What are AGV and AGV Carts?
Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) are portable load carriers that manoeuver throughout the floor of a facility without an onboard operator. As a result, these robots operate most commonly by following marked lines or wires on the floor. AGV’s can also be guided using radio waves, vision cameras, magnets, or lasers. AGV carts are material handling components that integrate with any AGV. AGV carts provide an efficient way to transfer materials throughout a facility.
Different Applications
AGV and AGV carts have many different applications to help support processing and handling. Below are examples of situations in which AGV’s provide value to a facility.
Warehousing: Moving finished products from packaging stations to docks or storage.
Kitting: Collecting parts and components from different stations for assembly.
Assembly: Transporting products from station to station through the production process.
Staging: Transferring items needed from different workstations to the assembly location.
Transportation: Loading and unloading loose parts and pallets.
Order Picking: Transporting ordered parts for a picker to place selected items upon.
Types of AGV Carts
Automated Material Transfer Carts
Different workflows require different AGV carts. For workflows that have predetermined stop locations, automated material transfer carts, like our
CarryMatic line, can reduce labor costs and boost productivity. Any route that rarely changes can benefit from automated material transfers. These routes typically run all day long, are easy to plan for, and require minimal human intervention.
Mother-Daughter Carts
Mother-Daughter carts require a more hands-on approach than automated material transfer carts. As a result, these carts are typically used in kitting, order picking, and assembly. First, the AGV pulls up to the workstation and then an employee detaches the daughter cart from the mother cart. Once detached, the employee can unload or load the necessary parts, connect the daughter cart back to the mother cart and allow the AGV to move to the next station.
Conclusion
In conclusion, integrating AGV carts with your AGV tugger is a simple way to improve the overall productivity of a facility. Eventually, as technology improves, more carts will become autonomous, and material transfers between stations will become more efficient. To learn more about which AGV cart is best for your workflow, click
here.
