PRODUCT REVIEWS
“ Unmanned night shifts for sawing? No problem,” highlighted Martin Stöckle, pointing out that the company can also integrate articulated arm robots into the overall solution for handling the saw cuts.
Warehouse Management System( WMS)
Robotic solutions, such as the PICK system, automate the handling of long goods for order retrieval or for feeding automatic sawing machines.
towards shorter working days and skills shortages in sectors such as intralogistics open the door to automated storage systems. Skilled workers, said Remmert, can concentrate on areas where they are indispensable to develop their maximum effectiveness.
“ Thanks to the automation of our storage systems, steel distributors specialising in long products can even run completely unmanned shifts. Our customers no longer need personnel for processing, such as sawing long goods,” added Stöckle.
The long goods are stored in tailor-made storage cassettes, which are arranged on shelves with a honeycomb structure in an arrangement that is gentle on the materials being stored.
“ The honeycomb structure also allows us to optimise the storage density at the site,” explained Martin Stöckle.“ This is practical, especially for bulky and very heavy goods such as pipes, metal profiles or rods. Our systems can store many thousands of items; we use every square centimetre of storage space and the entire available height.”
Material flow and retrieval
“ Compared to handling with cranes or forklifts, storage and retrieval times are so fast that our customers can retrieve or process goods continuously and without interruption. This not only saves time and cost but also enables steel traders to improve their delivery performance,” highlighted Remmert.
“ Even the most unwieldy long goods are quickly ready to hand,” added Stöckle.“ This means that orders can be processed quickly.”
The storage and retrieval( S & R) unit moves between the shelves and removes the required cassette fully automatically. The less the goods are moved by employees with the forklift truck, the less damage is caused to the material. This is particularly critical for stainless steel and aluminium. The S & R unit then takes the cassettes to the removal stations.
“ Traditionally, people take over at this point with the help of manipulators. Picking up or further processing takes place, for example with the feeding of automatic saws,” explained Stöckle.“ But we are always thinking a few steps ahead. After all, the more manual operations that are automated, the more efficient, safe and economical will be the processes in the storage system.”
Finishing operations
“ To optimise intralogistics processes as a whole, we have a wide range of automation options that we can adapt to individual customer requirements on a modular basis. For example, automatic cut-off machines such as sawing machines can be connected to the warehouse solution, regardless of the manufacturer,” outlined Remmert,
Among other things, Remmert uses a special PICK system for this purpose. It picks up the goods in the cassette and transfers them to the next process.
“ The loading and unloading process of the automatic sawing machine is so fast that non-productive times can be drastically reduced; productivity is high,” continued Stöckle. Measurement of the material and return of the offcuts to the storage system are also automated processes.
Remmert’ s solutions further reduce the personnel numbers required for processing, as different products can be changed automatically.
No system can do without software. Remmert’ s WMS( Warehouse Management System) is designed for intralogistics in highly automated storage systems.
“ The WMS optimises the material flow for the shortest possible retrieval and further processing times, for example by pre-buffering the next cassette, so that downtimes are minimised,” said the company.
“ Thanks to integration into the customer’ s ERP, we already know today what we will be doing tomorrow; we optimise material flow for the following day. Our software notices if the storage and retrieval machine has not made any trips over longer periods and starts to reorganize the goods in the storage system. For example, fast-moving items can be moved to the front or we can optimise the route to make the material flow as rapid as possible. We provide an exact overview of the stock in the storage system for customers at all times. This is key to a functioning supply chain, from reordering from the steel manufacturer to punctual delivery to the end customer,” concluded Stöckle. n
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