Single solutions were yesterday! System meets dynamism in logistics! SICK presents new sensor solutions at CeMAT

Sustainable and cost-effective logistical solutions that meet society’s challenges are necessary to ensure the competitiveness and future-orientation of modern industries. This not only involves logistics per se, but also related fields such as production.

More dynamic customer requirements – greater dynamic in logistics centers

Demands for dynamic in logistics are rising due to increasingly individual endcustomer requirements and the growth of online trading. Rapid processes between the customer’s order and ultimate delivery of the goods guarantee high customer satisfaction. Intelligent logistical systems of the future must provide this dynamic.

Agile systems for the automated processing of recurring in-house transports as well as highly dynamic and energyefficient storage and retrieval machines, state-of-the-art shuttle technology, and small autonomous transport units are the cutting-edge solutions. Storage and retrieval machines act using dynamically calculated positional data and exploit broadband data transmission for live pictures from the aisles. Navigation permits modern shuttles to move freely within the area. SICK is presenting, among other things, safety laser scanners and safe encoders that set new standards – and thus further raise performance limits. SICK ’s new Smart Sensor Solutions concept allows typical sensors (e.g. photoelectric retro-reflective sensors or distance sensors) to be very quickly adapted to new plant requirements centrally via the controller, thus also supporting requirements for flexible and highly dynamic material flows. In addition, with the help of Smart Sensor Solutions such as the measurement of object lengths or the gaps between objects, suppression of spurious switching (due, for example, to protruding labels on packages) can be implemented directly in the sensor. In the past, such functions could only be achieved centrally – and with corresponding effort – in controller programs. Efficient and flexible logistics automation can thus be ensured through the simple networking of this new generation of sensors.

Picking technology also imposes new demands for dynamic processes. The challenge: ever-increasing throughput with rising product variety and greater picking quality. Whereby a key application is the reliable and rapid reading of bar codes, as well as determination of the weight and dimensions of the goods. SICK is presenting a range of new systems – from simple object classification, through maximum-performance deformity detection, to the product family of the LECTOR ®65x image-based code readers with consistent sharply focused pictures.

Knowing where the goods are – track and trace in distribution logistics and returns management

The flow of materials and information not only plays a major role in distribution logistics, but also in returns management. Those who always know exactly where what goods are located increase their process transparency and thus have a clear advantage – this is true for both the logistician and customers. RFID tags are used here: Their data can be read out, modified and re-written. Comprehensive information in the process between the supplier and customer can livery note, order form, etc., not merely saving paper, but also valuable working time. The great advantage and, simultaneously, the challenge of RFI D technology is that large numbers of containers can be read at the same time and nearby tags must not be allowed to interfere. The RFGS Pro (Radio Frequency Gate System) track and trace system allows such multiple reading and is optimized for stacks on pallets – at maximum reading rates and with other such systems nearby. In the case of the RFMS Pro (Radio Frequency Modular System) RFI D tunnel, tag reading takes place on the product level within the multiple packaging system. SICK has solved the high complexity of the application requirements through integration in these two systems.

The new small RFU 620 UHF RFI D read/write device offers a solution when identification of containers, boxes or the correct aisle is involved. As an intelligent identification system, it supports universal use even in extreme applications (e.g. on stackers and in deep-freeze stores), or simply as a kanban station.

The SICK visualization platform Package Analytics detects and stores all the captured data in a database and offers comprehensive search and statistical functions for the evaluation of the data.

Sensors make air freight areas safe and effectively prevent theft

Safe handling of the goods is an aspect considered by all logisticians that send their goods via air freight. Only a consistently protected supply chain offers maximum security against tampering during the transport of goods beyond national boundaries. The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT ) in the USA and the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO ) in Europe call for implementation of a range of organizational and technical measures. These principally affect safety at work, conditions for the transport of hazardous goods, as well as security and access rights. Air freight forwarders in Germany with safe logistics centers are certified by the German Federal Aviation Authority as “known consignors”. With its LAC 1xx Prime (Logistics Access Control) security system, SICK offers an access control system that ensures the safe handling of goods by authorized persons only. The RFU 630 UHF technology identifies authorized persons. The laser measurement system triggers an alarm if a non-authorized person accesses the protected area. SICK also offers solutions for perimeter security, access monitoring systems, and theft prevention for logistical centers.