Electricity and Control August 2024

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Advanced logistics engineering accelerates delivery

ACDC Dynamics (ACDC), a leading supplier of electri cal components for automation, commercial, industrial, and mining sectors, has seen the first Gonvarri Tornado 9th generation Vertical Lifting Module (VLM) designed and installed in South Africa at its Edenvale warehouse. The VLM, from Logistics Systems Engineering (LSE), was designed to improve the efficiency of the ware house operations. It is an ultra-fast virtually noiseless, computer controlled storage and transfer lift. Using minimal floor space, this innovative storage system automatically optimises loaded goods on trays, substantially increasing picking rates and providing security on high-risk items. “Only once it was installed and operational did we re alise the machine’s speed and versatility, definite advan tages compared to conventional VLMs, and it enables us to serve our customers better. The capacity of LSE’s VLM allows us to increase productivity in storing and picking,” says ACDC CEO, Mario Maio. “This 9th generation Tornado VLM, which is 12 100 mm high, carries the same quantity of items as four compet itor VLMs currently in our warehouse – and is close to three times faster. The technology and features incorpo rated in the Gonvarri VLM are beyond any other solution we have experienced or reviewed,” he adds. The installation was completed early in the second quarter of 2024 and the VLM has already demonstrated its effectiveness and accuracy, accelerating delivery times

Members of the LSE and ACDC teams at the official handover of the VLM at ACDC. has the ability to use every millimetre of space,” says Warehouse Manager, Floris Venter. LSE’s scope of work included the machine specifica tion design, functional design, delivery, installation, com missioning, and personnel training. The VLM incorpo rates LSE’s TCPlus System, a warehouse management system (WMS) that interfaces with the customer’s enter prise resource planning (ERP) system. “The project was engineered, manufactured, programmed and shipped from Finland,” says Fred Albrecht, LSE CEO. “As the exclusive Gonvarri distributor and partner in South Africa, we conducted the installation and commissioning in just eight days. The installation was, however, made more complex due to the confined space in which the VLM had to be installed.” A simplified process The module has a user-friendly interface. “It simplifies our processes,” says Venter. “It allocates space based on product height and precisely indicates the location of each tray. When the ERP system calls a tray for picking, all orders are populated on the interface screen and then loaded sequentially. “However,” Venter adds, “we can im plement various rules during the picking process, such as prioritising the most crucial orders for execution.” The VLM is equipped with safety barriers and light curtains that stop it from operating when an alarm is trig gered, which helps guarantee personnel safety. Albrecht highlights: “The entire system is Industry 4.0 ready, taking storage and picking space to a new level. ACDC’s order was one of the first orders globally and was South Africa’s first order; there are now close to 1 000 units installed worldwide.” ACDC uses the VLM for small electrical compo nents, focusing on medium- and fast-moving items. The high-density storage system measures each tray and immediately registers which cavity the tray must be sent to. This allows the trays to be filled with stock and the system optimises the volume by height, saving storage space. “There is a maximum of 25 millimetres between each loaded tray,” says Venter. “This means we can Continued on page 8

and enabling simultane ous retrieval of multiple trays. This improvement has increased ACDC’s picking rates and han dling efficiency by up to 65%. The VLM continual ly optimises the heights of trays, finding the most appropriate space to accommodate storage units of various product sizes and heights. This HOT (height optimisa tion of trays) feature has proven to be a particular advantage. Each tray in the VLM measures four metres wide by 820 mm deep and has a standard capacity of 500 kg. When deciding on this purchase, ACDC was swayed by the func tionality of the VLM. “It’s equivalent to having six additional personnel managing stock and it

The new VLM delivers greater functionality and requires much less space than conventional racking and shelving.

6 Electricity + Control AUGUST 2024