Networking early pays off

The first task was to produce detailed specifications, which the experts from TRUMPF and STOPA have gradually worked through with Knoll. However, the store capacity wasn't the only challenge – Knoll produces components and assemblies that are made of up to seven different materials for its systems – in quantities from one to 20. The speed at which the materials are always brought to the right machine at the right time was therefore also crucial.

The fully automated STOPA store at Knoll is 70 metres long and has over 1,200 storage locations and 13 loading and unloading stations. The pallet picker crane is the heart of the store. It rapidly travels vertically and horizontally through the storage locations, picks up the unprocessed material and brings it to the system to be processed just-in-time.

The TRUMPF TruTops Fab Storage Module production control system controls and monitors the material flow, initiates the required pre-storage of the material based on the orders entered and provides precise information about the inventory and machine utilisation rate at any time. Machine operators barely have to intervene during the two day shifts at Knoll. The night shift and the weekend shifts also run unattended.

TruTops Fab is connected to the superordinate production planning and control system (PPC) from Knoll via an interface. The company mainly uses this interface for materials management. Knoll has taken another significant stride towards a Smart Factory by implementing this tool. The results of the previous steps are clear for all to see – in the last four years, productivity has increased by around 20 to 25 per cent.