Automated miniload boosts throughput
Automated systems manufacturer Paul Vahle has revamped its warehouse to supply individual components to a connected production facility. The project, worth €2.5 million, was carried out by Jungheinrich.
The heart of the system is an automated miniload warehouse with 7,314 storage locations. Boxes measuring 600 x 400 and 300 x 400 millimetres are stored double-deep or quadruple-deep and crosswise.
These are serviced by a Jungheinrich stacker crane which moves at a speed of six metres per second. A wide-aisle warehouse, cantilever racks for the storage of long goods and drive-through racking were also built. The logistics area has nearly doubled through the modernisation, to around 3,500 sq m.
The Miniload STC has energy storage devices called SuperCaps, which are adapted to the stacker crane’s driving characteristics. These store the energy released during braking processes and feed it back into the drive system during acceleration.
A pick-to-light system was installed parallel to the automated miniload warehouse. It is connected to a drive-through rack for up to 600 fast-moving components.
Steve Richmond, director – Logistics Systems, Jungheinrich UK says: “For many organisations, putting part of their product portfolio into a miniload system has become a very efficient way of working. Picking systems are being built much higher than ever before. The STC is a high-performance device in terms of throughput, energy efficiency, cube utilisation and flexibility.”
