Product category:
Automation and assembly equipment
News Release from: E and K Automation Indumat Systems | Subject: Automated guided vehicle system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 15 September 2004
AGV protects Aston Martins from handling
damage
The painted body of a new Aston Martin DB9 is worth more than most people pay for their entire car, so AGVs are trusted with handling them to avoid damage when leaving the paint shop.
The painted body of a new Aston Martin DB9 is worth more than most people pay for their entire car, so the last thing that the prestige sports car producer wants is damage to the body during handling However careful a person is, there is always the risk of human error, so Aston Martin has chosen to install a driverless, automated guided vehicle (AGV) to perform DB9 body transport duties at its new, purpose-built facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 26 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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At the Telford factory of Denso, the Indumat AGV (automated guided vehicle) system has been extended and upgraded to allow up to 45 trailer movements/h or double the previous capacity.
AGVs bring the pick-face to the production line
At a German communications equipment and ISDN screen telephone factory, AGVs deliver boxes of components and parts to the lines where the operators pick components as required.
Supplied by Indumat Systems, the AGV with its associated laser guidance, radio frequency communications and control hardware and software moves bodies safely from the paint shop into a double-sided, three-level storage area comprising 30 positions.
Approximately every 40 minutes a body is taken from here by AGV to the start of the production line in response to a request by a technician.
Aston Martin spent a year evaluating the handling options, rejecting the idea of an overhead conveyor system with recirculating body storage as being impractical and too expensive.
Further reading
AGVs upgraded, expanded without a production stop
A six-AGV system, originally installed in 1995 for round-the-clock movement of automotive gearbox and converter housings, has been upgraded and extended without stopping production.
AGV system expanded to meet sports car demand
AGV system to transport painted car body shells are scheduled to the production lines has expanded, following the launch in 2005 of the 'Vantage' two-seater sports car.
Brochure and CD highlight automation capabilities
Brochure and CD highlight custom designed systems for automated assembly ranging from simple semi-automated workstations to complete integrated assembly systems.
A manually operated counterbalance truck was considered, but apart from the possibility of damage there were the additional problems that the driver would have been waiting around for long periods with little to do, and there was a risk of the body being put away in the wrong location in the store.
Visits to existing Indumat customers satisfied the car maker that AGV technology would work for them, despite early misgivings about the complexity of the application and the large size of the component being transported.
The AGV-related part of the manufacturing plant was not within the remit of the main materials handling contractor, Exel.
Aston Martin dealt separately with Indumat in Bramley, Hampshire, which provided a turnkey solution including the racking, PC and PLC controls, Siemens touch panels, bar-code reader, traffic lights and store management software.
There is a dial-up modem link to Indumat for remote diagnostics and for software updates to reflect changing business needs in the future.
The AGV package works autonomously, separate from the Gaydon facility management system.
The AGV central control is a PC with Windows operating system located in an office adjacent to the store.
Three software modules are installed: NDC NT7000S for controlling movement of the AGVs, vehicle communication and low level order handling; NDC CWay S for visualisation of the AGV track and diagnostic purposes; and the Indumat bespoke AGV control software for storage management, rack visualisation, high-level order management, delivery sequence editing and communication with the related shop floor equipment.
Transport orders are initiated from touch panels in the paint shop and at the start of the production line.
Throughout the painting and inspection operations, the DB9 body is mounted on a trolley.
At the end of the process the trolley is positioned so that the body can be picked off directly by the AGV.
Monitor switches verify that the positioning is correct.
Each body has with it a production sheet carrying a unique identification in the form of a six-digit number and matching barcode.
Using the bar-code reader and touch panel, the paint shop technician scans the sheet and the central control system calls up the AGV to collect the body and deliver it to a system-selected location in the store.
As the paint shop is a clean area, on a signal from the AGV the roller door separating the shop from the rest of the factory is raised and lowered automatically for the shortest period necessary to allow the vehicle access.
Red and green traffic lights let personnel know that the AGV is crossing the internal roadway adjacent to the paintshop.
Technicians at the production line use another touch panel to request the body for the next car, each of which is built to a customer order.
The panel displays the next four barcode numbers, the top number being the body for imminent delivery so staff can check the number against the build sheet.
If the number matches and the lineside AGV drop-off position is free, the operator confirms the request via the touch panel.
When any given transport mission has been completed, the vehicle is released from the order and becomes free to be allocated to another.
If the vehicle does not have another immediate duty, the central control sends it to its parking position at the paint shop end of the body store.
At this point there is a charger for topping up the vehicle's battery.
If it should discharge to below 20 per cent of capacity during operation, the automatic battery monitoring function within the AGV control sends the vehicle directly for charging as soon as it finishes its current job.
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