Industry 4.0 Automated Guided Vehicles Trolleys & Integration Applications

With the ever-reducing cost of very smart AGV units, the tedious work of correctly replenishing an assembly station is made fast and simple.

This is just one of the ways in which ATC and the FlowTube range of reconfigurable modules offer the ideal platform for industries gearing towards industry 4.0 solutions to improve efficiency and profitability.

Benefits include:

• Improved plant logistics.
• Controlled transfer of product
• Improved safety.
• Reduction in defect material.
• Improved inventory management.
• Lightweight Alum Solutions increase AGV battery life.

Within Industry 4.0 initiatives, the use of AGV systems (Automatic Guided Vehicles) has seen a dramatic increase, as simple manual handling becomes progressively replaced by automation techniques.

ATC works as a partner in these smart factory applications, providing auto-load/un-load rack/trolley units (both AGV-mounted and manual). These are sometimes referred to as ‘shooter racks’.

Highlighted in the images and video line is a trolley carried by an AGV to the desired location, where it engages with a matching line-side rack. The act of engagement releases the new containers to flow into the line-side rack in a single movement.  At the same time, empty containers from the assembly rack are released and flow by themselves into the AGV trolley.

Here the manual loading, one by one, of full containers of new parts for assembly into a line-side flow rack, is replaced by a partly mechanised interface trolley.

To see AGVs in action click here