Examples of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)

These are the examples of company that adopted. It provide automated material movement for customers in a variety of industries including the: automotive, chemicals/plastics, hospital, newsprint/newspaper, commercial print, paper, food & beverage, pharmaceutical, warehouse and distribution center, and manufacturing industries.

A video of a AGV counter balance truck


A video of Unit Load (AGV)


A video of Narrow Aisle (AGV)



A video of Roll Delivery Fork Lift AGV - Automated Guided Vehicle

Overview of hoist

A hoist is a device used for lifting or lowering a load by means of a drum or lift-wheel around which rope or chain wraps. It may be manually operated, electrically or pneumatically driven and may use chain, fiber or wire rope as its lifting medium. The load is attached to the hoist by means of a lifting hook.

Types of Hoist:

The basic hoist has two important characteristics to define it: Lifting medium and power type.

The lifting medium is either wire rope, wrapped around a drum, or load-chain, raised by a pulley with a special profile to engage the chain. The power type can be either electric motor or air motor.

Both the wire rope hoist and chain hoist have been in common use since the 1800s. A hoist can be built as one integral-package unit, designed for cost-effective purchasing and moderate use, or it can be built as a built-up custom unit, designed for durability and performance. The built-up hoist will be much more expensive, but will also be easier to repair and more durable.

Package units are designed for light to moderate usage, while built-up units are designed for heavy to severe service. A machine shop or fabricating shop will use an integral-package hoist, while a Steel Mill or NASA would use a built-up unit to meet durabilty, performance, and repairability requirements.

Construction hoists:

Also known as a Man-Lift, or construction elevator, this type of hoist is commonly used on large scale construction projects, such as high-rise buildings or major hospitals. The purpose being to carry personnel and materials quickly between the ground and higher floors, or between upper floors.

The construction hoist is made up of either one or two metallic cages which travel vertically along stacked mast tower sections. For controlled travel along the mast sections, most modern construction hoists utilize a motorized rack-and-pinion system mounted onto the mast sections, while some older hoists still utilize a system of counterweights.

comparison between conveyors, trucks and cranes/ hoist

For comparison between the three MHE you can go to this site:

http://www.mhia.org/et/pdf/mhi/cicmhe/equpguid.pdf

overview of crane

A crane is a mechanical lifting device equipped with a winder, wire ropes and sheaves that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of freight; in the construction industry for the movement of materials; and in the manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy equipment.

The first cranes were invented by the Ancient Greeks and were powered by men or beasts-of-burden, such as donkeys. These cranes were used for the construction of tall buildings. Larger cranes were later developed, employing the use of human treadwheels, permitting the lifting of heavier weights. In the High Middle Ages, harbour cranes were introduced to load and unload ships and assist with their construction – some were built into stone towers for extra strength and stability. The earliest cranes were constructed from wood, but cast iron and steel took over with the coming of the Industrial Revolution.

Cranes exist in an enormous variety of forms – each tailored to a specific use. Sizes range from the smallest jib cranes, used inside workshops, to the tallest tower cranes, used for constructing high buildings, and the largest floating cranes, used to build oil rigs and salvage sunken ships.

General characteristics of cranes:

• Used to move loads over variable (horizontal and vertical) paths within a restricted area


• Used when there is insufficient (or intermittent) flow volume such that the use of a conveyor cannot be justified


• Provide more flexibility in movement than conveyors


• Provide less flexibility in movement than industrial trucks


• Loads handled are more varied with respect to their shape and weight than those handled by a conveyor


• Most cranes utilize hoists for vertical movement, although manipulators can be used if precise positioning of the load is required
  

Lifting capacity:

Cranes illustrate the use of one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage.

The lever. A balance crane contains a horizontal beam (the lever) pivoted about a point called the fulcrum. The principle of the lever allows a heavy load attached to the shorter end of the beam to be lifted by a smaller force applied in the opposite direction to the longer end of the beam. The ratio of the load's weight to the applied force is equal to the ratio of the lengths of the longer arm and the shorter arm, and is called the mechanical advantage.

The pulley. A jib crane contains a tilted strut (the jib) that supports a fixed pulley block. Cables are wrapped multiple times round the fixed block and round another block attached to the load. When the free end of the cable is pulled by hand or by a winding machine, the pulley system delivers a force to the load that is equal to the applied force multiplied by the number of lengths of cable passing between the two blocks. This number is the mechanical advantage.

The hydraulic cylinder. This can be used directly to lift the load (as with a HIAB), or indirectly to move the jib or beam that carries another lifting device.

video of overhead crane

overhead crane

Also known as a "suspended crane", this type of crane works in the same way as a gantry crane but without uprights. The hoist is on a trolley which moves in one direction along one or two beams, which move at right angles to that direction along elevated tracks, often mounted along the side walls of an assembly area in a factory. Some of them can lift very heavy loads.

Overhead cranes are used in many industries to move heavy and oversized objects that other material handling methods cannot. These cranes have a railed support structure called a bridge, and a wheeled trolley that travels across the bridge horizontally. Several varieties of overhead cranes exist including gantry, semi-gantry, cantilever gantry, storage bridge and wall cranes.

The advantages of cranes :

• Higher hook lift, since the hook can be pulled up between the main girders.
• Extremely rigid box girder construction and durable trolley design are well suited for heavy service applications.
• Light weight = lower wheel loads (less building steel)
• Low head room monorail hoist
• Lower production costs
• Ease of maintenance
• Ease of installation

Inspection Requirements - safety requirement :

Due to the large and heavy objects often being transported by overhead cranes, routine inspections are necessary to ensure continued operation of the crane and the safety of the employees around the crane. An initial inspection of the crane prior to initial use of new and altered cranes is necessary.

Once placed into service, overhead cranes will require two different types of inspections. Frequent inspections are done at daily to monthly intervals, while periodic inspections are completed at monthly to annual intervals. The purpose of the two inspection types is to detect critical components of the crane and to determine the extent of wear, deterioration or malfunction.

Items to be Inspected -

Hoisting and lowering
Trolley travel
Bridge travel
Limit switches, locking and safety devices
Load test of not more than 125% of rated load

video of stacker crane