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f+h Intralogistics 3/2015

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f+h Intralogistics 3/2015

WAREHOUSING 02 The boxes

WAREHOUSING 02 The boxes are lifted using vacuum grippers 03 Three different sized pallets are in use 04 The pallet wrapper is centered using a mechanical centering device with two stops is automatically read out as soon as it is placed on the conveyor belt, the pallet is identified and registered in our goods management system as received goods. This is a very quick process. If third party goods need to be placed into storage, viad@t generates the relevant labels at goods receipt.” “Our customers can purchase original pallets with just one type of wheel, as well as pallets with a mix of products,” explains Bender. “We required a picking system for this process.” Küfer explains that this system is not just used to prepare goods for shipment by truck. “Our smallest order can be a single wheel. Such small quantities are sent by parcel service. We have created an extra area to package these orders.” Picking at both of the work stations is completed by employees who on a platform in the middle of the conveyor technology. They use vacuum grippers to lift the required boxes from the warehouse pallets on to the dispatch pallets (Fig. 02). A pick by light system displays the number of boxes that need to be removed. A transport carriage connects the six conveyor aisles on which the dispatch pallets are located, and ensures the provision of empty pallets, as well as the removal of any picked pallet orders. For safety reasons, the transport carriage is separated from the picking area by high-speed doors. “If a picker were to trip over, doors prevent the picker from falling into the path of the relatively fast moving transport carriage,” explains König. Smooth transport thanks to controlled drives The conveyor technology transports the fully picked pallets through a contour check system to an automated pallet wrapper. “We have used controlled drives in this system, which gently accelerate and slow down the unsecured pallets thus ensuring that the boxes do not fall off,” explains König. Empty pallets are transported from the picking area to two pallet stackers where they wait to be reused as dispatch pallets. Pallet stacks can also be stored back in the highbay warehouse, if necessary. viastore had to take into consideration that Alcar uses three pallet types in this system. In addition to Euro pallets, the company also uses two different sizes of disposable pallets (Fig. 03). Küfer: “This is because of the different inch sizes of the wheels. The different pallet sizes prevent the stacked wheels from protruding over the edge of the pallets and also ensure the pallets are not too large for the wheels so that we do not end up storing air.” This means that they can either store three large or four smaller pallets on one of the shelves of the high-bay warehouse. Some adjustments had to be made to the system because of the different pallet variants. “The centering of the pallets for the contour check system and pallet wrapper cannot be completed by one insertion funnel, instead we had to design a mechanical centering device with two stops,” explains König. Sensors are used to record the relevant pallet size (Fig. 04). The racking storage and retrieval vehicles also adjust themselves to the various types of pallets. Regardless of the pallet type, the fork and complete racking storage and retrieval vehicle always positions itself in such a way that the pallet is grasped in the center. This is the only way exact storage of the pallets on the shelves is ensured. Significantly improved delivery capacity Only when a truck drives on to the warehouse premises to collect goods will the pallets for that truck be prepared in outgoing goods. “We can prepare orders for a total of three trucks simultaneously,” highlights König. “It only takes us 20 minutes per truck. It is not like the old days in the manual warehouses, where a delivery would be in the way for days. Nowadays we only processes the picked goods when we really need them.” The new central warehouse has ensured that the processes at Alcar are faster and more efficient, thus ensuring that the company is better equipped to meet tight delivery deadlines. Küfer is very pleased: “Our delivery capacity has significantly improved thanks to the fully automated high-bay warehouse and that is not just beneficial to us but also to our customers.” Photos: viastore www.viastore.com MULTIMEDIA CONTENT Internal video: Learn more about the achievement spectrum of the enterprise Gallery: Other impressions about the introduced project 34 f+h Intralogistics 3/2015

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