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SUPPLEMENT SUSTAINABILITY IN MANUFACTURING WIRELESS CHARGING MAKES
CONTINUOUS OPERATION OF DRIVERLESS TRANSPORT SYSTEMS POSSIBLE
How FFT Improved the efficiency of its Automated Guided Vehicle system, by
Marco van der Linden – PULS UK
energy efficiently and fully automatically, without contact and without the vehicles having to interrupt their transport for charging breaks.
automated, flexible manufacturing plants. As a turnkey partner the company, located in central Germany, provides bespoke production systems for customers in the automotive and aviation industries. As well as body shell production lines, FFT also implements automated maintenance concepts and manufacturing cells used in final product assembly. As part of its turnkey approach, FFT offers its customers a complete and coordinated solution, comprised of the production plant and all associated materials handling. To expand its range of services and meet
F
customer demands for complete flexible automation solutions for the logistical interlinking of production plants, the company developed their FFTigv automated guided vehicle (AGV) system. FFT’s customers expect a complete production environment from a single source that perfectly meets their requirements, which is why they decided to produce an AGV system of their own.
HIGH CHARGING POWER FOR LARGE LOADS The FFTigv is fitted as standard with Wiferion by PULS charging technology. The tight cycle times in body shell construction, and heavily staggered cycles, were key drivers for choosing wireless charging as the power supply. FFT already has several thousand Wiferion by PULS etaLINK charging systems being used successfully so it was natural to use it in the new AGV system. The particular challenge was that because of the heavy goods being transported, the robots needed to be charged with high currents in just a short time. Wiferion by PULS therefore developed an energy system comprising high-performance batteries and chargers to meet the new requirements perfectly. The FFTigv has two etaLINK 3000 fast charging
FT (Flexible Fertigungstechnik/Flexible Manufacturing Technology) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of systems for
systems that, connected in parallel, produce a charging power of 6kW and supply the batteries with energy at a charging rate of 2C.
IN USE AROUND THE CLOCK FFT stands for Flexible Fertigungstechnik (Flexible Manufacturing Technology). The flexibility of the etaLINK fast charging system was crucial. The charging points can be positioned at almost any frequently used location in a warehouse either horizontally or vertically. Once a robot has moved alongside or over a charging point, the power transfer starts automatically, and charging is at full power after just a second. In-process charging of the AGVs avoids having charging breaks and unproductive travel times to stationary charging stations, ensuring availability of the vehicles around the clock. This ensures the deployment of high-productivity manufacturing lines, as in the BMW Group factory in Leipzig. A further reason for FFT to select a Wiferion
etaLINK Wireless charging system is its robustness, ensuring their reputation for outstanding system reliability is essential. High-maintenance technologies are avoided and, being encapsulated, the etaLINK does not use any mechanical components, making it 100% maintenance-free. Worldwide, 130 etaLINK charging systems are in use in FFT’s AGVs and they are currently developing a new manufacturing plant with a double-digit number of robots for the BMW Group’s Leipzig plant. Wiferion by PULS inductive
battery charging systems enable the continuous operation of AGVs and AMRs. Their innovative ‘in-process charging’ allows the vehicles to be supplied with
26 DESIGN SOLUTIONS - SUPPLEMENT JULY/AUGUST 2024
ABOUT WIFERION BY PULS Wiferion by PULS is a pioneer and technological leader in the wireless charging of mobile robots (AGV/AMR) and forklifts. The inductive charging systems in the etaLINK family eliminate unnecessary machine downtimes and increase fleet efficiency by up to 32% in the long term. As an independent Business Unit based in
Freiburg, Wiferion by PULS has been part of PULS GmbH since 2023. With its takeover by the market leader in DIN-Rail power supplies, Wiferion by PULS is moving into the next phase of its global scaling. Merging the two companies has created huge synergies that will benefit new and existing customers. The PULS Group, with 1,700 employees, has its own modern production sites in the Czech Republic, China and Germany, a worldwide distribution network and longstanding customers in the fields of intralogistics and production. New product concepts can be realised even more quickly by the PULS development team, which numbers over one hundred people. In addition, customers benefit from improved application support and service.
PULS POWER Wiferion - a PULS brand T: 01525 841001
sales@puls.co.uk www.pulspower.com
The FFTigv is
fitted as standard with Wiferion by PULS charging technology
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