TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION

Brandenburg, Germany is an industrial area with a long industrial tradition for Daimler. The Daimler-Benz aircraft engine works at Genshagen were built in 1936. The engine works were destroyed in the Second World War and were disassembled when peace came. From 1965 forward, commercial vehicles were produced here.

July 1996 marked the series start for the Vario and in 2006 the successor model to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter produced in Ludwigsfelde and Dusseldorf was presented. To boost efficiency for its warehouse input as a key step in a major expansion and development program, the German automobile giant chose the intralogistics specialist TGW.

REQUIREMENTS & PREREQUISITES

• Investment of 300 Mio. € for the location and the new production line
• Request for a low noise level > 8000 orders items per shift
• Highest efficiency in storage and supply of the small parts
• Completion of approximately 17 vehicles a day
• Automated spare parts warehouse for Vario and Mercedes-Benz-Sprinter

SOLUTION

The delivery zone is located outside the production halls area. Pallets loaded with the material are transported onwards from here by stackers, identified and then placed manually onto the conveyor system. Here an automatic system fitted with sensors checks the heights of the totes and then they are weighed on integrated scales. These processes ensure that problems do not arise in the automatic storage process and that the rack and section weight limits are not exceeded. Totes are retrieved on a retrieval lane, just in case repacked and put back in again later. When the totes have gone through all the controls they are put into the loop by the conveyor system, distributed in the shelf aisles and made ready for storage in the warehouse approach zone.

The new small parts warehouse is now located at the centre of the various Sprinter production line buildings. This clear logistic thinking ensures that the shortest possible routes to the assembly points are used for the material supply. As soon as a need for small parts arises at any of the separate assembly points there is an immediate automatic response with supplies from the small parts warehouse. Here the small parts are stored in two different tote types, (300 mm x 400 mm or 600 mm x 400 mm) The totes are ready packed and delivered by the suppliers.

The front tote is taken out first in the retrieval process so as to reach the rear tote. After this the first tote is transported back into the warehouse. The totes are placed onto the loop by the Mustang L in the approach zone where the material loaded is distributed to three retrieval lines depending on the assembly area. Here the totes and the internal delivery papers are kept ready to be fetched and are picked up by stackers or other supply vehicles and taken to the assembly area. The next requirement order is first issued from here as soon as the existing stock of components is used up.

EFFICIENT STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL

The double-depth load handling device combi-telescope installed on the Mustang L assures extremely efficient storage and retrieval of the reserve totes and a fast hand-over to the conveyor system. The combi-telescope is used in high bay and flow racks, for picking, sorting and buffering systems where it stores and retrieves load carriers (LCs) up to 50 kg in double depth on rack pockets. It is possible to use driven systems in approach zone areas through the combination of a double telescope with a strap conveyor. Centring by means of flaps ensures precise load carrier positioning and prevents tolerance error sums from occurring.

The transported totes are KLT standard totes with the honeycomb bases the automotive industry prefers. TGW also gave remarkable proof of its broad range of capabilities by successfully tackling the major challenge of keeping noise emissions with a 75 mm roller pitch to the low levels specified. A sensationally low noise level of 71.3 db has been achieved. To achieve those values, TGW used the roller conveyor multi. Its light aluminum construction is optimized for the conveying of totes and cartons. By upgrading with accumulation modules its functionality can be adjusted optimally to any specifications, depending on achievement and material to be conveyed. These factors make the roller conveyor multi an ideal solution for high-dynamic requests and protection of the material to be conveyed.

TGW TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYED

Two Mustang L type stacker cranes take care of efficient processes in the automated small parts warehouse. Its extremely light construction makes the Mustang L the perfect device for applications in high warehouse facilities such as that at Daimler with its 8.6 m (26.3 ft) warehouse height. A total of 600 rack pockets are served in the aisles of the warehouse, these have a total length of 49 m and 5.5 m width. The Mustang L reaches top speeds of 5 m/s (16.4 ft/s) with its max. 3 m/s² (9.8 ft/s²) acceleration. It transports goods with a working load of up to 100 kg (220 lbs)at this pace.

For more information on the company please visit the Daimler website at http://www.daimler.com/.