case studies - rg robotics...• robust design and assembly. built tough and made to last. •...

AutoGuide Proprietary Information

Case Studies The following document contains 5 case studies where AutoGuide Mobile Robots have been installed and are performing operations currently. The five applications in this study sheet involve 2 different Tier 1 Automotive Manufacturers, a Consumer Outdoor Power Products Manufacturer, and a Food Packing Manufacturer. Included in the Case Study analysis is the

customer profile, project objective, site function, competitors, AutoGuide’s advantage over competitors, interfaces utilized, pictures of the robots operating at the site, and the outcome of the installation. The

AutoGuide Advantage sections were taken directly from customer wording.

1


Table of Contents

Case Study A: Tier 1 Automotive Manufacturer ............................................................................2

Why AutoGuide Won ...................................................................................................................3

Outcome ...................................................................................................................................6

Case Study B: Tier 1 Automotive Manufacturer ............................................................................7

Why AutoGuide Won ...................................................................................................................8

Outcome ................................................................................................................................ 12

Case Study C: Tier 1 Automotive Manufacturer ......................................................................... 13

Why AutoGuide Won ................................................................................................................ 14

Outcome ................................................................................................................................ 17

Case Study D: Consumer Outdoor Power Products Manufacturer ............................................ 18


Outcome ................................................................................................................................ 22

Case Study E: Food Packaging Manufacturer .............................................................................. 23


Outcome ................................................................................................................................ 27

2


Case Study A

The following document outlines the general functions and automation applications present

at an Engine manufacturing plant utilizing AutoGuide Max N10 Tugger Mobile Robots.

Customer Information:

• Tier 1 Automotive manufacturer

• 60+ plants

• 350,000+ employees worldwide

Project Objective:

Transport components of automotive underbodies to various welding locations.

Reduce manual labor associated with moving these underbodies.

Site Function:

Manufacturing

Competition:

TMHU, Balyo, Otto

3


Why AutoGuide Won:

While AutoGuide went head-to-head with several other suppliers, AutoGuide had

an initial advantage of customer trust due to successful installations of our

previous line guided ITM5K technology at their facility. Several other reasons that

the customer says AutoGuide won the initial business are:

• Strongest ROI.

• Fastest operation speed at 4 mph with a full 10,000-pound load. (Some

trailers were actually 12,000 pounds. We moved them with no issue).

• Competitors did not provide remote access or diagnostics metrics.

• Competitors could not easily change routes like AutoGuide could. Changes

required resetting scanner views any time there was a speed change.

• Ability to utilize opportunity charging.

• User-friendly software and simple operation.

• Flexibility in project scope and AutoGuide’s willingness to adjust to

customer requests. AutoGuide became an integrated part of the customers

team throughout the process.

• Modular design. The same base unit can use different adapters.

• Exceptional safety during operation.

• Competitors did not have a comprehensive roadmap of future growth and

development.

• Robust design and assembly. Built tough and made to last.

• Shortest lead times in the industry.

• Applicability in the factory of the future. AutoGuide can act as a WCS and

integrate with other mobile robots.

• AutoGuide owns the entire process from manufacturing to installation.

• Extensive experience from top level management in the Material Handling

industry.

4


Robot:

Max N 10 Tugger Mobile Robots

Automation:

Semi-Automatic

Interfaces:

SurePath (Server, Client, Monitor)

5


Pictures:

6


Outcome:

After winning and installing this project, this plant has placed multiple purchase

orders for numerous system installations. For this application, AutoGuide went up

against multiple competitors and won. AutoGuide’s exceptional performance at

this site has earned the trust of the company. With the powerful relationship

established, AutoGuide has been able to win projects at other sites owned by this

company and has become their single source AMR vendor.

7


Case Study B


at a different Engine manufacturing plant utilizing AutoGuide Max N10 Tugger Mobile Robots

and automated conveyor trailers.


• Tier 1 Automotive manufacturer

• 60+ plants


Project Objective:

Transport assembled engines from assembly to testing areas. Cut back on manual

labor of hoisting and transporting heavy engines. Repurpose team members to

value-added tasks. Eliminate material damage and human risk. Normalize traffic

flow through this area of the facility.

Site Function:

Manufacturing

Competition:

None. The customer was won across North America after successful

implementation of Case Study A.

