AGV Retrofits
Replace your outdated system technology with the latest in AGV advancements. Our expert team will diagnose your system shortcomings and discuss with you an upgrade solution to meet your immediate and future expectations while minimizing downtime.
- A retrofitted AGV with new controls and wiring is about half the cost of a new one.
- A well planned retrofit can be implemented without any disturbance to production
Retrofitting an AGV System is becoming increasingly popular because of the rapid advances in AGV controls, computer hardware, and software. The mechanical parts of the AGV and peripheral mechanical hardware are usually sound and functional while the vehicle onboard controls, the system offboard control, and computer hardware are outdated or obsolete.
A well planned vehicle and system retrofit can usually be accomplished without any interruptions to production, and is an extremely affordable option compared with purchasing a new system. An AGV retrofitted with new controls and wiring is usually less than half the cost of a new one. There are many other economical and practical AGV System changes and upgrades which could be considered in conjunction with retrofitting a vehicle, which will be described further on in this document.
Main factors in making the retrofit a viable option
- Hardware has become obsolete and expensive to repair
- Service and support can no longer be obtained
- Reliability and up-time is decreasing
- The vehicles are in disrepair
- The system requirements have changed
If any of the above factors apply to your system, it is a good candidate for a retrofit.
To further evaluate your particular situation, consider the following qualifiers
- Is the current AGVS application practical and feasible?
- Is the vehicle mechanical functionality satisfactory?
- Is vehicle size and load handling applicable?
If the answers to the above questions are yes, a vehicle retrofit would be an economical and practical decision.
Checklist of items to consider when planning for a retrofit
- Safety
- The vehicles must comply with ASME/ANSI B56.5-19
- Improve safety whenever possible
- If the retrofitted vehicle operates differently than the “old” vehicle, with regards to speed, stopping, slowdown, turns, etc. perform extensive training to make operators and other personnel working around the vehicles aware to avoid accidents .
- Vehicles
- Improve design and functionality where applicable
- Replace all obsolete parts
- Replace all wiring, plugs, and contacts
- Evaluate batteries, battery type, charging system and charging method
- Improve ease of service/repair, troubleshooting procedures and documentation
- System
- Make system layout and routing changes where necessary
- Replace all outdated computer, input/output, and communications hardware
- Replace outdated offboard control software
- Improve functionality
- Evaluate location of controls and control room
- Evaluate battery change and maintenance area
- Improve documentation and troubleshooting procedures
Retrofit case studies by Amerden
AstraZeneca had an "innovative- for it's time" automated distribution system built over 15 years ago that utilized a fleet of 15 AGVs that interfaces with picking and sorting systems. The control system interfaces with a complex real-time order management system and is an integral part of a fully automated warehousing system for several lines of high-end pharmaceuticals. The complete system helps AZ achieve a 24-hour order fulfillment standard.
The company realized that the system had become very costly to support and maintain. The scarcity of spare and replacement parts created a high risk of system failure. In addition, the older system had limited flexibility to achieve business and process upgrades — it was both risky and expensive to make changes to the old system.
The company could not deploy staff to perform a comprehensive assessment of the situation — the first step in obtaining funding for the re-design and upgrade — and did not have in-house personnel available to re-design the system.
All of the AGVs were retrofitted by AMERDEN Inc. at a rate of 2 vehicles per month. The vehicles received new modern controls with wireless LAN communication, and new wiring. Amerden Inc. also provided the new AGV onboard software integrated to run the vehicles transparent to the old system. Then the vehicles were put back into operation 2 at a time with the legacy traffic control system while the new system was integrated into the order management system.
Our partner Rucso installed the new control system and tested it extensively while the older system remained in control. We managed the switchover to the new control system and documented its successful implementation.
In addition, we developed and provided extensive documentation including Operator Manuals, Systems & Administration Guides, all technical documents for applications and code support, and we planned and executed the validation of the new system. We developed materials for and implemented AstraZeneca staff training to ensure an easy transition.
The assessment provided the comprehensive analysis and solution to a considerable problem AstraZeneca faced. Our Project Management skills and implementation expertise ensured that the project ran very smoothly — the design and implementation were completed on time.
The new system provides many advantages. It increases overall uptime and ensures reliability and maintainability. The enhanced system now increases operational efficiency and throughput reducing the number of operational support issues and providing the facility with additional throughput capacity.
This system has eleven vehicles moving, 100 -120, loads per hour during a 3-shift operation. FM radio communication is used between vehicles and a stationary computer. Improvements made in this system are as follows:
- Changed computer hardware and software without interruption to production
- Added three new vehicles, one per year, -94, -95, -96, with latest design onboard AGV controls and Spread Spectrum communication running in the same system transparent to the offboard controller and the “old” vehicles.
The old system, installed 1983, consisted of three vehicles on two floors moving incoming material via an elevator to the production area on the second floor. Inductive communication wired separately to floor loops throughout the system was used. System flexibility and vehicle status information was non-existent. The offboard controls were outdated and no longer available. Vehicle onboard electronics were obsolete, and vehicle mechanical parts were severely worn, outdated, and also obsolete. The following improvements were done at one half the price of a new system.
- Replaced the three old vehicles with three carefully restored vehicles from another system, retrofitted and rewired with the latest design onboard AGV controls.
- Implemented FM radio communication between the vehicles and offboard controls.
- A Pentium PC and OPTO 22 I/O were used for the offboard controls. All external sensors and wiring were left intact.
- Slight changes were made to the floor wiring to improve the system performance.
- Safety was increased by adding specific audible signals when the vehicle passed doors and crossed walking paths and intersections with other traffic.