CAROUSEL SYSTEMS

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STORAGE SYSTEMS

Logistics became a topic for discussion in the Business World in the 1960's and 1970's and rose to prominence in the 1980's. It was truly in the 1990's; however, that Logistics began to garner the appreciation it deserved. In the twenty-first century and beyond, the creation of a sleek, flexible and effective supply and value chains will no less than define the success or failure of organizations and perhaps even entire business types.

A warehouse management system is a critical component of an effective overall Supply Chain management systems solution. Warehouse management is now, or will soon be, a must-have for every logistics operation to remain competitve.

The inbound goods must be stored properly in the warehouse in order to fully utilize the warehouse space. It will help save in the necessary expenses for the warehouse space. There are many types of storage systems in the warehouse such as pallet rack, metal racks, shelves racking, cantilever racks, record storage racks, drive-in racks and rivet racks shelving systems.

The objective of this blog is to further enhance your understanding on one of the storage systems, “Vertical and Horizontal Carousel”. This blog will bring you through the features of the carousels, cost of the carousels and the advantages and disadvantages of the carousels.

Feel free to browse around the blog! :)

Monday, January 22, 2007

MORE types of Carousel Systems

~ Vertical Carousel With Single Chain Loops

Six carousels have been integrated into a production line for a blind and shutter manufacturer. The profiles can be carried to the saws and processed immediately without loss of time.

~ Vertical Carousel, Two Loop System

Carousel for the storage of steel profiles. In order to guarantee the high throughput, the system is installed right next to the saw. The profiles are carried to the saw by means of a roller conveyor.

~ Serpentine Carousel

Approximately 230 tons of free-cutting steel is stored in three systems, installed right next to the manufacturing machines.

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11:20 AM

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Extras - Other types of Carousel Systems: Vertical

Here are other types of Vertical Carousel systems.

~ 2100/2200 Series Vertical Carousel

For medium-duty applications, the 2100 has a pan size of 18" deep and 102" wide. The 2200 moves up to a 24" deep by 118" wide pan. Both units have a maximum pan payload rating of 400 lb.

~ 2400 Series Vertical Carousel

For heavy-duty applications, the 2400 can be fitted with pans up to 25" deep and 130" wide. Pans are rated up to 800 lb maximum payload.

~ Clean Room Vertical Carousel

Clean Room vertical carousels from White Systems provide up to a 75% savings in floor space.

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12:10 AM

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Sunday, January 21, 2007

EXTRAS - Other Types of Carousel Systems: Horizontal Types

Here are other types of Horizontal Carousel System:

~ Bottom Drive Carousel

Bottom drive carousels are horizontal carousels engineered for larger live loads and heavier duty cycles.

~ Top Drive Carousel

Top drive horizontal carousels are designed for standard and light duty applications.

~ Twin Bin Carousel

Twin bin horizontal carousels are suited for small part picking applications requiring higher density, selectivity and throughput.

~ Pallet Carousel

Pallet horizontal carousels store heavy-duty pallets for picking, buffering, and building split-pallet loads.

~ No Walk II

Utilizing a horizontal carousel delivery method, the No Walk II automated filing system brings items to the operator, minimizing walk and search time.

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10:27 PM

1 people bothered to read:

good explanation on the different types of carousels with pictures to allow easy understanding

By Diploma in Logistics and Operation Management, at January 21, 2007 at 11:14 PM

COST REDUCTION FACTORS

Further benefits of the carousel system includes cost reduction factors:

Manufacturing firms are constantly faced with the problem of storing, retrieving, and moving parts and materials in the face of rising space and labor costs. One solution to these problems is the utilization of carousels. Carousels offer many cost reduction factors like:

~ Utilization of high ceiling heights without the introduction of high maintenance materials handling equipment (such as forklifts, side loaders, or other narrow aisle equipment) into the system.

~ Carousels give total product protection. Since the materials are totally encompassed within the framework of the carousel, they are protected from damage due to forklifts or other transient materials handling.

~ Product availability is maximized because any given part is as close as the touch of a button. All parts are then loaded or unloaded at a convenient working height.

~ Floor space is minimized due to the density of the storage and complete utilization of ceiling heights.

