Hänel EcoDrive®

ensures energy recovery at SITEMA

Huge storage capacity with five Hänel Lean-Lift® systems with a height of 15 meters

In the electrical and mechanical engineering sectors, production and buffer storage areas equipped with automated storage systems support the flexibility, transparency and accuracy of manufacturing processes. That’s why SITEMA installed Hänel Lean-Lifts® in its new production facility to utilize the vertical height of 15 meters – from floor to ceiling – within an extremely small storage footprint.

Three Hänel Lean-Lift® systems, each with a height of 15 meters, were installed in the new building to store heavy pallets containing about 300 different kinds of machined metal parts. System operators can conveniently pull out the pallets, some weighing up to 700 kg, using sturdy rails when retrieving metal parts needed for production.

Hänel also installed two additional Lean-Lifts® of the same type and size for storing some 4,600 smaller manufacturing components. Of the nearly 170 pick operations carried out every day, 90 % of them are conducted on both of these vertical storage systems.

CO2 reduction with Hänel EcoDrive®
The high-speed version of the Hänel Lean-Lift® brings items to the access point extremely fast. When the system extractor is descending, kinetic energy is produced – the frequency converter transforms this energy into electricity which is returned to the main power supply.

Hänel Lean-Lift® systems that are very high deliver remarkable levels of energy recovery and efficiency thanks to the Hänel EcoDrive® system. Depending on the rate of extractor travel, up to 40% of the energy required for the upward run can be recovered.

Dynamic storage management, simultaneous order picking
The web-based communication between the warehouse management software and the storage systems is fast and convenient because only a few commands are required. The client is linked with the storage system control unit, with data communication taking place via TCP/ IP protocols directly within the storage management system, without the need for middleware. Thus the WMS sends all pick and put commands directly to the lift controller, which in turn activates the movements of the storage system extractor.

The two storage systems for small parts and the three pallet systems are installed linearly next to each other so that parallel order picking is possible. The WMS is seamlessly integrated in the ABAS ERP system and sends data about each order position to the appropriate terminal at the access point of each storage system.

Order jobs can also be controlled remotely from a stationary workplace by scanning a barcode – this sends a signal to the storage system telling it to move the extractor to a specified storage container. The Lean-Lift® then brings the specified container to the access point.

The color terminal display highlights the positions of the requested items on the container trays to ensure error-free picking of various parts and components. Furthermore, the WMS enables the operator to conveniently configure the positions on the container using the terminal.

Intelligent fire protection
Installing sprinklers above the vertical storage systems for fire protection makes little sense because of their enormous height. That’s why Hänel collaborated with a leading fire prevention company to come up with an ingenious system of sprinklers installed along the sides of the storage systems. Each Lean-Lift® was designed with special lift shaft cladding having uniformly spaced lateral holes for the sprinkler jets.

Efficient operation, high flexibility and energy savings
An automated and space-saving production storage area is absolutely essential for supporting fast warehouse and manufacturing processes at SITEMA.

Since Hänel Lean-Lift® systems fully utilize the vertical space available, storage is optimized through high- density utilization of the space above the small system footprint. The smooth and seamless WMS integrated in the client-server architecture guarantees high levels of system availability.

Waiting time and routing are considerably reduced through parallel order picking according to the “goods to user” principle. What’s more, extremely high vertical storage systems save enormous amounts of electrical energy in conjunction with Hänel EcoDrive®.