HÖRMANN Klatt Conveyors from Neumarkt am Wallersee in Austria has been an important partner for companies worldwide in the field of conveyor systems for many years. Our portfolio includes a wide range of standardised conveyor technologies for a variety of applications, as well as special custom solutions.

We design and implement the best and most economical conveyor solutions

• Consulting and planning
• Manufacturing and pre-assembly
• Project management and execution
• Assembly and commissioning
• Service and maintenance

Constantly increasing item volumes, along with ever increasing demands for fast and efficient order picking, pose new challenges for classic warehouse logistics. Working with SAFELOG, HÖRMANN Intralogistics has developed an innovative moving racks system for picking process automation, even for bulky goods, based on the goods-to-person principle.

Mobile transport robots (AGVs) transport the goods in modular racks, sequentially and just-in-time from the storage areas to the picking stations. HÖRMANN Intralogistics’  smart HILIS Warehouse Management System controls and monitors all picking processes to guarantee maximum performance.

The advantages at a glance

• Reduced staff and walking distances
• Flexible and modular expansion at any time with more AGVs or racks
• Picking areas can be supplemented by support systems, e.g. pick-by-light
• In multi-order picking configuration, the HiLIS WMS offers additional possibilities for increasing picking efficiency with intelligent batch formation.

Our Partner

The ever-increasing volume of items, added to the  ever-increasing demand for fast and efficient order picking pose new challenges for classic warehouse logistics. With a range of robotic solution it’s possible to achieve significant cost savings and increase resource efficiency.

In the ideal case, this would involve combining several systems, such as a automated CubeStorage system by AutoStore for storage and retrieval and an AGV shuttle system for the subsequent connection to the packaging line. For these, as well as for stand-alone scenarios, we work closely with our partner Safelog, which manufactures autonomous shelf-lifting robots.

The solution in detail

Storage Area

In the HÖRMANN Intralogistics Moving Racks system, the storage area for all goods consists of the individual racks on their storage spaces. Different types of standardised racks can be combined with various interiors (e.g. EURO pallet, shelf or grid) or configured as individual racks.

All standard racks have the same 1280 mm x 900 mm footprint and a height of up to 2500 mm. The moving racks are placed in a grid layout with travel paths in between in the storage areas. The grid layout can be flexibly adapted to different local conditions, around obstacles or in separated areas.

In addition, areas close to the pick zones can be reserved for fast-moving items.

Maintenance and loading area

Battery charging stations for mobile robots are built-in to the Storage Area, and can be distributed and placed according to the available connection options. This way, mobile robots on charge are available for transport operations without an additional approach route. The robots manage their charge status independently, and always approach the charging stations in good time.

Picking Area

The Picking Area consists of one or more picking workstations and associated buffer locations. Each picking area is connected to the storage area by defined travel paths. The workstations themselves can be individually designed.

In the standard configuration, a workstation comprises two rack storage locations. This means the rack that follows can already be staged during a pick process. The staging areas are separated from the MA work area only by stop bars on the floor, to permit optimal accessibility of the moving racks.

In addition to the rack staging areas, the workstation includes a work table with a flat-screen display showing the HiLIS picking interface and target locations for the picked items. Destination locations can be floor carts, conveyor elements or pallet locations for example.

HÖRMANN Intralogistics - Moving Racks

The control system allows omnidirectional travel, so that a robot can move in any direction at any time. This increases the operational flexibility of the vehicles, as they can be maneuvered in very confined spaces. It also makes it possible to turn racks on the spot.

Mobile AGV robots by SAFELOG

SAFELOG mobile transport robots are used to transport the racks. With a height of just 340 mm, these driverless transport vehicles are equally suitable for driving under the racks as they are for transporting pallets or wire mesh boxes. The weight of the Topload can be up to 1,500 kg.

SAFELOG has developed an agent-based control system for the mobile robots, through which the individual vehicles communicate with each other and with the surrounding production and logistics facilities. This ‘swarm’ intelligence of the transport vehicles controls both route coordination and task distribution between the devices. This means they do not require a higher-level control station for their operation. The software configuration is customer-specific to the respective requirements and linked to the HiLIS WMS for order control.

To achieve the highest possible technical availability of the overall system, various navigation types are available, and can also be used in combination. Depending on the application conditions, magnetic track, RFID tags, virtual track and contour navigation are used individually or together as a hybrid navigation system.

Contact us now

Bring your company into the advancing world of innovative logistics solutions. With our moving racks and mobile robots, you can significantly increase the efficiency and flexibility of all picking operations

The Hawle Austria Group produces and distributes heavy-duty valves worldwide. The products, which are designed for generations, are used in residential water management from the source to the house connection. The Hawle Austria Group includes 12 subsidiaries in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Russia, Turkey, Italy, Great Britain and India.

BACK TO REFERENCES

»The experienced staff at the HÖRMANN Intralogistics Hotline has always managed to provide rapid, solution-oriented support whenever we’ve had any kind of problem.«

RALF GRAMBKE | INSTANDHALTUNG
ZERHUSEN KARTONAGEN GMBH

We develop custom automated small parts warehouses or shuttle warehouses especially for low weight, high-turnover loads in bins, boxes or trays, ideal for classic warehouse functions as well as for buffer storage, goods service or use as a picking system.

The advantages at a glance

• More room in existing building structures for excellent space utilisation
• Lower construction costs for new warehouse space
• Enormous flexibility and redundancy
• High storage density
• Rapid access to goods (fully automated storage and retrieval)
• Maximum dynamics
• Remarkably high throughput rates
• Remarkable energy-efficient and sustainable through the use of power caps or buffer storage
• Custom solutions, perfectly adapted to your requirements and products
• Holistic support
• Goods-to-person or person-to-goods order picking

All you need to know about shuttle storage systems

Brochure - Intralogistic Solutions

Whitepaper - MFC

Your contact - Michael Hoffmann

Reference - Kern & Sohn

Dynamic small parts storage for optimal space exploitation

The advantages of automated small parts warehouses include high storage density, rapid access to goods (fully automatic storage and retrieval) and optimal stock turnover rates. Shuttle systems in particular also offer maximum dynamics and particularly high throughput rates, enormous flexibility as well as ample redundancy. Using technology like power caps or buffer storage, these shuttle systems are remarkably energy-efficient and sustainable.

Incoming and outgoing storage is handled by shuttles or stacker cranes, and the automated small parts warehouses are linked to picking or other workstations via custom, innovative conveyor technology by HÖRMANN Klatt Conveyors.

Unlimited scalability

Another advantage is the almost unlimited scalability of the systems. Ever-shorter product life cycles, constantly changing product ranges and current market uncertainties make predictable business growth almost impossible. That's why we offer modular solutions that grow with your company and can be expanded as needed without too much effort.

Customised by a single source provider.

We implement your customer-specific system as general contractor. One contact, for everything from planning to commissioning.

In increasingly dynamic markets, order-based and batch-size-optimised production and goods distribution require customised just-in-time and just-in-sequence processes. 

Whether setting up a new facility or modernising and optimising existing systems - we offer a single point of contact from finding the solution to turnkey handover.

As a general contractor, we design and implement individual intralogistics systems for distribution and production logistics. 

The HÖRMANN logistics customer service is available for you on the hotline around the clock, 365 days a year.