~ Safety- since all loading and unloading is done at convenient heights, the probability of injuries due to lifting and manual handling is greatly reduced. This affects insurance rates and lost time.

~ Increased labor efficiency- MHI studies show that 60-70% of a typical stockroom order picker's time is spent going to the part or returning to the ship point. By utilizing carousels, this worker's efficiency can be increased from 30-40% up to 80-90%.

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10:15 PM

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MORE PICTURES...

Take a look at this, this is a two-level system: consisting of two horizontal carousels stacked on top of one another!

The picture above shows the side view of the two-level system.

This is the front view..

...And this is a close-up picture of the unique system.

This goes to show that there is no "fixed" design of the carousel system. Carousel systems are pretty much flexible enough to adhere to most warehouse layout designs, even if the warehouse has a height of 20m.

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9:12 PM

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REFERENCES:

Below are the sources we got our information from:

Website:
http://www.articlealley.com/article_20401_15.html

http://www.mmh.com/article/CA422945.html

http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/~mgoetsch/cali/Logistics%20Tutorial/order/article.htm

http://www.2wmc.com/WhitePapers/WMC-WP-2883%20Carousels.PDF

http://www.whitesystems.com/products/horizontal.htm

http://www.whitesystems.com/products/vertical.htm

Books:
-ERP in Distribution by Lawrence Jenning Reynolds

-How to save warehouse space, '152 tested techniques' by jack Kuchta, CMC, & staff of -Gross & Associates'

-The Warehouse Management Handbook (2nd Edition) by James A. Tompkins, Ph.D and Jerry D. Smith

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1:17 PM

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Saturday, January 20, 2007

COST OF CAROUSEL SYSTEM

The price of the carousel will depend on the size of the carousel the company purchase. The costs of the carousel are range from $40,000 to $120,000. There are a few types of carousel in the market, the VM15, VM16, and the most expensive, the VM30XP. This is the table that shows the feature of the carousel:

Besides the carousel machine, the software is also needed to operate the whole carousel system. Many companies offer different types of packages so as to attach more customers. One of the examples that one of the company offered;

For more information, we may check out this website :
http://www.milltronics.net/products/vm/prc_spc/vm_price_specifications.htm

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3:53 PM

2 people bothered to read:

Hey, i think it is a good effort to actually find the rating of the storage system. :) Cheerz~

By ..WaReHoUsE mOnKeYs.., at January 21, 2007 at 3:57 PM

wow! u all manage to find the cost of the carousels system! not bad ar! useful for my fyp as i also doing on storage system. great job. =)

By Unknown, at January 22, 2007 at 12:34 AM

ADVANTAGES OF VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL CAROUSEL SYSTEM

With the use of the carousel systems, both Vertical and Horizontal:

- It guarantees a higher level of picking accuracy; Picks are continuously checked as items move and are scanned.

- The process also allows the picker to pick multiple orders at once and minimizes travel distance since the product comes to the picker.

- The carousels and scanners allow for a paperless environment with higher throughput and significantly reduced errors.

The key to the process is the warehouse management system that tracks and controls every action. Without the automatic data collection tools (scanners), however, the process would not be possible. The connection between automatic data collection and WMS is important to successful utilization of each.

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2:24 PM

2 people bothered to read:

hihi. i find that the content is informative and i like the way the information is presented. i now have a better understanding on storage system and this will come in useful for the up-coming chapters in DCM. a great job done!! =)

By Anonymous, at January 20, 2007 at 3:39 PM

Hi. Provided great information on something which wasnt enforced in school. Allowed me to have a better understanding on the storage sytem. Pls visit our blog at http://mhe-dotz-com-home.blogspot.com!! Thanks...

By Tiffany, at January 20, 2007 at 9:07 PM

ADVANTAGES OF HORIZONTAL CAROUSEL SYSTEM

Stated below are the advantages for the Horisontal Carousel System:

~ Structural mezzanines and multiple conveyor lines are easily supported on top of carousel frames.

~ Commercially available AC drive motors, reducers, controls and all electrical components throughout the carousel simplify repairs and minimize downtime.

~ Highly efficient direct drives that provide the fastest retrieval speeds.

~ Saves space as the horizontal carousel system would utilize cubic capacity too.

~ Reduces labour cost.

