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On the surface, narrow aisle (NA) and very narrow aisle (VNA) trucks appear to be specialty solutions for inventory management and order fulfillment. In reality, they’re closer to a Swiss army knife, able to address a range of new and evolving challenges in warehousing and distribution today. Here’s why. While the specifics of the two differ, the core of their…
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Hate to ask you to do this. But (please) put your phone down. Maybe even turn it off. It’s time for a talk we’ve avoided having for some time. And it can’t be put off any longer. And, yes, it’s about autonomous lift trucks. In all likelihood, you haven’t given them much thought. Lately or at all. And two years…
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The objective sounds relatively simple: On a designated day in a single distribution center, pick, pack, and ship a particular set of SKUs in a range of desired quantities to 24 retail stores. Or 50. Or 100. That’s what a distribution center (DC) does, right? Yes and no. But there’s a problem—all those new robots. Fulfilling orders is not all…
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The objective sounds relatively simple. On a designated day in a single DC, pick, pack and ship a particular set of SKUs in a range of desired quantities to 24 retail stores. Or 50. Or 100. That’s what a DC does. Right? Yes and no. But there’s a problem: All those new robots. Fulfilling orders is not all that simple…
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If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by industrial robots these days, you’re in good company. To begin, there are so many different types. Suffice it to say that Gartner’s Dwight Klappich, who tracks robots closer than most, says about 34 different robots are currently in use in plants and warehouses. That’s a lot, and the invasion of the robots is…
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Kevin Barker Bekhoff USA Title: President Role: A3 Motion Control and Motors Technology Strategy Board Location: Savage, Minn. Experience: 32 years in the robotics and motion control industry Modern: There’s nothing hotter in DCs and warehouses right now than automation. And within automation, robots are the headliners. From your new position on the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) Motion Control…
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As lift trucks have proven every day for the past few years, the easy part their information management is collecting the data. The hard part is figuring out how to make good use of it. Roger Tenney calls it intimidation by data. And he should know. For the past 35 years, he’s focused on telematics and how people react to…
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As lift trucks have proven every day for the past few years, the easy part their information management is collecting the data. The hard part is figuring out how to make good use of it. Roger Tenney calls it intimidation by data. And he should know. For the past 35 years, he’s focused on telematics and how people react to…
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We’ve all heard plenty of talk about the possibility of a recession coming our way soon. As a result, we’ve also heard about companies from a range of industries slamming the brakes on capital expenditures. So much for the recent upward trajectory of materials handling automation installs. Well, maybe not. Just ask Bernard Casse, CEO and founder of RIOS Intelligent…
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We’ve all heard plenty of talk about the possibility of a recession coming our way soon. As a result, we’ve also heard about companies from a range of industries slamming the brakes on capital expenditures. So much for the recent upward trajectory of materials handling automation installs. Well, maybe not. Just ask Bernard Casse, CEO and founder of RIOS Intelligent…
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After nearly four decades at Hytrol, chief engineer Boyce Bonham has a good perspective on the latest trends in conveyors and sorters. He sums it up this way: “The big push today is to get more output from the same building footprint.” Sounds simple enough, but satisfying that need requires some innovation. That ranges from systems able to handle a…
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You need to take into consideration two views on lift truck maintenance. One is macro and the other is micro. At the macro level, it’s all about managing the life expectancy of your lift trucks as a fleet. Yes, the entire fleet. Even across five or 10 locations for a single company. This is a big, broad concept used at…
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It’s such a great couple of words: Lights Out. Whether you’re reading them for the first time or the 50th, you know exactly what they mean. No need for lights on the shop or warehouse floor because all processes are fully automated. No people. No interruptions. Take a listen… That’s the sound of pure and continuous inventory movement from station…
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“I’ve never seen so much interest, if not desperation, to improve fulfillment,” said James Lawton, vice president and general manager of robotics automation at Zebra Technologies. And that’s true for companies as diverse as FedEx and iHerb. Both companies, and many others in between, have recently turned to piece-picking robotic systems to solve their fulfillment challenges. But we are to…
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I’ve never seen so much interest, if not desperation, to improve fulfillment,” says James Lawton, vice president and general manager of robotics automation at Zebra Technologies. And that’s true for companies as diverse as FedEx and iHerb. Both companies, and many others in between, have recently turned to piece picking robotic systems to solve their fulfillment challenges. But we are…
From geometry preparation to AI-assisted analysis, integrated CFD workflows…
Software-based GripperAI manages mixed picking through basic geometry
Safety, communication and motion control components enable smooth operation
North America’s largest robotics and automation event winds down
