Factory Floor Space Optimization

Minimizing use of space in the factory layout and floorplan have profound impacts on the success of a lean automation project. The amount of floor space needed to operate exerts a cascade effect through each stage of the process, cumulatively adding productivity efficiencies that can transform the bottom line.

SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ systems based on Smart Conveyance autonomous shuttle motion not only maximize productivity within compact overall footprint but are also more easily scalable and reconfigurable through modular design.

Supporting Reshoring

Faced with increasing global tensions, supply chain disruptions, uncertainty, and a retreat from global free trade, manufacturers are increasingly looking to reshore their operations to North America and Europe. The rewards include reduced shipping times for consumers, lower overall environmental impact, and decreased risk.

The main obstacle in the way of reshoring strategies are the inherently higher labor costs in mature markets. Floorspace in North America and Europe also has a higher basic cost than in overseas locations.

Both factors can be mitigated by increased productivity, made possible by smart technology and lean automation. Further, assembly system designers and builders must be increasingly creative in gaining the same levels of production from smaller footprints.

Smart Conveyance advantages

Traditional indexed motion or continuous motion assembly systems based on linear or dial table designs leave application engineers and designers with limited options when it comes to minimizing floor space. These traditional systems often have a footprint determined by available platforms, with non-modular designs that do not scale easily without substantial reconfiguration.

The SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ system is very different. Its ‘racetrack’ oval format with tight radius ends maximizes working surface within a compact form with minimal non-productive space in the center. Furthermore, the high precision independent motion of the shuttles allows reduced pitch between tooling stations, allowing more processes to be conducted within the same area – or the same number of operations within a tighter space.

The system can also be vertically oriented for an even smaller footprint.

Superior foundation

The conveyance mechanism determines the speed, sequencing and precision with which components arrive at tooling stations. The SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ system provides a superior foundation here with frictionless magnetically levitated shuttles able to accelerate and move very fast and under precise control, while also consuming less energy.

These fundamental SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ advantages of speed, precision and independent shuttle control combine to ‘turbocharge’ the whole assembly process with faster cycle times, elimination of add-on stoppers and locators, less need for specific adaptation, and easier control of asynchronous motion, enabling overall higher performance from a smaller footprint.

The efficiency gains at each stage of the set up and integration process, including conceptualization, design, system assembly, integration, and validation, can add up to savings of 40% or more in floorspace as well as significant reduction of system size and increases in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), as a recent case study demonstrates (see Resources).

Furthermore, the simpler and more effective the conveyance method, the easier it becomes for engineers, system designers, integrators, and manufacturers to achieve high-performance assembly and maximize ROI return on investment.

Modularity means adaptability

The SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ platform comes in various size and orientation formats, ranging from the ultra-compact SuperTrak HORIZON3™ for loads to 3kg per shuttle, through the horizontally and vertically oriented SuperTrak HORIZON10™ and SuperTrak VERTICAL10™ for shuttle loads up to 10kg, and the stainless steel SuperTrak PHARMA8™ engineered for aseptic environments.

Most of these platforms are little more difficult to assemble than a slot car racing track and similarly adaptable. Scaling up is just a matter of extending the track and adding more shuttles and tooling stations.

Over the course of 20 years in business, SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ engineers have designed multiple configurations to help customers optimize factory layout and floor plan to accommodate their unique application needs.

Virtual Configuration

Ease of implementation is enhanced by SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ TrakMaster software that can create virtual system models, which can run in simulation to demonstrate precisely how an application will perform in action to optimize processes, evaluate performance requirements, and gauge energy consumption, all for faster ROI.

The PLC programmable logic controller function blocks built into SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ systems provide intuitive interfaces for key parameters such as shuttle motion, speed, pitch, access data, etc. for live configuration, faster implementation and easier diagnostics.

Floorspace optimization, faster cycle times, and built-in buffer zones are some of the features that make SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ attractive to machine builders needing to configure an assembly system that works within their parameters without opting for a fully custom-built assembly solution.

Resources

Click on Reducing Factory Footprint by 44% to see case study.
Click on SuperTrak CONVEYANCE™ Features and Applications to watch video.