Multishuttle
Dematic looks back on the invention of the multishuttle
The story of a new system, the Multishuttle, began at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) in Dortmund in spring 2001. Following its market launch in 2006, intralogistics specialist Dematic has continued to develop it over the years. As part of its 200th anniversary celebrations, Dematic is also looking back on the development history of the Multishuttle.
A significant advantage of the Multishuttle: the throughput could be increased compared to a mini-load warehouse without requiring additional space.Volker Jungbluth from Fraunhofer IML and his team faced numerous challenges at the beginning. For example, the pallet shuttle was too heavy, with a total weight of more than 2.5 tons including the batteries. It also required extremely stable and therefore expensive steel structures for the racks. The aim at the time was to make the system lighter in order to save on racking elements. Among other things, this was achieved by using lighter containers instead of pallets. In addition, conductor rails in the racking, on which the shuttle carriages ran, replaced the large battery pack. The pick-up technology used was the roll-on grippers that had already been developed at IML. These moved under the cartons and containers, rotated and thus picked up the load.
In April 2004, Jungbluth switched to Dematic with an initial prototype. The company developed new control technology and software for the use of the first shuttles. The first test systems finally went into operation at HK in Finland and Transpharm. The focus was then on the shuttle's suitability for series production. The development team led by Shin Yamashita therefore continued to develop the system after taking it over from the Fraunhofer Institute.
Under his leadership, the live shelving was turned into conductor rails, among other things. As the load handling device did not fit the shelves and racks, he and his team opted for gripper rails and arms as well as extendable telescopes that reach into the shelving.
The Multishuttle will also be developed further in the future. Dematic wants to use the systems to reach deeper into the shelves and thus increase the storage space. The aim is for the shuttles to reach every product at every location on the shelves in future.
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