How a Popcorn Company (and Others) are Improving Logistics with Autonomous Mobile Robots

AMRs can safely automate material handling and in-house transportation tasks.

By: Kevin Dumas, Contributor

Cobs Popcorn is focused on safety, quality and lean manufacturing for its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which produces vast quantities of popcorn units daily for major supermarkets throughout Australia. To uphold these principles for Cobs, parent company Kinrise Snackfoods set out to optimize production efficiency and product quality through automation.

A significant aspect of the transformation involved addressing the manually intensive and risk-prone pallet movement process in the manufacturing backend. Here, workers move finished products from the production line to a shipping area. The company decided the facility needed an automated solution capable of operating effectively in the real-world, through confined spaces and alongside human workers.

Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) proved the ideal solution. The Cobs facility now uses four AMRs capable of handling 1350 kgs (nearly 3000 pounds) to automate the palletizing process. These robots seamlessly transport full pallets from palletizing robot cells to the hood wrap-up and return with empty pallets, operating continuously throughout the day.

The AMRs are operational 24 hours a day, six days a week, handling hundreds of pallets weekly and have covered tens of thousands of miles within the facility, providing great operational efficiency.

HOW AMRS INCREASE EFFICIENCIES

Material transport workflows like those at the Cobs facility, are a time-consuming, non-value adding task for most companies. AMRs are a simple, efficient and cost-effective way to automate material handling and in-house transportation tasks in nearly any situation where employees would previously have been required to push carts around the facility.

To optimize efficiency and save time on internal transportation, many companies are deploying these types of robots, which can move safely and efficiently through even the busiest and most dynamic environments, automatically stopping to avoid collisions and maneuvering around people or other obstacles. With no infrastructure required, the AMRs can be easily rerouted for new layouts or assembly lines, and the robots’ missions can adapt to match delivery requirements for faster or slower processes.

Workflows are different in all types of industries, but flexible and adaptable AMRs can be customized to fit almost any business need by providing an open interface. This means they can be mounted with customized top modules to do whatever the customer application demands.

ADAPTABLE AMRS ENABLE A WIDE RANGE OF MOBILE ROBOT APPLICATIONS

As AMRs become pervasive worldwide, innovative new top modules make these automation workhorses applicable for an even wider range of applications. Flexible and adaptable AMRs provide a powerful platform with an open interface that allows the robots to be customized to fit many different workflows.

In addition to the AMR that can move pallets such as those used by Cobs, there are several applications with different top modules to illustrate how companies can use AMRs to optimize workflows warehouse to assembly line:

1. Karakuri System: For fully automated solutions, companies integrate a Karakuri system on top of an AMR. This gravity-based system with mechanical linkages allows the rack to offload and onload onto the robot. A Karakuri system can fully automate the process of loading and unloading onto an assembly line for maximum efficiency. If the mobile robot is integrated into the ERP system, this solution can eliminate human interference as the robot is automatically summoned, connects to the fixed Karakuri system, and loads and offloads.
2. Conveyors: When AMRs are deployed with a conveyor top module, they can work as the adaptable link to fixed conveyors. This is often part of a fully automated solution where the AMR moves sub-assemblies from warehouse to production or between assembly lines. This adds flexibility and agility, as the AMRs’ routes and positions can be quickly adapted as needed. Heavy-duty conveyor top modules broaden the use of AMRs even for large products delivered to finished goods.
3. Towing: An AMR equipped with a hook top module can automatically pick up, transport, and drop off carts, identifying them by April Tags or QR codes. This versatile system can collect existing carts of different sizes and heights.
4. Pallet Lifts: Heavy-duty AMRs can take over pallet movement with customized pallet lifts and racks. This helps reduce safety hazards of forklifts in populated areas.
5. Static Racks and Shelves: Shelf units are a simple and cost-effective way to automate the transportation from warehouse to assembly line. Shelves or racks can be purchased or built on-site, matching existing formats, and are simply mounted on the robot with four bolts. Static shelves are mostly used in semi-automated solutions where an employee summons the mobile robot via the robot’s interface on a tablet, fills the shelves with material and sends it on its way.
6. Mobile Cobots: Companies are now deploying collaborative robot (cobot) arms mounted on an AMR to automate tasks such as machine tending. The AMR allows a single robot arm to manage multiple machines for maximum utilization.
7. Carts: Shelf carrier top modules allow AMRs to autonomously pick up, transport, and deliver existing internal carts and bins. The robot maneuvers under the cart and lifts it to transport entire carts with raw materials from the warehouse to production, pick up empty carts and take them back to the warehouse, or take a new cart with other sub-assemblies to another assembly line.
8. Vertical Storage: AMRs with vertical-lift top modules allow a “goods to person” approach that delivers materials at the right time, directly to the operator. This improves picking operations and can dramatically reduce the work and time required for order fulfilment.

Material transport workflows are time-consuming, non-value-added tasks. As Kinrise and Cobs have recognized, AMRs provide a simple, efficient, cost-effective and safe way to automate material handling and in-house transportation tasks in nearly any situation where employees would previously have been required to push carts around the facility. Whether they need to move heavy items or smaller sub-assemblies, or need a fully automated and integrated solution or a more basic, semi-automated solution, flexible and adaptable AMRs solve the task. WMHS

Kevin Dumas is VP of Product for MiR. MiR develops user-friendly, flexible and safe robots designed to assist companies in enhancing operational efficiency. MiR’s next-level mobile robotics offer a swift return on investment and are revolutionizing various industries, including manufacturing and healthcare, by automating in-house transportation. Learn more at www.mobile-industrial-robots.com