The combination of high-density automated storage systems with goods-to-person picking has brought new efficiencies to distribution, especially e-commerce fulfillment. Quite simply, order selectors who can stand in one place to pick can fill more orders than those who have to walk through a facility to do their work. In Mindelheim, Germany, Grob-Werke GmbH & Co. KG, a family-owned manufacturer of machines and assembly systems for manufacturing operations, turned to that same combination to streamline the way it picks and kits materials in a new logistics center to replenish assembly stations in its adjacent manufacturing plant. After all, if you think…
With all the trade media coverage of goods-to-person, shuttle-based case handling systems in e-commerce and parcel shipping order fulfillment applications recently, you might think that automated pallet storage with a unit load automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) is no longer a popular solution. That’s not the case with viastore’s customers, however. Multiple companies, including Americold, the leading global third-party logistics (3PL) provider of temperature-controlled warehousing, and Ukrainian food processing company Myronivsky Hliboproduct have implemented automated pallet storage as a means to handle slow- to medium-moving products. These crane-based systems are ideal for reserve storage of items destined to replenish…
The International Federation of Robotics predicts 15% annual growth for robots, with five major markets representing 70% of the total sales volume: China, Japan, USA, South Korea and Germany. “The main driver of this development is the global competition of industrial production,” said Arturo Baroncelli, president of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). “The automation witnessed by the automotive sector and the electrical/electronics industry comes out top here with a market share of 64%.” Within this context, IFR suggested the rapid automation in China represents a unique development in the history of robotics. The number of industrial robots sold increased…
Grob’s new logistics center, the company’s term for its parts and raw materials warehouse, is adjacent to a 1.2-million-square-foot manufacturing facility. A pallet-handling automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), a mini-load AS/RS, conventional storage and goods-to-person picking methodologies provide the fulfillment engine that delivers parts to the assembly line. Meanwhile, a vision system captures information about the items being picked and the amount of product left on a pallet or in a storage container. That information is used to improve the quality and accuracy of picks and to drive replenishment. Receiving and putaway: Trucks are unloaded and processed in the…
North America’s robotics trade group, Robotic Industries Association (RIA), is hosting two major events in Pittsburgh next week. The 27th National Robot Safety Conference will be held October 12-14, followed by the International Collaborative Robots Workshop on October 15. Both events will be held at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pa. The National Robot Safety Conference is a leading event for industrial robot safety and compliance. It provides in-depth coverage of the latest ANSI/RIA R15.06 -2012 Robot Safety Standard and risk assessment issues as well as functional safety, safety circuit design and a look at various applications. New…
Jill Bickley (Michigan State), Paige Topole (CalPoly) and Kristine Roupas (Virginia Tech) made up the winning team in this year’s Amazing Packaging Race at Pack Expo Las Vegas. The contest, sponsored by ASCO Numatics and organized by show owner and producer PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, sent packaging students throughout the Pack Expo Las Vegas and Pharma Expo 2015 show floors. “The Amazing Packaging Race gives packaging students hands-on experience and introduces them to industry leaders,” said Maria Ferrante, vice president of education and workforce development, PMMI. “It’s a fun competition that’s also a great learning experience.”…
In celebration of National Manufacturing Day on October 2nd, ABB Robotics hosted a tour of its Auburn Hills facility for high school students from Oakland County interested in manufacturing and the skilled trades. The students learned about robot and robot system manufacturing firsthand at ABB’s North American robotics headquarters. The event is intended to celebrate modern manufacturing and encourage careers in the industrial sector. ABB is one of 28 Oakland County manufacturers who will be hosting tours, giving the 400 participating students the opportunity to see the operations of businesses in industries that closely match their interests. Over the course…
A leader in custom manufacturing for outdoor power equipment, Standby Screw Machine Products is a third-generation company founded in 1939. To reduce the costs of repetitive tasks, the company deployed collaborative robots that are still flexible enough to quickly adapt to new parts and products. In Standby Screw’s Berea, Ohio, factory, a robotic cell produces more than one million parts per year, cleaning and packaging cylindrical gears used in lawnmowers. One collaborative, two-armed robot is fed parts from a traditional caged industrial robot, and, using both arms, moves the parts into a slot to clean the machine oil before placing…
The Motoman Robotics Division of Yaskawa America, R/X Automation Solutions (RXAS) and Universal Robotics have formed a strategic partnership to deliver robotic pharmacy order fulfillment systems. The robotic system will provide complete verification of National Drug Code bar codes and validation of robotically placed patient labels for pharmacy unit-of-use items. The system will automatically handle an extensive variety of items from bottles to boxes and odd-shaped products. ROI is projected to be less than one year. “Offering automated systems to the mail order, central fill and specialty pharmacy industries, as well as drug manufacturers and drug repackagers, is a natural…
