Intelligence takes the lead
Wolfsburg/D. One premise alone governs the logistics of automobile production at VW AG: every part must be in the right place, just in time for fitting. By no means a trivial proposition, because every vehicle depends on the assembly of several thousand parts to specification and schedule. It calls for painstaking production planning, meticulous organisation, and precision-timed parts transfer using optimised conveyor technology. A perfect fit for the functional capabilities of the Interroll RollerDrive EC300
|  | Smart transfer of high volumes
Motor vehicle assembly is a process of cumulative logistic complexity given that the assembly lines are largely automated. The solution to the challenge of internal transfer of
prefabricated subassemblies and modules for assembly can be seen in Building 55 of VW's Wolfsburg headquarters, where the bulk of this vast materials handling operation takes
place.
Fully optimised process
It is evident from the most cursory glance inside the logistics centre that nothing is left to chance. Take commissioning the materials-handling baskets for cockpit production,
for instance.
Ten workers commission the individual parts in foam transfer containers and pass them into an automated materials handling cycle.
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The loaded baskets (two per vehicle/four per minute) are eventually picked and transferred to the assembly station. All along the line, this fully process-optimised system has
been equipped by OEM Wegener+Stapel, winner of the "Volkswagen Group Award 2004", with state-of-the-art products: three lifting devices, five eccentric lifting devices, four
turntables, 15 electropneumatic synchronous belt transfers, six stop sensors, eight scanners and 294 Interroll RollerDrives.
Investment friendly: long service life further extended
The conveyor system with its 300-metre (984 ft.) conveyor line makes the most of the zero-pressure accumulation technology used in Interroll conveyors.
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Each accumulation point is now driven by one Interroll RollerDrive EC300 per five Interroll slave rollers. Rasmus Wegener, Executive Director of Wegener+Stapel Fördertechnik
GmbH, explains why he opted for the high-end solution with superior start-stop performance: "The drives are extremely quiet and easy to maintain." Indeed, noise emissions have
been reduced to below 60 db as a result of the optimised motor/drive system. And that is not all: "By developing a specific software component," says Wegener, "we have succeeded
in making each motorised roller operate for only as long as is actually necessary to transport the baskets." Thus in all likelihood the service life of the RollerDrive EC300,
designed to last 20,000 hours in constant operation, can be extended even further.
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| | Stoppage risks minimised
Operational reliability in conveying materials-handling baskets between 510 and 850 mm (20 to 33.4 in.) in width is guaranteed not only by the brushless 24V DC motor but also the
built-in intelligence of the RollerDrive EC300. First, the four-quadrant regulator allows for controlled acceleration and braking operations and a constant speed over the whole
load range. Secondly, the integrated control system with its stall timing device responds to any overloading with safety cut-out and automatic restart functions. The RollerDrive
EC300 - controlled, incidentally, by switch boxes with ASi bus modules - achieves the required speeds of up to 22.8 metres per minute (74 fpm) with ease. And if need be, it will
go even faster.
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