Powered Drive Wheel Systems for Automotive Assembly Systems
Fori Automation recently supplied a number of powered drive wheel systems for an automotive Tier 1 supplier. The drive wheels were integrated into a customer supplied tooling cart providing automated movement of product through the automotive assembly process.
The Fori powered drive wheel systems include modular drive wheel units that are mounted to new or existing assembly carts. Once mounted the drive wheels automate the transfer of materials through the manufacturing facility. The drive wheel systems provide the same capability as an off the shelf Automated Guided Carts (AGCs). The powered drive wheel systems can be manually moved by the operator or can be supplied with an integrated vehicle management system (VMS) or traffic control to automatically control movement from station to station.
The key benefits of a powered drive wheel system include:
- Reduced reliance on fork lifts or manned Tuggers.
- Improve ergonomics, reduction in injuries in relation to pushing or pulling assembly or kit carts.
- Repeatable, reliable delivery of goods and consistent line pulse for assembly operations.
- Ability to integrate into manufacturing execution system (MES) for data analysis and production streamlining.
- Safe transfer of goods through the use of onboard Safety PLC and associated safety devices.
- Accurate positioning of carts and goods, standard station positioning is +/- 10 mm when utilizing a Fori provided vehicle management system (VMS).
Drive wheel systems include their own self-contained power supply, control panel, collision avoidance devices, guidance hardware and tethered (or wireless) pendant for manual control. Power supplies include sealed lead acid batteries and lithium ion product offerings. The controls architecture is safety PLC based and available in Siemens or Rockwell. Guidance or navigation options available include optical, magnetic or natural feature utilizing the onboard safety scanners.
Total carrying capacity of the powered drive wheel systems is accommodated by a variety of standard drive wheel sizes. Capacities can be increased by up-sizing the drive wheel and motor combination or adding more of the smaller drive wheel units. Drive wheel systems can also be configured to allow for different levels of maneuverability. The maneuverability ranges from uni-directional, loop based systems, up to omni-directional systems for complex material handling or assembly systems with the integration of two or more drive wheels.
The drive wheel systems are structured for current or future automation with the ability to retrofit the assembly cart later in the production cycle. The assembly cart can be designed to accommodate mounting of the drive wheels and required equipment at a later date. For existing carts, our design team will work with the production team to define the required changes for addition of the powered drive wheel system. The ability to add automation as production increases, decreases the initial capital expenditures, allowing production rates to increase before adding the automation required for automated or manual transport through the assembly process.
Overall the powered drive wheel system provides a flexible, safe and reliable material handling and assembly solution for the a wide range of industries and processes.
To learn more about Fori's available products please visit our website or contact us at sales@foriauto.com.