specialty conveyors
SpiralVeyor® Logilift
; Logistics Spiral Elevator
; 30% lower investment
; “SpiralGrip” super grip spiral belt
; Continuous flow
; Compact footprint
; High throughput
REACHING A BROADER AUDIENCE
Changing the way parts are delivered and reconfiguring the
robotic welding cells has cut walking distances by 978 miles a
year, saving five hours of walking time per shift—the equivalent of 317 work days annually, said Paul Stafford, specialist
production engineering and AGV implementation lead.
Furthermore, eliminating the storage pallets and flow racks
opened up nearly 37 square feet of work space adjacent to each
cell, freeing up space for other activities.
Because the AGVs travel the same paths at a consistent
speed without so much as an inch of variation, they can safely navigate turns that would challenge human drivers—in
some places, with less than six inches of clearance, according
to Stafford. Congestion, collisions, sudden stops, and in-tran-sit product damage have all been eliminated.
The labor savings have been equally impressive. The body-weld department has been able to reassign 42 people to other,
more value-adding positions—including to the AGV implementation team—and nobody has been let go.
So far, the Toyota AutoGuide/AVINU project has saved
TMMK more than $1 million annually, and ROI was achieved
in just over one year. The payback has been substantial enough
that the AGV implementation team will roll out the system
elsewhere at Georgetown and will help to implement it at other
Toyota auto plants.
The project foretells wider adoption of automation, not only
in manufacturing but also in warehousing and distribution. In
fact, AutoGuide attachments for Toyota pallet trucks and forklifts are already in the works. “I believe the automation market
is limitless, although there will be challenges,” Meyer said.
One of those challenges will be to convince warehouse and
DC operators that automatic vehicles are not as complicated
and expensive to purchase, install, and operate as they might
think. That may not prove particularly difficult, however:
Meyer estimates that the cost of a new, mass-produced vehicle
plus the AutoGuide automation kit would be approximately
one-fourth that of a custom-built traditional AGV. The fact
that the AGVs are created from standard industrial vehicles
and widely available, off-the-shelf components rather than
proprietary controls will keep the cost down, he added.
Potential buyers will also want assurances that they’ll have
ready access to maintenance services for this new breed of
AGVs, said Martin Boyd, vice president of product planning,
marketing, and training for Toyota Material Handling U.S.A.
Inc. That makes it critical to provide service for both the truck
and the AGV components through the existing dealer network
with its established relationships, he said.
Boyd agrees that lower-cost AGVs are poised for rapid growth.
The economic downturn forced companies to look for waste, cut
costs, and introduce more process efficiencies, he said in an
interview at TMMK. Automation can help in all of those areas,
and lift truck manufacturers will play a leading role in bringing
it to a wider audience, he said. “We want to develop broader solutions around the customer to help them save money. We don’t
see automation as a competitor. We see it as an enabler.” ;
