TruTops Fab Logistic gives material flow a boost

Challenges

Growth rates of 10 to 20 percent per year drive established processes at DAX to their limits. Handling small parts in particular puts the brakes on production. To remain competitive even with these simple parts, this effort must be reduced still further.

The CEO Frank Schmitz is not satisfied with the simple connection of the TruLaser 3040 with a large-scale fully automatic storage system: "The large-scale storage system concept as a standalone solution does not convince me." I believe complete dependence on this system would restrict our flexibility too much." His ears pricked up when the Smart Factory Consultants from TRUMPF suggested a combination of a large-scale storage system and the new intralogistic solution, TruTops Fab Logistic. The option of integrating even machines and workstations located outside of the large warehouse in the automated material flow tipped the scales in favour of a decision for the holistic solution from TRUMPF.

Solutions

The intralogistic solution links seamlessly with the production plan of the TruTops Fab. While in the past, machine operators had to consider material staging and transport planning, this additional expenditure is no longer required with the software.

On an intuitive software interface on a PC or tablet, the operator "marries" parts manufactured in the laser system with the pallet using a barcode reader and moves them into a docking station. This intelligent storage station recognises the pallet with the help of sensors and reports the incoming material directly to TruTops Fab. The transportation of the material is then planned fully automatically - route- and time-optimised and with consideration for prioritisation.

TruTops Fab generates a transport job and sends it to the control unit of the automated guided vehicle system from Jungheinrich. This means that customers not only benefit from the advantages of automated planning, but also from automated parts transport.

Implementation

At DAX, the automated guided vehicle system from Jungheinrich undertakes around 22 transports per hour. It brings small parts on pallets or in wire mesh boxes from the laser machine or from the large-scale or buffer storage system to two bending machines and manual workstations for drilling, thread cutting and grinding.

The transport jobs from TruTops Fab can also be assigned to an operator or a pallet jack or forklift truck. For this reason, DAX relies on mixed operational processes: small parts are transported fully automatically with the automated guided vehicle system, while staff continue to move larger parts from A to B using pallet jacks or forklift trucks. Even the trial run demonstrated how efficient the new intralogistics system is. Frank Schmitz is confident: "With this intelligent solution, we will soon be able to reach our target of a 20 percent reduction in setup time and a decrease in throughput times of around 25 percent."

Forecast

"The employees at TRUMPF understand the world of metal and were valuable sparring partners, from the very first idea to implementation. Their impeccable support included material flow analysis to integration of the automated guided vehicle system," explains Frank Schmitz. Good enough reason to continue to develop the solution. As soon as the entire production has been transferred to the new process, the welding and assembly areas will also be completely digitalised. To this end, further docking stations are to be installed and a second automated guided vehicle commissioned.