Manufacturing Execution Software (MES) system manages the production processes, robots, and material handling systems.
Material Flow Process
Input
Materials are transported to either of the other two assembly floors by lift, and moved into staging or buffer systems.
One unit load also serves as a lift between floors 1 and 3.
Purchased parts to be used in assembly arrive pre-positioned in plastic containers, ready for pickup and assembly by robots.
Each carton of parts arrives with a bar code label that
is scanned on receipt.
Label information is fed directly to the inventory control software.
Most cartons are manually loaded onto a conveyor that carries them to a staging station.
At the staging station, each carton is automatically pushed onto an individual tray.
Custom-sized trays provide a consistent footprint and ensure proper handling in the mini load, eliminating the need to transfer parts into totes.
The tray is transferred to an STV, which delivers it to the designated aisle of the mini load.
The mini load's Storage/Retrieval (S/R) machine stores the tray in the location determined by the control software.
Output
Parts under 110 lbs. move to the assembly line in plastic totes on overhead monorail Space Carriers (SPC).
SPCs travel horizontally, but can also move vertically to pick up or deposit loads.
Loads up to 1 ton are fixed on plastic pallets and transported via Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV).
Parts are delivered to the assembly line on a Just-In-Time basis. When a robot needs more parts, it automatically signals a storage buffer to send more.