~ Speeds up on throughput level and accuracy of the order picker.

~ Improves on inventory control in the warehouse.

~ Walking and searching times are significantly reduced, thus increasing picking productivity.

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ADVANTAGES OF VERTICAL CAROUSEL SYSTEM

Listed below are several points on why the Vertical Carousel System is a good storage system for warehouse:

~ Minimizes human error, reduces picker’s effort especially in transit time (i.e. movement) and increases warehouse throughput.

~ Walking and searching times are significantly reduced, thus increasing picking productivity.

~ Provides signigicant space savings over traditional static storage solutions.

~ Fully utilizes cubic capacity in warehouse, thus reducing floor space requirements.

~ Under-used racks, shelves, and cabinets are eliminated; therefore aisles and gangways are cleared of clutter.

~ Materials delivered directly to operator, minimizing walking, climbing, bending or reaching for heavy objects.

~ No more risk of injury from climbing up and down ladders to retrieve heavy or bulky boxes.

~ All materials are delivered to operators at ergonomically correct waist high position, reducing potential back injuries.

~ Pass-through design eliminates time consuming transport of items from floor to floor.

~ Point-of-use design keeps parts closer to the operation, eliminates trips to cribs or stock rooms.

~ System can be easily operated by warehouse personnel.

~ Able to work at high speed and accuracy in order picking work.

~ Vertical carousel system linked to WMS thus reduces possibilities of stock-out situations.

~ Lesser manpower needed, thus company would be able to save on labour cost.

~ Offers high security as even though items are kept out of sight, there is the ability to lock the entire contents.

~ Units can be furnished with special temperature controls, fire suppression systems, and clean room modifications.

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DISADVANTAGES OF HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL CAROUSEL

Horizontal Carousel Design

Horizontal Carousel Design

Some of the disadvantages of carousels are as follows:

Cost: Carousel systems are more expensive than regular shelves or racks.
Maintenance Cost: The cost of maintenance will be higher than the regular shelves or racks since the cost of the systems are higher.
Replenishments: When there is a high turnover rate for a product there will be a need for much replenishment, since the bins have very limited space.
Size of Goods: The size of goods is of limited size as the bins have limited space. Big items are unable to be used in the carousel systems.

Vertical Carousel

Vertical Carousel Principle

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1:03 PM

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This comment has been removed by the author.

By ..WaReHoUsE mOnKeYs.., at January 21, 2007 at 10:16 AM

This blog is informative.. from the blog i get to know more abt the storage system.. it shown that many research are done.. well done!

By ..WaReHoUsE mOnKeYs.., at January 21, 2007 at 10:18 AM

COMPARISON OF HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL CAROUSEL

Similarities of both systems:

- The horizontal and vertical carousels rotate carriers, consisting of shelves, to position the appropriate container at the picking point

- Both systems carousels offer good space utilization and high throughput

- Both systems only require one picker to pick item

Differences between both systems:

Horizontal carousel:

- moves in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction while vertical carousel moves in an upward or downward direction

- can serve several stationary pickers simultaneously while Vertical units usually serve individual workers

- has better storage density; can hold more cubic feet of product per square foot of floor space

- has better density as weight is evenly distributed over a large floor area; can physically pack more products more densely

- has faster effective positioning as it turn about twice as fast as Vertical because product tend to be less stable going over the top
loop of a Vertical than round the nose end of a Horizontal.

- has the ability to carry more weight per carousel

- has no imbalancing problem

- are less expensive and are roughly half the cost of Vertical's for the same amount of storage

- has advantages during a power failure as its possible to make narrow aisles between units, allowing emergency access by the picker, as compared to Vertical where picker must manually rotate carriers into position at the pick window as the products could be stored very high up.

Vertical carousel:

- has better environmental control as they are enclosed; for e.g. Product inside protected from dust or other contaminants

- is more excellent for manufacturing supply as the combination of small foot print, good vertical storage capacity, neat appearance, and product protection make it a favourite for manufacturing operations.

