handling conveyors & automated handling l product damage.
Alternatively the customer can opt for the ergonomic manual palletising work station Slotstax. The worker at the Slotstax is provided with the right products by the automated conveyor system in a predefined sequence. The operator then needs to slide the offered SKUs over the work station’s surface to the right position on the pallet without having to lift or carry them. The pallet position is automatically adjusted to its actual loading height.
pallets or roller containers. The configuration of the shipping load exactly meets the customer’s requirements by, for example, optimising the stacking pattern to the unloading process within the individual shop’s layout. The solution is also applicable for the entire temperature range within the grocery retail product range, even in deep freeze applications.
Direct SKU handling
The PerfectPick process starts with an automated de-palletising of single SKU pallets coming directly from the goods receiving or a pallet warehouse. From there on, each SKU is transported throughout the distribution centre without any additional load carrier thanks to TGW’s specialised solution design and material handling technology.
Layer by layer, the fully automatic de- palletising unit, known as the Splitex, separates each package or carton from the pallet and delivers it to the automated conveyor system that feed the subsequent operations. The Splitex combines de-palletising performance with the careful handling of the various types of products and packaging maintaining high product integrity at all times. Each SKU is fully supported across its base surface throughout the entire process. This support prevents product damage and enables the system to handle the widest possible range of packaging materials.
Do the twist
TGW’s automated mini-load storage and retrieval technology – Twister – handles these singularised SKUs in the warehouse. Between one and four packages of the same incoming
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product are stored in one storage channel, depending on their size, while providing access to each individual SKU. The machinery can therefore pick the exact number of needed SKUs from each storage channel for the subsequent process. To boost the warehouse and process performance the AS/R machines not only pick for one single customer order but each of these orders are combined with batches that are delivered to a small but highly dynamic sequence buffer. In the sequence buffer two high speed TGW Commissioner AS/R machines sort the incoming SKU batches into a rack and create the optimum sequence for the palletising process. Each sequence buffer’s capacity does not exceed the storage for three to four pallet loads as their task is to just prepare the right order for palletising as fast and accurate as possible. High speed and full redundancy is guaranteed by the warehouse.
Palletising options
The exact product sequence is needed for performing a fully automated palletising process that ensures the stability of the loaded pallets and the right loading pattern reflecting the customer’s requirements. Each TGW Autostax palletising unit loads more than eight pallets per hour with an average of 90 packages each. Its advantage compared to other palletising solutions is that every SKU is deposited on the pallet by telescopic boom conveyors and fully supported from its base surface throughout the process. This support enables the Autostax to handle the widest variety of different products and prevents
Automated shrink wrapping In both palletising options the loaded goods are secured on the pallet or roller container within the process. While lowering the finished pallet to the subsequent conveyor system, it is automatically shrink wrapped. The pallet is then ready for dispatch labelling and delivery to the stores. “The big advantages of our PerfectPick solution are the relatively simple material flow and ability to handle the greatest variety of retail SKUs without any additional load carrier,” says Rudolf Hansl. “And we see it as the basic concept for designing a tailor-made solution for each customer.”
Technology test centre
At TGW’s new technology centre at the headquarters in Wels, Austria, the material handling solution provider installed a test installation of the new PerfectPick concept. “In our technology centre we are hosting demonstration events, showing the abilities of the new solution,” says Rudolf Hansl. “But we are also offering to use it as test installation for our customers’ real products too. Our customers are invited to bring their ‘worst’ products and test them throughout the entire PerfectPick process.”
Future plans for the automation specialist will focus on vertical and retail markets, developing solutions for these industries. “TGW as a company anticipates what is coming up in the future such as customer development, and strategies for new products, and our customers are an integral part of achieving an ideal solution,” explains Michael Etlinger, marketing and communication manager at TGW Group. Judging by the reaction to a recent demonstration of the new PerfectPick solution, TGW’s customers seem more than prepared to help invest in technology that will keep the automation specialist moving forward. ●
www.tgw-group.com
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