8


Why AutoGuide Won:

This project was won due to our previous excellent performances in installations

in other plants from this manufacturer. Some of the reasons we built such a

reputation with this company are:

• Strongest ROI

• Modular design

• AutoGuide provided a roadmap for the present and the future that the

competitor did not have.

• AutoGuide owned the entire process from manufacturing to installation.

• Fastest operation speed at 4 MPH full load.

• Exceptional safety during operation.

• Willingness to shift scope and adjust to customer requests.

• AutoGuide listened very well and worked closely with their engineering

team. Customer felt as if AutoGuide became an integrated part of their

team.

• SurePath software suite functioned well and roadmap was robust.

• Ability to interface with existing factory automation.

• Robust design & assembly

• Shortest lead times

• Applicability in the factory of the future.

• Potential to scale

• Management has extensive experience in the Material Handling industry.

9


Robots:


Automation:

Semi-Automatic

Automated Conveyor Trailers

Interfaces:


Conveyor Trailer Automation

On-site conveyance system integration

10


Pictures:

11


12


Outcome:

This is one of many projects AutoGuide has now completed with this company.

The success of this project as well as others is what has made AutoGuide a

preferred supplier to them across North America. As a result of the successful

Max-N10 applications, the company has purchased numerous Max-N10 vehicles in

fiscal 2019 and has plans to scale far beyond this with AutoGuide in 2020.

13


Case Study C


at a consumer products manufacturing plant utilizing AutoGuide Max N10 Tugger Mobile

Robots.


• Tier 1 automotive manufacturer

• 65 plants


AutoGuide Objective:

Improve time efficiency and reduce the cost of testing assembled engines prior to

installation. Reduce labor costs associated with this task.

Site Function:

Automotive engine manufacturing and testing

Competition:

Seegrid, JBT, TMHU, Otto, Savant

14


Why AutoGuide Won:

Many of the reasons that the customer chose AutoGuide over the competition

are:

• Strongest ROI

• Modular, patent pending design. Can replace tuggers with forklifts using

the same base vehicle when desired.

• Flexibility in project scope and willingness to adjust to customer requests.

• AutoGuide provided a roadmap of future growth and development.

AutoGuide was willing to work with the customer to shift the roadmap

based on customer needs.

• Competition needed special lighting, reflectors, and other infrastructure

changes that AutoGuide did not require.

• Robust design & assembly

• Short lead times

• Meets the company’s national safety standards and exceed ANSI B56

specifications

• Exceeded UAW testing.

• LIDAR performed well in poor lighting conditions

• Assembled using reliable, well-known, off the shelf brands.

• Applicability in the factory of the future.

• Transparent with system installation and maintenance.

• SurePath fleet management system providing a WCS and integration with

3rd party robots.

• AutoGuide owns the entire process from manufacturing to installation. Not

a kitted solution adding sensors and software to a forklift designed to be

manually operated.

• Scaling potential.

• Strong balance between technological advancement and practical business

sense.

• Extensive experience in material handling.

15


Robots:

Max N10 Tugger Mobile Robots

Automation:

Semi-Automatic

Interfaces:


Wireless Call Button Stations

Automatic Hitch

Dispatch Release Button

16


Pictures:

17


Outcome:

The customer’s Advanced Manufacturing Engineering (AME) group originally

purchased the Max-N10-D tugger for testing and assessment at their AME facility.

After thorough safety testing and assessments by the AME group, the pilot vehicle

then was moved to one of their production facilities for a pilot application. The

company requested additional sensors and signaling lights be integrated to the

base vehicle in order to comply with their site-specific standards. After upgrades

were made, the vehicle was installed in the successful pilot application. As a result

of the successful pilot phase, numerous Max-N10-D tuggers are being installed at

this site. In addition, the company’s AME group was so satisfied with the safety

and function of the Max-N10 platform that they are purchasing more Max N10

Tuggers and Max-N10-PS Pallet Stackers for use at multiple other sites.

18


Case Study D


at a consumer products manufacturing plant utilizing AutoGuide Max N10 Tugger Mobile

Robots.


• Consumer Outdoor Power Products Manufacturer

• 6 United States plants

• 600+ employees in the USA

Project Objective:

Increase production speed and efficiency by automating the process of delivering

finished goods from the customer’s assembly areas to their final staging areas.