- is designed better for Ergonomics; Vertical always present product at an ergonomically correct height, with convenient couters and good lighting

- has better automated security; they are fully enclosed with access possible only through the pick window

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12:16 PM

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INTRODUCTION TO HORIZONTAL CAROUSEL

If the Vertical Carousel System’s concept is similar to a Ferris wheel, then a horizontal carousel’s concept would be like a Merry-Go-Round. A horizontal carousel can be described as a series of bins that are linked together in a continuous chain and mounted on an elongated oval track. When it is activated, the bins revolve, bringing the desired bin to the operator.

The operator who is positioned at the end of the oval, picks from several carousels, working in a workstation or pod. These carousels are almost always direct by a PC, which stores the part’s location and frequently the quantity. The computer sorts batched orders by location and commonality to minimize carousel rotation time and to eliminate duplication of bin stops. It also activates a light display which shows location and quantity.

By moving the shelf to the picker, horizontal carousels almost eliminate the picking aisle. The only aisle needed is the equivalent of a cross aisle in a conventional shelf storage layout. The mechanism to support and rotate the shelves does require some space, but not as much as a picking aisle. This is an instance when collapsing the space may improve productivity by significantly reducing travel time for those picking.

Carousels are available in an almost unlimited variety of heights, lengths, widths, bin designs and capacities. The machine’s wide range of design configurations had resulted in carousels being used in many different applications in the warehouse and factory. The products stored on carousels can range from tools, hardware and appliances to pharmaceuticals, computer parts, and soft goods.

It has also proven particularly effective in the high-throughput small parts picking. The versatility of the carousels results in applications in space as small as 5 by 15 feet.
Today, carousels are found in filing applications, stockrooms, tool cribs, clean rooms, warehouses and even retail stores.

The different features of Horizontal Carousel

Basically, the supporting structure of top and bottom driven carousels consists largely of welded angles and channels. The basic concept is that a standard drive, idler end sections and standard center sections of different lengths are fit together to form a unit of any length. Extension of the unit is possible at any of the splice joints.

Bins
Standard bins and shelves are generally fabricated of wire. Wire is less expensive than sheet metal, lighter in weight, and dust-free. Where heavier weights are involved, standard wire bins may be strengthened too by using solid sheet-metal supporting bin backs.

The solid backs give bin rigidity, prevent small items from falling through, reduce vertigo effect, and most importantly, support the major portion of the weight of each individual shelf. Therefore, the shelf load is distributed down through the back and through both wire sides.

Shelves are adjustable without use of hardware and each shelf forms a rigid box structure by joining the two sides and back of the bin. Where loads in excess of 100 pounds per shelf are required, high resistance shelves should be used. Shelves are generally pitched 5 to 10 degrees toward the rear to reduce the likelihood of items falling from shelves as bins move.

Bins width and depths vary, as do bin heights allowing great flexibility in carousel system design. Special configurations are quite common.

A major innovation is the twin bin which allows the operator to pick from the left and the right sides of the two different bins, rather than just the front of a single bin. This doubles the volume available for picking at a single bin stop, resulting in improved throughput.

Track
Top-drive units consist of a tubular track supported by poles or stanchions every few feet on which a conveyor chain is mounted. Wire bins are hung from the chain and hang loosely below on a lower track.

Wheels are generally lifetime-sealed bearings mounted at a 45-degree angle that support a hinge pin and connecting chain links. The loads to be carried determine the quantity and size of the wheels used. While larger diameter tracks, wheels and yokes, and hinge pins may be used to carry heavier loads, top-driven units are generally used for lighter loads.

Bottom-drive units use the same tubular track but use a large diameter curved-in steel wheel with axial rollers mounted under a steel-bottom plate. The upper guide track is mounted on stanchions and traps the upper guide wheels. It also tends to deliver better overall performance.

They are more popular because of their ability to carry heavier weights more reliably. Bottom-mounted units also eliminate the potential of product contamination from wheel/track wear, require less overall height, are more adaptable to double tiering, and distribute floor load more evenly.

Drives
Carousel drives are typically located at either end or both ends. Drives on top-driven units may be mounted above the track or below and recessed. Drives are floor-mounted on bottom-drive units and are accessible by the access panel in a bin back. The motors can be either AC or DC.

AC drives are generally used for continuous run and light duty applications. AC motors require a clutch to protect the drive and reduce jerking on start up. On the other hand, DC drives are more expensive and do not require clutches. They should be used wherever a smooth start and stop if required or where stopping accuracy of less than an inch is desired.

