Why Manufacturers Need Flexible Solutions for Material Transport
5 min read
Between the growing need for manufacturers to quickly respond to changing market demands and recent advances in technology that have made integrating intelligent solutions cheaper and easier than ever before, we’re seeing companies across the industrial spectrum adopt flexible solutions for material transport. These technologies include flexible transport systems (FTS), the next evolution in motor conveyance systems, as well as automated guided vehicles (AGV), computerized vehicles that autonomously navigate their surroundings.
These flexible solutions are gaining popularity for a few key reasons. At the forefront is the ability to do more with less. By incorporating a modular design into an assembly line, manufacturers can process different products on the same machinery. Not only does this reduce the overall footprint size on the shop floor, but it also means less machinery to maintain and lower operational costs.
Another major benefit is increased responsiveness. Flexible solutions enable a batch-of-one approach to manufacturing, in which factories can easily configure their machinery to customize their products for individual customers or to meet changing demand. These systems are pre-programmed to automatically handle variations, and operators can easily change configurations or add new modules later from a single, central computer.
In this article, were going to explore the different kinds, go through some use cases, and offer some insight into how to pick the right solution for your unique needs.
Types of Flexible Solutions for Material Transport
The most common solution is the flexible transport system (FTS), such as Beckhoff's XTS and Rockwell's MagneMover. Both of these technologies combine rotary and linear systems to provide a modular conveyor system that’s capable of intelligently routing products on the shop floor.
In an interview with Automation World, Jeff Johnson, the Mechatronics Product Manager at Beckhoff Automation, explained that “combining the rotary and linear systems in a single mechatronic system with a small number of components—an industrial PC, cable-free movers, guide rails, and motor modules—we can reduce the footprint of the machine. With the five years of experience we now have with XTS deployments, we’ve expanded our available track options to 45. And our track management capability means movers can be transferred between tracks on the fly.”
The other major category of flexible solutions for material transport is automated guided vehicles (AGV), which can range from small robots on wheels that can perform delicate operations all the way up to full-sized forklifts. AGVs are ideal for manufacturing scenarios where we need to transport a product from one machine to another when there isn’t a clear or easy path for a linear or rotary conveyor.
We can further break AGVs down into a couple categories. First, there are those that follow a track. This can include those that follow either a magnetic tape track, inductive wiring that’s laid beneath the floor, a set of rails, or even a monorail for overhead hoist transportation. On the other side of the coin, we have optical systems that combine laser sensors or cameras with Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) to build a map of their environment, figure out their location on that map, and calculate how to get to their destination.
Use Cases for Flexible Material Transport
Imagine a pharmaceutical manufacturer that performs automatic quality assurance (QA) checks on vials as they go down the line. What happens when their system detects a defect in the vial? In a traditional conveyor system, all the vials go to the same place, and an operator then has to manually remove the faulty products and move them elsewhere for correction.
However, with flexible transportation, we simply have an alternate track that branches out at the QA station. Any products that pass can continue on, while those that fail are automatically routed onto a different path, where they can receive automatic corrections before eventually being fed back into the main line.
Another primary use case is handling variations in product. For instance, many food and beverage manufacturers use the same equipment to process many products, but this traditionally meant that operators would have to spend time manually configuring the equipment before running a batch.
Flexible transport solutions automate this process. A scanner can detect what product is going down the line, and, once the programmable logic controller (PLC) receives the signal from a protocol like OPC UA, it can start running the code for that specific product. From there, the transport system takes it where it needs to go on its own.
A final use case that we want to highlight is in semiconductor fabrication. Silicon wafers are expensive, delicate, and often require strict environmental control, making too much human involvement in their manufacturing a huge liability. By implementing a solution like an AGV, we can let a carefully programmed robot take the wafer from one station to another.
The Scout® AGV from Fabmatics, for instance, can carry open wafer cassettes, trays, or workpiece carriers. These AGVs also recognize obstacles and people, allowing both operators and robots to work collaboratively in the same clean room.
Conclusion: Which Option is Right For Me?
If you’re ready to switch over to an adaptive manufacturing system, we’ll start by taking stock of your current production line and assess your long-term and short-term goals. Every situation is unique, and that’s why it’s so important that you involve a trusted partner when planning your next update. Outlier Automation is that partner.
We can, however, give you a few general rules to start your thought process. For factories that already integrate different pieces of equipment with a linear conveyor or rotary system, switching to a FTS is often a simple transition. This is especially true if your current configuration requires operators to manually swap out machines or redirect pathways in between recipes.
On the other hand, if you need to move products from one discrete system to another or if you want to automate processes on different pieces of machinery with the same robot, then an AGV is an ideal solution.
Want to learn more about how to take the next step in industrial automation? Contact us today for a free consultation.