Features/Benefits Provided: Increased productivity, creating a “fork-free” manufacturing environment Flexible solution for plant’s changing production demands Safe, reliable method for delivery of steel blanks and panels Ability to alter guide paths to save time and free up vehicles that may be needed elsewhere Utilization of previously unused plant space

A fleet of five Unit Load automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) pickup steel blanks at a load stand in the receiving area and are carried by the AGVs about a half mile there up a concrete ramp leading to the second floor of a large Automotive Stamping Plant. Once there, the steel blanks are unloaded at or transferred to a press for stamping into truck door and hood panels.

Stamped parts are fed by belt conveyor to a three lane loading area. There, workers manually load each panel into a mobile rack, which is released to the vertical conveyance system to take the parts back down to the first floor.

Once back on the first floor of the facility, a laser-guided Tugger AGV pulls into position alongside staged racks of doors that are automatically loaded onto a trailer.

The fleet of 8 Tugger AGVs, pulling three trailers each, take away the racks of door panels from the automatic pickup station to the work-in-process market where they are staged on three-high racks to be picked up for final assembly and shipment to the truck assembly plants.

Using AGVs for material handling has opened up a large amount of unused space in the plant. Also, the paths of the AGVs have the ability to be altered to accommodate the changing demands of the plant.

This SGV system has helped to efficiently handle door and hood production between the two floors of the Automotive Stamping Plant.

is a proud member of AGVS, a Product Section of the Material Handling Industry of America
400 Highpoint Drive
Chalfont, PA 18914
Phone: (215) 822-4600
Toll Free: 1-888-362-3628
Fax: (215) 822-4553
Website: www.jbtc-agv.com