Because of the DC motor’s controller allowing in-the-field programming of maximum speed, acceleration and deceleration, the user is provided with a lot more flexibility. Wherever variable speed or a robot picking head is required, a DC drive should be used.

Controls and software
Carousels can be controlled by a wide range of devices but however, the greatest advantages are found with computer control.

In very basic configurations, a single carousel can be controlled using a foot-operated toggle switch. Keypads permit the operator to key in the desired bin number. A microprocessor selects the shortest route. More complicated microprocessor controls reduce carousel rotation by allowing queuing and sorting.

Personal computers control most horizontal carousels. They maybe stand-alone or on a network. Orders are usually downloaded from a host computer.

The order picking software keeps the item location in its memory and has the ability to perform a variety of tasks including batching, sorting by location, sorting by priority, date required, or truck route. The software controls the carousel and the ‘pick-to-light’ process. While the operator picks from one carousel, the other is rotating into position, thus reducing waiting time.

The Pod
This is the basic unit in a carousel system. A typical pod is made of up to 4 to 6 carousels under the command of a single PC and an operator. It includes secondary equipment such as light trees and sort bars; the light displays which guide operator tasks; a barcode scanner; a manifest scanner; a barcode label printer; incoming and outgoing conveyors; a pick table or matrix, and a life table for use with tall carousels.

The pod is the picking center at the nose end of the carousels but can also include other storage equipment such as flow rack and static shelving, in situations where an order may include items with differing demand characteristics, such as count, size of frequency of occurrence.

The pick rate in a carousel pod can run from 200 up to 1200 picks an hour compared to 10 to 30 for static shelving. The pod’s configuration will depend upon pick rate, number of items, other tasks required like bagging or weighing, inventory levels and many other factors.

The picking sequence begins with the arrival of a batch of orders from a supervisor station. When the operator begins the batch, the computer rotates the carousel bins to the location of the first pick from each. The batching takes advantage of the commonality of items on each order to eliminate any duplication of effort.

The batch is sorted to pick the orders to bin sequence, minimizing carousel rotation, and to allow the operator to move form one carousel to the next so that while he or she is picking from the carousel, the last one is repositioning itself for the next pick, thus reducing the possibility of any operator wait time.

Hot picks or emergency demands can be automatically moved through the system without interrupting the flow. The software suspends the routine long enough to do the hot picks then resumes.

Carousels should be used when:

· There is a shortage of space in the facility, especially when aisles can occupy 60% or more of the storage space in the warehouse:

· Manufacturing operations have high ceilings and is facing the problem of limited floor space. As the higher the ceiling, the more density you can get in storage. (For Horizontal Carousel)

· Most importantly, when changes are to be made in the way the products are stored, the function of the physical characteristics of the product to be stored, the frequency of demand for the product, the increment of demand, the rotation requirements of the product, as well as the physical constraints of the building, such as clear height, column spacing or available space should be considered.

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10:42 AM

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INTRODUCTION TO VERTICAL CAROUSEL

The concept of the vertical carousel is similar to that of a Ferris wheel. Items are stored on shelves, or pans, rotating around an elongated oval track, which allows storage to occupy a large amount of vertical cube while using only a small footprint.

All items are accessible within the width of a single pan, usually about 100 inches and are retrieved at a pick window placed at a convenient elevation. Vertical carousels may have dedicated users, or they may be placed on a manufacturing floor where they function as a freestanding stockroom and are used by a number of workers.

Activity rates vary from the occasional single request, to constant use, such as in kitting, where a light-directed operator selects items sorted by locations.

Attention must be paid to weight distribution within the carousel, in particular to severe unbalanced load conditions. The entire contents of the machine are rotated when a single item is required.

Vertical carousels provide density and convenient access. They are fitted with drawers that offer nearly as dense storage as a hi-rise stacker crane, but with the advantage of bringing the product to the man. In this way, input to and output from the pick station can be done by conveyor or other devices which do not require the operator to leave his position.

Shelves and drawers, or the more hi-tech variants, offer storage densification for small items and small quantities. In general, the items stored in these modules are put away and retrieved by an individual in quantities that can be hand carried.