Site Function:

Manufacturing and distribution

Competition:

Seegrid, TMHU

19


Why AutoGuide Won:

Previous successful installations of our magnetic-guided vehicles at other sites

provided comfort to the customer about implementing a new solution. Some of

the other reasons the customer chose AutoGuide over the competition are:

• Strongest ROI

• Roadmap of future growth and development

• Flexibility in scope of projects and willingness to adjust to customer

requests.

• Robust design & assembly.

• Shortest lead times.

• Exceeded UAW testing. The system is very safe and exceeds ANSI B56

standards.

• LIDAR performed well in poor lighting conditions. Vision guidance

performed poorly.

• Product is assembled using reliable, well-known, off the shelf brands.

• AutoGuide’s system has a place in the factory of the future.

• Transparency regarding system installation and maintenance.

• SurePath fleet management system provides a WCS and integration with 3rd

party robots.

• AutoGuide owns the entire process from manufacturing to installation.

• Strong balance between technological advancement and practical business

sense.

• Management team has extensive experience in material handling.

20


Robot:


Automated Conveyor Trailers

Automation:

Semi-Automatic

Interfaces:


21


Pictures:

22


Outcome:

The success of this system allowed the customer to avoid adding additional

material handling team members for their new onsite distribution center.

Following the success of the initial application, the customer has ordered

additional vehicles for the original pilot facility to further automate the raw

material delivery processes. The company is expanding their AMR fleet with

AutoGuide’s Max N10 platform to multiple other locations.

23


Case Study E


at a consumer products manufacturing plant utilizing AutoGuide Max N10 Pallet Stacker

Robots.


• Food Packaging Manufacturer

• 50+ plants


Project Objective:

Increase facility efficiency and reduce production time by automating the process

of delivering pallets from many palletizing locations to two different stretch

wrappers. Reduce manual labor hours for pallet movement.

Site Function:

Plastics manufacturing and warehousing

Competition:

Seegrid, Balyo

24


Why AutoGuide Won:

After an attempted pilot with one of the competitors, the customer was unhappy

and chose to replace the competitor’s system with an AutoGuide system. Many of

the reasons that the customer chose AutoGuide over the competition are:

• Best ROI.

• Shortest lead time.

• Built in the USA.

• Trust in integrity of AutoGuide’s staff and their ability to get the job done

correctly that they say they will.

• Best customer service available. AutoGuide offered comprehensive 24/7

support that competitors did not.

• Infrastructure free installation.

• Natural feature guidance instead of vision guidance.

• Ability to complete floor loading.

• Customer can change routes and process flow without needing supplier

intervention.

• Best grade available at 4% with full load and full 4 mph speed.

• Opportunity charging is available and effective.

• Robust SurePath software suite.

• Seamless PLC integration and fully autonomous functionality.

• Ability to interface with a collaborative robot for call sequencing as well as

permission to enter a light curtained area to remove product while the

collaborative robot continues working on another pallet.

• Ability to monitor the status of the delivery destinations (two stretch

wrappers) and autonomously decide the delivery destination based on

availability of the wrappers.

• Ability to use pallet detection to pick the top pallet from a stack of pallets.

• AutoGuide can tie into the Warehouse Management System (WMS)

without charging an engineering fee multiple times. Software development

that is applicable across multiple sites is only charged once.

• Pilot performance exceeded expectations and competitors were subpar.

25


Robots:

Max N10 Pallet Stacker Mobile Robots

Automation:

Semi-Automatic

Interfaces:

• SurePath (Server, Client, Monitor)

• Wireless Call Button Stations

• Pallet Recognition

• Conveyor Automation

• Load Present/Not Present Sensing

26


Pictures:

27


Outcome:

Installation and implementation of the Max-N10-PS Pallet Stacker product line in

this manufacturing and warehouse environment was very successful. Several new

technologies and interfaces were developed and implemented successfully as part

of this application, including an interface with a collaborative robot PLC and two

stretch wrappers.

The implementation of this application has generated continuous installations of

the Pallet Stacker within this manufacturer’s organization and with their parent

organization. Multiple projects utilizing Max-N10-PS are being installed in Q4 of

2019 and at the beginning of 2020.

case studies - rg robotics...• robust design and assembly. built tough and made to last. •...

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