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Automatic storage tower to get full productivity out of your machines
You would do well to keep the overall picture of operations and movements in mind to arrive at the right choice of an automated storage system for your business.

Automatic storage tower to get full productivity out of your machines

Laser cutting machines have become so fast that users must also look at how to keep up with that infernal pace. Automatic storage systems are therefore becoming increasingly popular. They are an ideal investment to improve the entire production flow in the workshop. In this article, we briefly list the main points of interest.

The laser cutting machine is often the first step in the production process at sheet metal fabricators. So it's a good starting point to start plotting out the flow of both raw materials and finished parts. Because the productivity of your laser cutting machine will depend on how efficiently you get it to and from the machines. That has everything to do with the advancing fiber lasers, which combine phenomenal cutting speed with short changeover times. A gain in time that applies to more and more applications, as they continue to gain application, including in higher thicknesses thanks to higher powers. But those who want to take full advantage of this will therefore also have to look at smart ways to automate the loading and unloading of laser cutting machines.

Small CMYK for Print EP 2606 MF01
The advantage of an automated solution is that you continue to see the forest for the trees of all those batches. After all, everything is digitally identified and tracked, so you always know where the pieces you need at the time are in production.

Keeping the full picture in mind

You can find out how urgent the need is by asking two questions: does the flow of raw materials allow you to make the best use of your machine, or is it often waiting for sheets to be produced further? And what does your production process look like after cutting? What are the pain points there and what is their impact? Because the flow in your workshop obviously goes beyond just that laser cutting machine at the start. You would do well to keep the total picture of operations and movements in mind to arrive at the right choice of an automated storage system for your company, or to decide how to scale up your existing solutions.

What to charge for a good solution?

But what else should you consider? Everything starts with the number of material references (material quality, thickness and size of the sheet) that pass over the laser cutting machine at your place. That will tell you something about how many cassettes you will need. In addition, consider the number of steps required today to remove the plates from storage and transport them to the machine. Is it done by forklift or do roller cranes take on this task? And what is the impact? What about ergonomics and safety for your employees, or does loading often result in damage to the material? Also take note of how much time it takes to load the sheets into the machine and how long the cutting is then idle. The answers to these questions will then give you an idea to what extent an automated storage system will help you move forward and what approximate dimensions it should be. 

That the answer to "do I need an automatic storage system" more quickly today is yes has to do with the increased productivity of laser cutting machines. They have become so productive that a storage tower is crucial to increase autonomy and keep up with the pace of the machine. 

LVD TAS system with double tower and unload table2 scaledENT I
Laser cutting machines have become so productive that a storage tower is crucial to increase autonomy and keep up with the machine's pace.

Also consider discharging

Those who opt for an automated solution only at the front of the machine actually shift their bottleneck only a tiny bit. After all, unloading the table must also be able to be done just as quickly to utilize the full productivity of the laser cutting machine. Several solutions exist for this. From storing the entire skeleton in the storage tower to be sorted out later, to a robot that immediately takes on that task after the skeleton is pushed through to an unloading table and sorts out all the cut pieces onto pallets. 

The advantage of an automated solution is that you continue to see the forest for the trees of all those batches. After all, everything is digitally identified and tracked, so you always know where the pieces you need at that moment are in production. Data that in turn can help you further in subsequent optimizations as you gain visibility into how many pieces pass through which machines each day and any problems and production losses that arise in that chain. ■

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