In 2016, six Smart Move L16 vehicles from EK Robotics went into operation at Miele in the body shop, and four more were added by 2020. The layout of the AGV was also continuously expanded so that additional production systems and workstations are now directly connected to the electric monorail hoist.

The Smart Move L16 is an agile and compact series industrial truck with a load capacity of 1600 kilograms. The universally deployable forklift trucks are characterized above all by short planning and commissioning times as well as maximum efficiency, and they can also be flexibly adapted to customer requirements. The AGVs at Miele keep to their intended route by means of laser navigation.

A laser scanner mounted on the vehicle measures fixed reflective markers that are attached to shelves or hall walls, for example. This enables the current position of the vehicle to be determined permanently and with high precision. The AGVs are used in factory halls where people also move around. For this reason, EK Robotics equips them with personal protection scanners at the front and rear to protect employees. The scanners, which allow the warning and protective fields to be set flexibly, enable the vehicle to react proactively. For example, the forklift truck scans its surroundings precisely, even if it is driving ahead with its forks. If a person or object enters the protective field, the AGV brakes gently, thus ensuring contactless safety.

Highly efficient block storage management

The innovative Li-ion energy system is used to ensure the maximum availability of an AGV. The transport robots continuously check their energy consumption and automatically move to the charging stations as soon as a threshold value is reached. How long they charge there is variable and depends on the workload.

The manufacturer's automated transport systems also show their strengths in a logistics solution as variable as the block storage system. A second AGV with four additional Smart Move L16s has been in operation at Miele since summer 2020. The vehicles supply three fully automated robot cells in the production plant for the oscillating washing machine units and transport cast iron counterweights - two special pallets each as a stack with a total weight of 900 kilograms.

The AGVs use what is known as hybrid navigation to operate the block storage system. In addition to navigation using a laser scanner, extended navigation is carried out using small magnets embedded in the floor of the block storage system. The four Smart Move L16s manage up to 30 transport orders per hour and even clean up in between - a sweeper module developed with Miele's training workshop has been in use here for some time.

This article appeared in issue 4/23