Five Stages of Automation Technology Development in Warehouse
The development of automation technology in the field of warehouse (including the main warehouse) can be divided into five stages: manual warehouse stage, mechanized warehouse stage, automated warehouse stage, integrated warehouse stage and intelligent automated warehouse stage. In the late 1990s and several years in the 21st century, intelligent automated warehouse will be the main development direction of automation technology.
The first stage
The transportation, storage, management and control of materials are mainly released manually, and it’s obvious advantages are real-time and intuitive. Manual storage technology also has advantages in the economic indicators of initial equipment investment.
The second stage
Materials can be moved and handled by a variety of conveyors, industrial conveyors, manipulators, cranes, stacker cranes and lifters. Use racking pallets and moveable racking to store materials, manually operate mechanical access equipment, and use limit switches, screw mechanical brakes and mechanical monitors to control the operation of equipment.
Mechanization meets people’s requirements for speed, accuracy, height, weight, repeated access, handling, and etc.
The third stage
In the stage of automated storage technology, automation technology has played an important role in promoting storage technology and development. In the late 1950s and 1960s, systems such as automatic guided vehicles (AGV), automatic racking, automatic access robots, automatic identification and automatic sorting were successively developed and adopted. In the 1970s and 1980s, rotary racks, mobile racks, aisle stacker cranes and other handling equipment all joined the ranks of automatic control, but at this time it was only partial automation of each equipment and applied independently.
With the development of computer technology, the focus of work has shifted to the control and management of materials, requiring real-time, coordination and integration. The application of information technology has become an important pillar of warehouse technology.
The fourth stage
In the stage of integrated automated warehouse technology, in the late 1970s and 1980s, automation technology was more and more used in the field of production and distribution. Obviously, the “automation island” needs to be integrated, so the concept of “integrated system” was formed.
As the center of material storage in the CIMS (CIMS-Computer Integrated Manufacturing System), the integrated warehouse technology has attracted people’s attention.
In the early 1970s, China began to study three-dimensional warehouses using tunnel stackers.
In 1980, China’s first AS/RS warehouse was put into use in Beijing Automobile Factory. It was developed and constructed by Beijing Machinery Industry Automation Research Institute and other units. Since then, AS/RS racking warehouses have developed rapidly in China.
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The fifth stage
Artificial intelligence technology has developed automation technology to a more advanced stage – intelligent automation. At present, the intelligent automatic warehouse technology is still in the initial stage of development, and the intelligentization of warehouse technology will have broad application prospects.
Inform continues to be in line with international advanced technology, continues to invest in research and development, and develops more high-tech automated storage equipment.
Four-way shuttle
The advantages of the four-way shuttle:
â—† It can travel in the longitudinal or transverse direction on the cross track;
â—† With the function of climbing and automatic leveling;
â—† Because it can drive in both directions, the system configuration is more standardized;
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The core functions of the four-way shuttle:
â—† The four-way shuttle is mainly used for the automatic handling and transportation of warehouse pallet goods;
â—† Automatically store and retrieve goods, automatically change lanes and layers, intelligently level and automatically climb, and directly reach any position of the warehouse;
â—† It can be used both on the racking track and on the ground, and is not limited by the site, road and slope, fully reflecting its automaticity and flexibility
â—† It is an intelligent handling equipment integrating automatic handling, unmanned guidance, intelligent control and other functions;
Four-way shuttles are divided into four-way radio shuttles and four-way multi shuttles.
The performance of the four-way radio shuttle:
Maximum travel speed: 2m/s
Maximum load: 1200KG
The performance of the four-way multi shuttle:
Maximum travel speed: 4m/s
Maximum load: 35KG
Energy unit: super capacitor
NanJing Inform Storage Equipment (Group) Co.,Ltd
Mobile phone: +86 13851666948
Address: No. 470, Yinhua Street, Jiangning District,Nanjing Ctiy,China 211102
Website:Â www.informrack.com
Email:Â kevin@informrack.com
