New, low cost, automated truck launched

Citation

(2000), "New, low cost, automated truck launched", Assembly Automation, Vol. 20 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2000.03320dad.005

New, low cost, automated truck launched

New, low cost, automated truck launched

Keywords: Lasers, Remote vehicles, Vehicle

Indumat has introduced its lowest cost laser-guided vehicle to the market for moving materials automatically around warehouses and factories. Designated L14-LTI (see Plate 6), the truck is a factory-enhanced version of the standard Linde L14 pallet stacker and is intended to eliminate repetitive handling tasks which are normally carried out manually, and hence more expensively, using conventional lift trucks.

The L14-LTI is marketed in the UK by Indumat Systems which operates from the same site in Basingstoke as its sister company, Lansing Linde. Both Indumat and Lansing are part of the Linde Group.

Plate 6The new L14-LTI automated truck from Indumat doubles as a manually-operated, electric pallet stacker

A technique similar to that used in the fields of robotics and co-ordinate measurement is the basis for teaching the L14-LTI its duties. Eliminating the need for complicated or bespoke programming, the so-called "teach-in" method involves taking the vehicle around the travel route and showing it what to do. Despite the simplicity of the system, up to ten automated trucks may travel on a single transport network.

No guide wires are needed in the floor – just a few fixed reflectors placed strategically around the building allow the laser scanner mounted on top of the mast to pinpoint the AGV's location at all times. Installation involves driving the truck around so that it can memorise the terrain, then teaching it which routes to follow and where to transfer loads.

Up to 200 pick and deliver (P&D) stations may be included which can be at any height up to the maximum reach of the truck forks. The user has simply to move or add reflective strips and re-teach the truck in order to alter or expand the travel network and P&D layout. Jobs are then keyed in to an on-board terminal using simple codes. Alternatively, instructions can be sent from a remote location over a radio communications link.

Productivity is high as the L14-LTI can travel at up to 4.3km/h on straight sections, 2.5km/h around curves and 1.1km/h in reverse. It is not just the travelling function that is automatic. Built-in intelligence tells the vehicle to fill sequential floor-level pallet locations or to load bays from the bottom up. For added flexibility, the truck can also be used in conventional manual mode for loading and unloading goods.

Comprehensive safety systems including a proximity laser scanner are an integral part of the truck's design, safeguarding personnel, products being transported and the truck itself.

Fully functioning systems can be implemented so quickly that it is possible for test installations to be set up in a customer's premises for evaluation. A demonstration facility is available for inspection at Indumat's headquarters; and there are already several working installations such as that transporting counterbalance truck frames around Linde's factory in Aschaffenburg, Germany.

Theoretically this new technology can be applied to any lift truck, subject to there being sufficient space for incorporating the additional components. It is likely, therefore, that the L14-LTI heralds a new family of thoroughbreds from the Indumat/Linde stable.

For further information contact: Peter Holdcroft, Managing Director, Indumat Systems Ltd, Kingsclere road, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1256 470079; Fax: +44 (0) 1256 470072.