Keeping track of the material flow: For this task, steute has developed the sWave.NET wireless network and the associated nexy apps. Making processes transparent is the obvious task of the IT infrastructure at the store floor level of intralogistics. This is all the more important as in-house material supply is becoming increasingly demand-oriented. And: intralogistics and production are growing ever closer together. In automotive production, for example, these areas of responsibility can hardly be separated.

The goal: all information in real time
The aim of the intralogistics provider must therefore be to maintain a constantly updated overview of the warehouse stocks, including all intermediate and buffer stocks, and also to know the locations and fill levels of the transport units. If this information is automatically available almost in real time, the production control system can plan the material requirements of the machines and assembly stations in advance using the order data from the ERP system.

The nexy wireless system solution was developed for this task. It automatically records status changes in the material and parts flow across all storage and processing stations. Sensors, actuators and operating systems can be integrated into this wireless network solution. They send and receive data via the sWave.NET wireless standard, also developed by steute. This data is collected by access points and transmitted to a sensor bridge, which takes over the communication to the user's higher-level IT systems - for example to ERP, production planning (PPS) or warehouse management (WMS). This creates end-to-end communication from the store floor level to the management levels of the company's IT or the Internet of Things (IoT). In the best case scenario, i.e. at a high level of expansion, a "digital twin" of the logistics processes is created.

Control of eKanban systems
With the individual nexy applications, steute has created an ecosystem of hardware and software. For eKanban applications, for example, a sensor is available at the hardware level, which is installed in the rack fields or rows of the Kanban racks. It registers whether a bay is occupied or whether a bin has been removed and issues a message via the wireless network. In some of the eKanban applications implemented to date with nexy, several hundred of these wireless sensors are installed in a network.

At the software level, dedicated configurations are available for various eKanban applications, which simplify the customization effort from the user's perspective. For example, it is possible to configure whether one sensor is installed per shelf compartment or whether it is a multi-level Kanban system for "fast movers". In this way, "nexy" digitizes, networks and automates the Kanban process. A dashboard visualizes the status of all eKanban locations.

Increasing the efficiency of AGV fleets
In addition to the integration of eKanban racks, automated guided vehicle systems (AGVs) are among the typical nexy areas of application. Here, too, the user benefits from a continuous flow of information in real time - from the sensor via the access points and the sensor bridge to the IT applications, i.e. the fleet manager.
The fact that several well-known AGV manufacturers use the nexy radio network is also due to a special feature of the sWave.NET radio technology. The radio system can reduce the energy requirements of AGVs. The sWave.NET radio network can be used to put unused AGVs into "deep sleep" mode. In this mode, they only consume a minimum amount of energy. If the AGV is to be used again, it is reactivated via the nexy network with a short response time and can be put back into productive use by the AGV fleet manager system. From the operator's point of view, it is also advantageous that several applications - for example AGVs and eKanban - can communicate via one and the same nexy infrastructure.

The latest innovations from nexy include, for example, an interface to OPC UA for cross-platform data exchange. In addition, the latest software version of the Sensor Bridge can also communicate with the user's SAP system, and the connected nexy field devices receive new firmware updates "on air". These updates are made available on the Sensor Bridge and distributed in the local network. This ensures that all end devices are always up to date with the latest software without any major effort.

The outlook
The data collected and evaluated in the nexy wireless network can form the basis for determining key operational figures and thus for the continuous optimization of intralogistics in terms of efficiency and costs. The large amount of operating data collected in the wireless network is also of interest for maintenance. However, these are options that are not yet in focus, but will certainly be used more intensively in the future.