Country/region and language selection
Now nominated for "Best of Industry Award"!

Smart Material Flow – factory flow solutions for streamlined processes with reduced non-productive times

Up to 40% of resources are still being allocated to non-value-adding activities. There is a better way: you will optimize your shop floor with a transparent material flow. The foundation for this are unambiguous postings and digital mapping of your production. Discover modular solutions for a most efficient factory flow.

Reduce throughput times and part costs

You plan and control the production process systematically thanks to digital mapping of your production.

Great potential even for small production units

You streamline your production with an efficient factory flow – without a complex infrastructure.

Modular solutions pave the way for you

Suitable modules simplify your daily tasks in the factory flow.

Increased sales thanks to digitalized material flow

Transparency and improved processes harmonize all resources within the material flow.

Vote now for the "Best of Industry Award"!

Our Smart Material Flow is nominated for the "Best of Industry Award" in the Factory Automation category. Help us win and give us your vote here!

Vote now

Increased sales thanks to a digitalized material flow

Transparency and an improved factory flow increase your utilization overall. All machines, processes, sequences and personnel play a role in this. Coordinate it all with solutions from TRUMPF.

Hardware

Lay the foundation for your transparent material flow with non-automated and automated storage systems, storage areas, docking stations and AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) – in cooperation with manufacturers.

Software

In the office and mobile on the shop floor: use software to manage inventory and material flow, control transport efficiently and as an interface for automated guided vehicles.

Services

Appropriate to your company and project, we support you with analysis and simulation of your material flow, material flow consultation and planning, installation and commissioning of factory flow solutions and Initial Production Assistance.

Digitalize the material flow – create added value

To remain competitive in the long term, productivity and efficiency are important metrics on your shop floor. Unplanned additional effort interrupts the production flow and diminishes overall utilization. As a result, part costs soar and make it difficult for you to calculate reliably.

From manual bookings to a fully networked material flow

It's all about the optimum coordination of the order and material flows at every single workstation. Thanks to standardized processes, digital tools minimize the time and effort involved in bookings. What happens if you have to schedule in a rush job? No problem: manual intervention is possible at any time. Custom-fit software simplifies your working routine. Incidentally, you can also connect machines from different manufacturers thanks to open interfaces. Use the configuration stage suitable for your company:

1. Do you book orders and material movements manually on the tablet or using a manual scanner?

  • The Storemate function supports you on the shop floor for manual storage and logistic tasks. For example, it displays where which parts are stored and offers storage suggestions.

2. Do you plan, regulate and control non-automated transports on your shop floor?

  • The system automatically sends transport jobs to the operator
  • Docking stations support or replace your manual bookings
  • A mixed mode consisting of non-automated and automated transport is possible

3. Do you automatically record bookings at machines and docking stations, do AGV systems automatically take over the transportation?

  • The system sends transport orders to the AGV with integration with a small storage system (manual removal from storage)
  • Docking stations, TRUMPF machine tools and digitally connected workstations keep order and inventory information synchronized. This creates a continuous material flow
  • A mixed mode consisting of non-automated transport (personnel) and automated vehicles (AGV) is possible

Modular solutions pave the way for you

1. Connection with buffer storage

If there is no space in the subsequent station, the system automatically plans the transport of the material to a predefined buffer.

2. Integrate manual workstations

With the help of docking stations, you can integrate dispatch, assembly and quality inspections, for example, in the digitally optimized material flow. The docking stations are modularly structured and available in different variants, for example, as stations for  the pallet cart or tracking station.

3. Integrate machines from any manufacturer in the material flow

Docking stations automate the material supply and disposal of all workstations on the shop floor.

4. Support of material deliveries to workplace groups

Production control and docking stations facilitate optimum working methods even for consolidated working areas.

5. Material flow control

The Oseon transport guide system is in charge of planning, control and management of the transports.

6. AGV connection

The openly designed AGV interface facilitates the control of non-automated transport as well as the simple and manufacturer-independent integration of automated guided vehicles.

7. Automated material flow

Docking stations automate material bookings and serve as a link between automated planning, AGV and human interaction.

8. Control system for non-automated transport

As well as fully automated transports via AGVs, the software can transfer instructions to personnel which then post the instructions directly on-site using a tablet.

Work flow as an example: no more parts / raw material in the machine

The work flow remains intact thanks to the integrated overview of the Smart Material Flow. Discover here how easily this factor flow solution works.

Docking stations: storage locations with added value

Docking stations are storage locations which are networked by sensors and which simplify your factory flow.

Your advantages:

  • detect the pallet ID and report the status back to the system
  • simplify delivery / collection of material
  • integrate any workstations, machines or storage locations in the automated material flow
  • are available in a modular format, for example as a pallet cart or tracking station

Autonomous material flow thanks to automated guided vehicles (AGV)

A self-organized material transport? What once sounded like science fiction just a few years ago is now becoming part of the daily routine in more and more production facilities. Automated guided vehicles (AGV) navigate the shop floor with pinpoint precision thanks to sensors. They load and unload machines in fully or partially automated processes and transport finished parts to dispatch.

Good to know: with Oseon, you can also control mobile units such as an AGV and can coordinate your entire factory flow in this way.

Good to know...

What is a factory flow?

The term "factory flow" denotes the in-house material and inventory flow: from the delivery of the material on the company property to production and storage to the point when the finished product leaves the building again.

Which functions does a factory flow fulfill?

The central task of the factory flow is the in-house flow of material. The material is delivered, runs through different production steps and is placed in intermediate storage. For dispatch, the products are no longer part of the factory flow and are transferred back to the external logistic processes.

How does an autonomous material flow work successfully?

Automation is the key to an autonomous material flow, also called factory flow 4.0. Manufacturing systems receive an order and independently request the necessary material. More and more, they coordinate their material supply directly with automated guided vehicles.

The success story of our customer Dax

"The material flow on the floor is working smoothly now." DAX is working more efficiently with TruTops Fab Logistics in combination with an automated guided vehicle system from Jungheinrich.

Read story

Smart Factory Consulting – let us advise you!

We will accompany you on your path into the connected future. What potential does networking have for you? What could your path to networked production look like? Regardless of whether you just want to make a start, gradually adapt or have a fully networked production, our consultants will help you find the ideal solution for any situation.

Request consultation

You may also find these topics interesting

Synapse image depicting a Smart Factory
Smart Factory

With the modular networking solutions from TRUMPF, we help our customers to create a continuous flow in their production facility, thereby arranging their entire production process with increased transparency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness within the framework of Industry 4.0.

Lot size of 1

No two production processes are the same, but one thing they all have in common is that lot sizes are decreasing. At the same time, delivery times are becoming shorter and shorter. We therefore have experts who go on-site to analyze processes and optimize them so that even lot sizes of 1 will be worthwhile.

Transparency – Keeping an overview in the Smart Factory

Networked production of the future requires new concepts for intralogistics, so you always have total transparency over your shop floor. Read and find out more about which TRUMPF solutions can provide you with unprecedented clarity.

Contact
Uwe Cichowicz
Smart Factory Consultant
Email
Downloads
Service & contact