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Shuttle System
Automated shuttle storage solution for boxes and small products
Product
Automated shuttle system for high throughput distribution centres
The Shuttle System is an automated storage solution for boxes that speeds up order picking, ensuring a constant flow of products from the warehouse slots to the pick stations.
Advantages
More agility in order prep and increased storage capacity
This solution increases storage density and picking speed, boosting productivity.
- Continuous flows and operations (24/7).
- Fully automated storage system for boxes, bins, totes and small parts.
- Maximum speed in goods entry and exit operations.
- High number of movements per hour.
- Perpetual inventory (in real time) thanks to the Easy WMS warehouse management system.
- Modular and scalable system: can be expanded according to logistics needs.
- Optimization of available surface area to provide greater storage capacity.
- Adaptable to different unit loads (plastic totes, cardboard boxes, metal trays) of multiple sizes.
- Easy maintenance without the need to completely stop warehouse operations.
Applications
Intensive, more efficient picking for all types of companies
The Shuttle System is suitable for companies in any industry. It’s especially advantageous for those that house many small products in a limited space and need to enhance order picking productivity in their logistics facilities. Moreover, this system facilitates the consolidation and sequencing of prepared orders and the supply of materials to production lines.
Gallery
Operation
Continuous, safe movement of goods
The Shuttle System is specifically designed to facilitate the preparation of a large number of orders a day.
Step 1
On each storage level, a transfer car (or motorised shuttle) extracts the boxes using telescopic forks (single- and double-deep). These forks adapt easily to the box sizes.
Step 2
The shuttles transport the boxes to the lifts located at the ends of the automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). The lifts then distribute the boxes between the different levels of the racks and the front of the AS/RS.
Step 3
A circuit of box conveyors moves the products to the pick station. There, the operator consults a screen for instructions from the WMS on how to prepare each order.
Step 4
Once picking operations have been completed, the boxes can be sent back to the AS/RS, to another pick station, to a consolidation station, to a production line or to dispatch.
Case studies
Manitou Group
Manitou Group automates its spare parts warehouse
Manitou Group, a manufacturer of materials handling, lifting and earthmoving equipment, has automated its facility in France. The company has installed the Mecalux Shuttle System to manage small products and two high-performance pick stations. Read more
Pick stations
Two possible picking systems for the same AS/RS
The Shuttle System is combined with pick stations where orders are prepared according to the goods to person method. The boxes are automatically sent to one of these two types of workstations:
- Traditional pick station. This solution is ideal for sporadic order picking. It is based on a U-shaped conveyor system at the front of the AS/RS (with roller conveyors) or on one side (with belt conveyors). Operators pick the boxes they receive from the AS/RS and distribute them to the locations behind them. In this way, depending on the dimensions of the boxes, operators can prepare 60 to 120 order lines per hour for the same SKU.
- Multi-order pick station. This also incorporates a U-shaped conveyor system. In this case, orders are prepared on one side of the operators (as opposed to behind them). There, they receive the boxes automatically (each box corresponds to an order made up of multiple SKUs). Operators remove the items from the boxes received from the AS/RS and sort them into each order. With this workstation, operators only have to turn 90° to prepare between 90 and 165 order lines per hour.
- High performance pick station. This picking solution — the most ergonomic of all — is designed to facilitate and speed up the preparation of orders containing many SKUs and lightweight products. In this pick station, up to 6 orders can be filled simultaneously, reaching a throughput of more than 1,000 picks/hour.
Components
Racks
Single- or double-deep, they can reach 20 m tall and 100 m long.
Lifts
They move the boxes to the racking level where they will be stored.
Conveyors
They transport the boxes to the racks, where the lift is located, or to the pick stations.
Shuttle
Each storage level has a shuttle that extracts the boxes from their locations via telescopic forks. These forks are capable of adapting to the dimensions of the loads and their single- or double-deep position.
Warehouse management system (WMS)
This software governs the Shuttle System for boxes and distributes the goods according to their level of demand. Control software directs the movement of the motorised shuttles to streamline storage and order picking tasks.
Technical data
| Max. AS/RS height | 20 m |
|---|---|
| Max. AS/RS length | 100 m |
| Max. box weight | 50 kg |
| Rack types | Single-, double- and triple-deep |
| Shuttle speed | Up to 4 m/s |
| Shuttle acceleration | Up to 4 m/s2 |
| AS/RS temperature | From 0 to 40 °C |
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