People are flexible material handling devices. They can easily adjust to variations in storage dimensions and type. Larger sized products and large quantities often result in less flexible storage models. Nevertheless, there are many changes that can be made to increase cube utilization of the shelving.

The system can be visually and ergonomically attractive, equipped with furniture-finish panels and adjustable, movable-height work counters, and special options such as extractors.

The combination of rapid access, high-cube, elimination of ‘walk and search’ time, high accuracy with light displays and bar code scanning, and high security, have made vertical carousels popular for small parts, particularly high value-to-weight or fragile items such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, optics, instruments, molds, photo masks, medical supplies, and bench and line stocks.

They have also found use in tool rooms, kitting for assembling, JIT buffer storage, clean room or other special environments, sorting of small items, online storage and similar special applications.

The different features of the Vertical Carousel System:

Structure

Basically, the vertical carousel is a box which pans or shelves are hanging from a heavy roller chain, revolving around a track. A second guide track is configured so that the pans/shelves always face the front. Pan styles come in many different designs and can vary within the same carousel itself for flexibility.

Double and triple tier pans can be combined with pans for reels, drawers and special cabinets. Sizes of the pans range from about 1 to 2 feet deep and as much as 10 feet wide.

The pitch of pan may also vary for flexibility. The pans are heavy gauge steels and can be coated with a special conductive outer layer for electronics applications. A wide range of totes and trays is available and can be effectively utilized to subdivide the pan. Additionally, dividers are also available.

Drives and controls

The chain is driven by a motor and gear box carefully matched to application. An optical vane switch counts motor revolutions and stops the pan at a pre-selected position. A motor controller not only can offer smoother transition, but also enhanced speed and stopping accuracy.

Vertical carousels can be activated by manual control switch, push-button or keypad control, microprocessor, or computer. A variety of keypads is available which allows up to several hundred picks to be queued and sorted to increase throughput. Personal computers can direct operation activity and can network the vertical carousel to other systems.

The variety of software available is broad and there is also a wide scope of activities for special applications, such as tool room management, and some for specific capabilities, such as barcode input or item tracking. Major advances in controls and software have significantly increased productivity.

For example, computer-driven light bar systems can speed picking and enhance accuracy. Software can control and operate several machines to further improve productivity.

Safety systems include interlocks to prevent unauthorized access to the inside of the machine and various types of pinch-point protection including photo-electric and touch-sensitive devices.

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10:41 AM

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INTRODUCTION TO AUTOMATED CAROUSEL SYSTEM

A carousel is an automated storage and retrieval system, which is widely used in modern warehouses. It consists of a number of shelves or drawers rotating in a closed loop and it is operated by a picker that has a fixed position in front of the carousel.

Carousels come in a huge variety of configurations, sizes and types. They can be horizontal or vertical and rotate in either one or both directions. Carousels are used in many different situations. For example, e-commerce companies use them to store small items and manage small individual orders.

Carousels and conveyors can use parts tracking for pick to light systems. A pick to light system uses lights to indicate which bin is to be picked from and possibly which bin a product should be placed in.

The lights act as a visual signal to increase accuracy, and the scanners and WMS will double-check to assure the pick is carried out correctly. The process seeks to minimize human error, reduce picker effort (especially transit time), and increase warehouse throughput.

A group of carousels should be set up for small, fast-moving items at the front end of the warehouse near receiving. The carousels would be activated based on the pickers’ activity. The pick slip will drop into the system and the carousel with the first part to be picked would automatically begin rotating to the picker.

As the carousel stops, the bin with the product in it would be lit by a red light on the carousel. As the picker proceeds to that carousel, the other carousels (a total of four) would begin spinning to bring the next items to the front.

Then the picker will pick the item, scan it (the system would then verify that the correct item had been picked), and turn to place the item in a set of plastic totes (bins) that would be sitting on a conveyor in front of the carousel. The red light would show next to the tote associated with that order.

The picker will scan the tote and then the item, and the system would verify that the correct item has been placed with the correct order. The tote will then proceed to the next picking station, where products from other storage media (e.g. non-automated shelving) can be added to the order. When the product reaches shipping, it will go through a final scan as it is packed.

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10:40 AM

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