High-tech in the fork tip

Vetter, a specialist for forks of all types, and the developer and manufacturer of heavy-duty camera-monitor systems, Motec, came together due their customers' day-to-day problems, and are working together to produce trendsetting solutions for logistics companies. The SmartFork for forklift trucks is the outcome of this cooperation, a development that has proven its worth in everyday industrial applications.

Equipped with sensors, the Vetter SmartFork delivers additional information for the machine operator. In order to improve workplace safety, the sensors "feel" the physical surroundings, digitalise the result and send it to a display.

For drivers of luxury mid-range limousines this is an everyday experience. These are equipped with up to 100 sensors and even camera systems. They deliver data for a wide variety of different assistance systems. To date, these electronic aides are somewhat rare on equally expensive forklift trucks, even though they greatly simplify the work to be performed and make it safer.

Alexander Müller, sales consultant at Motec, is well aware of how important this issue is for the companies involved: "I visited one customer in the furniture industry who suffered damages caused by incorrect handling of the goods by forklift trucks in the 5-figure range on a weekly basis. These were caused by the structural characteristics of the forklift truck in conjunction with poor visibility for the driver compact when block-stacking. This couldn't be rectified by simply installing classic camera solutions on the fork carriage and the lift mast." In 2013 this resulted in the idea of extending the driver's field of vision to allow him to see beneath the pallet. However, to do this, the camera needed to be installed in the tip of the fork. And, of course, light was also required to be able to see into dark corners.

Vetter's know-how in the manufacture and machining of forks made it possible to integrate the new camera together with the Motec Powerlight LED into the fork tip. Thus, the first CamFork came into being in 2014 along with – thanks to the joint project work – a wide range of other ideas. Due to the the wide variety of potential applications and the requirements of modern warehouse logistics, it soon became clear that this development offered enormous potential – which was then realised by Vetter in the form of the SmartFork.

And this is precisely where the cooperation between the two companies proves that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Because good visibility is just one side of the coin. It is also possible to provide the forklift operator with a lot more information in order to make materials handling safer and prevent damage. And so the SmartFork system solution came into being during a brainstorming session. Besides the camera, this comprises the use of additional sensors – all of which are integrated into the fork tip: ultrasonic sensors to measure distances, laser detection of the end of the pallet, and tilt sensors. The driver rapidly receives all this information on a display in the driver's cab via the control unit. He receives optical and acoustic warnings, and at the same time is able to accurately detect the angle of inclination of the fork tip caused by the load by means of an artificial horizon and compensate for this by changing the mast tilt.

"Being able to incorporate all this in individually manufactured forks with protected milled recesses for the cable routing without adversely affecting the fork capacity really is a unique selling point for Vetter's production competence," explains Kathrin Röttgen, marketing manager at Vetter Industrie. The electronic components installed in the specially machined forks meet the demanding environmental requirements that apply to industrial applications and are even protected against high-pressure cleaning in accordance with the standard IEC 60529.

The two companies' success in realising this project is also of particular benefit to the customer, as the system can not only be ordered for new forklift trucks but can also be retrofitted thanks to the modular system concept. The camera and the sensors do not need to be calibrated, as they are 100% plug and play modules. Instead of a cable-based controller, Motec now offers the entire system with digital radio transmission. This further simplifies the installation of the components and makes the system easier to maintain and less susceptible to cable wear. Depending on the customer requirements, up to 12 sensors can be read in by a control unit. The signals can be forwarded via CAN bus and outputted on a display at the same time.

The fully integrated sensors in the SmartFork are thus designed to meet the requirements of protection class IP69K – and are thus dust- and waterproof and also able to withstand high water pressure and vibrations.