Smart pallet movers for manufacturing logistics

With the Smart Pallet Mover (SPM), Interroll has launched a solution that can be adapted as a flexible and modular pallet management system to meet a wide range of application requirements in industrial manufacturing.

The Smart Pallet Mover allows users to automate work processes in front of the machine production to avoid manual activities in safety-critical areas and manage the pallet work flow by buffering, sorting, sequencing and carrying. It is designed to significantly improve machine downtime, optimising the ROI of the machine production cells. This eliminates production interruptions for material supply to machines, and also decreases the risk of accidents during operation. In this way, productivity increases of up to 30% are possible compared to manual operation, says Interroll.

The Smart Pallet Mover is a pallet management solution for automating pallet transport in the vicinity of manufacturing machines and for production-related picking and sequencing processes, which can also be used in Industry 4.0 environments. The SPM is designed to transport, sort and buffer boxes or pallets weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. It represents a mobile and autonomously acting material flow system that can be used, for example, as a cost-efficient supplement or substitute for forklifts or automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

The Smart Pallet Mover solution consists of various modules. The centre of the solution is a mobile unit (SM1000 Mover) that runs underneath non-driven conveyor sections and moves pallets lying on them. A transfer car (SM2000 Transfer Car) which moves on a rail can transport pallets between parallel conveyor sections.

A 3D online tool, the SPM Layout Configurator & Pallet Flow Simulator, makes it possible to configure a system quickly.

The modular plug-and-play solution can be put into operation without lengthy interruptions to production, even during modernisation projects. Networking capabilities are based on global data standards such as REST API and JSON. The conveyor modules can be reconfigured if required, and height-adjustable supports allow the system to be installed even on uneven floors.

For more information, visit www.interroll.com