WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION

sensor and drive system technology to adapt to these changing conditions,” said Moser.

Warehouses often choose automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for flexible transport within a facility. Availability, speed, flexibility, and small size are essential requirements for these transport systems’ drives. Current consumption also plays a role in ensuring that AGV batteries are as long-lasting as possible. For example, brushless dc servomotors of Faulhaber’s BP4 series drive the wheels, whereby the motor power transfers to the wheels via planetary gearheads and drive belts. High-efficiency motors with innovative winding technology allow for a high copper content that minimizes losses.

Encoders of the IE3-1024 series are built right onto the servomotors for precise position detection. The magnetic incremental encoders feature an indexing channel for referencing a drive shaft revolution and a standardized, electronic encoder interface. The resolution, direction of rotation, index width, and index position can be adapted to the application, and a motion controller controls the servomotors. Such drive systems are also used for mobile robot platforms, which move autonomously in facilities without preinstalled guidance systems.

Micro-fulfillment seeks even smaller tech

Warehouse robots continuously become more autonomous in navigating complex environments, adapting to dynamic surroundings, and making

The BXT series are brushless flat motors for compact wheel drives that move mobile robots around the warehouse.

| Courtesy of FAULHABER real-time decisions. Improved motion control and sensing systems, advanced algorithms, and artificial intelligence enhance their independence, increasing efficiency and productivity. And as the trend of micro-fulfillment increases, so will demand for even more compact but powerful drive systems.

For example, high-torque flat motors of the BXT series are useful for wheel drives when installation space is limited in the axial direction. These motors are 14, 16, and 21 mm long but deliver torques up to 134 mN-m within diameters of 22, 32, and 42 mm, respectively. For precise speed control or strict positioning accuracy requirements, diameter-compliant magnetic encoders or speed controllers are fully integrated into the housed motor variants, expanding the drive by a mere 6.2 mm.

“High efficiency, high power density, and overload capability will be key,” said Moser. “The more compact the drive system, the more space is left for the battery system, and the highest power-to-weight ratio enables increased payload weight per shuttle.” l WH storage and retrieval.

| Courtesy of FAULHABER

Faulhaber

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