Topper noticed increased interest in a mother-daughter bogie system that could be towed by an AGV or tractor without splitting.
Trolleys, trailers and casters are playing an increasingly important role in today’s busy warehouses and distribution centers, where managing persistent labor shortages, supply chain constraints and increasing e-commerce order volumes requires careful on-site coordination. There, picking carts move items from one location to another, trailers carry connected “trains” of non-motorized carts around the facility, and casters make it easy to maneuver shelves, carts, and other equipment.
Together, these three pillars of the warehouse support the movement of goods, inventory, and other items in fulfillment centers or other operations. Like most other material handling equipment, carts and trailers include more automation and autonomous capabilities. For example, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) move autonomously around a facility without the need for a driver or operator to be on board.
“Human resources is a big problem companies are struggling with right now. They just don’t have enough people to do all the work,” said B. G. Edwards, vice president of sales and marketing for Creform Corp. process manually – with automation parameters.
In response to a customer request, Edwards said Creform has developed several new implementations that integrate automated processes into existing installations. For example, the company recently automated its existing manual companion carts.
Now, instead of loading carts offline, the company simply loads the AGV and then transports the goods to the main line for further processing.
Edwards said the company is also demanding more off-the-shelf solutions, including design, fabrication, assembly, testing and installation. They also need additional consulting support, which Creform easily provides.
“Companies want us to get involved and identify where we can provide automation solutions, which is different from what has been in the past,” Edwards said. “Most of the time, in these projects, the client almost has clear boundaries. Today, they are also looking for new ideas and help find some unconventional approach to their problems.”
One of the problems is the lack of free space in a warehouse or distribution center, where every meter of horizontal and vertical space is valuable. To help its customers cope with the lack of space, Creform has minimized the physical size of its devices. On the other hand, some customers are demanding larger units, a trend that has prompted the company to start making AGVs 15 to 20 feet long (compared to the more standard 10-foot models).
The innovative trolley from Kinetic Technologies aims to simplify the decanting process and improve ergonomics.
Creform has also added side-to-side mobility to its products, knowing that carts may need to fit into tight spaces in some cases, especially when the company is trying to consolidate storage space.
“Ultimately, everyone wants a low-maintenance, reliable cart,” Edwards said, “that is efficient and safe.”
Before the pandemic hit, Topper Industrial received many requests for trolleys that could be towed by AGVs. While the demand for automation options has remained steady over the past 2.5 years, more companies are interested in products that the company developed years ago and “haven’t really been widely adopted,” said President Ed Brown.
He sees increased demand for mother-daughter trolley systems that are towed by AGVs or tractors. The system consists of a large trolley with a parent frame and two or more smaller child trolleys, the latter being placed in the frame of the former. Once the auxiliary cart is locked inside, the entire assembly can be towed as one assembly or continuously.
“They’re very popular with Topper,” Brown said, adding that 10 of the company’s large orders of $1 million or more are now linked to Mother Daughter Cart Systems.
The key point may be that these carts do not need to be detached. Instead, the smaller cart is simply pulled into the larger “mother” cart. Trolleys are generally suitable for facilities with enough aisle space to accommodate them.
Like many other manufacturers, Topper faces limited supply of raw materials and components for its products. “There was a time when I was just starting a company, and if you were six or seven weeks behind, the customers would go elsewhere,” recalls Brown. “Now it’s quadrupled,” he told companies buying carts, trailers and casters this year to factor that time into their plans, advising them to take the time to find the right products for specific applications.
This not only guarantees a fit, but also prevents overruns in unnecessary places. “Take the time to make sure the entire product is designed to your specifications,” Brown said, “down to the individual videos.”
At Hamilton Caster & Mfg. At Hamilton Caster & Mfg. Co., vice president of marketing Mark Lippert is seeing greater demand for the company’s AGV line of casters and wheels. Вице-президент по маркетингу компании Hamilton Caster & Mfg. Vice President of Marketing for Hamilton Caster & Mfg. Co. Mark Lippert sees growing demand for the company’s AGV range of casters and wheels.在Hamilton Caster & Mfg.在Hamilton Caster & Mfg. Co.，营销副总裁Mark Lippert 看到对该公司AGV 脚轮和车轮系列的需求增加。 Вице-президент по маркетингу компании Hamilton Caster & Mfg. Vice President of Marketing for Hamilton Caster & Mfg. Co. Mark Lippert notes the increased demand for a line of rollers and wheels for the AGV. It makes sense, he says, as more companies implement more automation at their facilities to offset the effects of ongoing labor shortages. More companies are looking for more sophisticated options, such as high temperature casting machines and stainless steel casting machines, Lippert says.
“These are not your usual large-scale operations where you need new casters as a toolbox,” notes Lippert. “They might have an autoclave or an industrial-sized oven that heats up to 750 degrees, and they need rollers that can withstand harsh conditions.”
Hamilton Inferno rollers are available in light, medium and heavy MagmaMax ranges and can handle weights from 150 to 9000 pounds, depending on the product.
Hamilton’s latest breakthrough in heavy-duty industrial press-fit tires is a forklift tire that is “pressed” onto a machined core made in-house by the manufacturer. Designed for heavy-duty applications, the tire is most commonly used in gantry cranes, large construction equipment and aerospace applications. The manufacturer also recently released a line of UltraGlide casters and wheels. They feature lighter twist and turn for ergonomic applications and require less power, meaning longer AGV life.
According to Lippert, the new product reduces the energy required to move loads manually or mechanically and has independent rotating surfaces that eliminate friction and make it easier to turn. “We manufacture them in-house, and we’re very excited about that,” says Lippert, who advises companies to carefully consider their options before choosing and buying media-specific rollers.
“There are more casters than most people think, so pick up the phone and talk to a specialist before you make your choice,” Lippert said. “By understanding the roller’s application, its load capacity, and the conditions of use, he or she must be able to quickly provide expert advice on which roller or wheel will perform best.”
When calculating the number of rollers for a given load or load capacity, it’s best to divide the total load capacity by three and four, Lippert says. “People don’t always think about uneven loads or floor surfaces (i.e. when laying concrete expansion joints),” he explained. “At these points, the load can only be distributed between three rollers, so it’s better to divide it by three when calculating the load capacity.”
Right now, Kevin Kuhn, president of Kinetic Technologies, sees a lot of pent-up demand due to the pandemic and its impact on the labor market, supply chain disruptions and other restrictions. It handles requests ranging from large settlements to very small orders and has yet to see any negative effects of inflation or the possibility of a recession affecting the business.
“From our point of view, this is a good, solid market,” Kuhn said. “However, it is difficult to read tea leaves at the moment.”
This year, Kinetic has focused on developing customized solutions for customers, with a focus on AGV, robotics and ergonomics. As a manufacturer of industrial trolleys, trolleys and conveyor systems designed for cost-effective logistics systems, the company introduced a number of new products last year to meet customer needs. In most cases, these innovations are aimed at facilitating the decanting process and improving ergonomics.
“We are looking at how to make manufacturing and material handling acceptable in today’s work environment in terms of material handling,” Kuhn said. “This includes automation with a focus on making things easier for everyone who works in a factory or warehouse.”
Anyone investing in a cart right now needs to work with a supplier that “plays in this space every day” and understands there might be more to the product than meets the eye, Kuhn said. “Carts seem simple, but to a certain extent, when they’re well made, they can be complex.”
Post time: Oct-31-2022