Along came a Spider...
February 1st 2007 KNAPP Logistik Automation, the Austrian logistics solutions supplier, is launching a radically new concept in automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), known as Spider. Revolutionary in design, Spider will be demonstrated live on the KNAPP stand at IMHX ASRS solutions featuring miniload cranes are commonly used in high-intensity order picking installations. During product development for Spider, KNAPP's designers observed that achieving greater performance from conventional miniload cranes required faster speeds with consequently higher acceleration and deceleration rates. The problem is that this commonly results in increased wear and tear, higher maintenance demands and longer periods of downtime. Often, these costly penalties outweigh the theoretical gains in performance. Inspiration Says Mike Cogger, managing director of KNAPP UK: "Our design team in Austria realised that certain processes reach a natural plateau of performance, from which progress is only possible if radical new ideas are discovered. For example, when motor-racing cars in the 1960s had taken advantage of the newly emerging, high-power engines, it took the ingenuity of the Chaparral race team to discover than adding an aerodynamic wing would create a groundhugging downforce with performance advantages. Another example would be the ingenuity of the US athlete Dick Fosbury. He wanted to improve his high jump technique for the Olympic games and devised a method of high-jumping with his back to the bar, which was a 180-degree change from the existing convention. Dick Fosbury – with what soon became known as the 'Fosbury Flop' – took Gold in Mexico and his technique is now used by all world-class high jumpers." Higher performance With this inspiration in mind, KNAPP's design team set about solving the problem of creating sustainable, higher performance from ASRS technology and the result is Spider. What's revolutionary about Spider is the fact that it's an ASRS featuring miniload cranes on multiple levels. By reducing the size and weight of the cranes, higher rates of acceleration and deceleration are possible, without the servicing needs of larger and heavier cranes. The system reduces power requirements and operational costs are cut dramatically. Spider can be configured up to 24m in height and with as many lateral aisles as required. Each crane aisle is served by integrated load lifts that can transfer totes vertically between the various ASRS levels or feed the loads to picking or P&D stations interfacing with a wide range of options, including 'A' frames, pick-by-light systems, voice picking solutions and gravity roller conveyor. The maximum weight per load handling device is 120kg and, to secure additional storage capacity, totes can be stored double deep at 60kg per tote, or 4 deep at 30kg per tote on each side of the aisle. Key advantages The key advantages of Spider are its design flexibility and its ability to provide both standard ASRS performance and order picking capability. The total cost does not vary directly in proportion to throughput, making Spider an economic choice for high-demand operations, in line with other ASRS solutions from KNAPP such as the highly effective OSR system and KNAPP mini-cranes The company has produced a DVD presentation of Spider's capabilities and copies are available by calling the number below. More articles from KNAPP UK Ltd: | 
