Showcase innovation at Neuenhauser Maschinenbau GmbH
The production area of the spinning mill in the USA comprises a total of six soccer fields, for which Neuenhauser Maschinenbau GmbH developed, manufactured and put into operation an intelligent automation solution in a very short time. On the initiative of the IHK, the company now presented the project to 30 regional company representatives.
The project, which was realized in the 10 000-inhabitant municipality Neuenhaus in the county Bentheim for the USA, was a very special one. The spinning mill there requested knowledge from Neuenhaus in order to find an ideal solution for the transport of so-called “cans” - tall, narrow containers in which prepared cotton fibers are brought to the spinning machines. Although the size of six football fields sounds great, the limited space was one of the biggest challenges of the development project.
A spinning mill uses a total of 20,000 cans to process around 5,000 cotton bales per week. So far, these have been placed by hand, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for the company to find sufficient personnel for this task. 'Our customer was looking for a solution to automate the transport of cans to the spinning machines and back. However, the other work processes could not be hindered, 'explained Jörg Wolf, Head of Construction, the task. It was therefore important that people and the transport system should be able to share the space safely at the same time.
Within a year, Jörg Wolf and his team then developed an autonomous, driverless transport system (AGV). The special thing about it: At the time, the technologies required were still new territory for the Neuenhauser Group. Thanks to the clever combination of existing systems, for example for navigation, it was nevertheless possible to develop a AGV that meets individual conditions - such as narrow, dusty aisles.
'Through simulation, we were then able to determine that a total of 22 vehicles are required to cover all transports,' says Wolf. The concept convinced the customer. The first four vehicles were delivered in December 2018; nine vehicles are now in continuous use in the USA, with the others expected to be delivered by early 2020.
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