated tied-up capital are reduced, resulting in lower costs.

And the areas of application for this concept in production logistics are extremely diverse:

• Internal transport: The shuttle system handles all internal transport from goods receipt to buffer storage, through production, order picking, assembly, and finally to goods dispatch. A single system for all areas means no unnecessary interfaces and maximum flexibility.
• Assembly: The shuttle system supplies manual workstations as well as automatic processing stations, bringing along the associated data and processing instructions.
• Order picking: Whether goods-to-man or man-to-goods , whether processing individual orders one after the other or several orders in parallel, the shuttle system delivers the material from the storage location directly to the man or to the workstation and brings it back to any desired location.

All in all, Smart Factory represents a solution that, due to its automated process, uncomplicated structure including simple, needs-based installation and, last but not least, the high scalability of the system, can help companies in the manufacturing industry to further optimize their processes and significantly increase internal efficiency.