Customer: Severstal Metiz
Developer: MetraRobotics
Industry: Metallurgy
Introduction of unmanned robotic trolleys for production tasks of Severstal company
Project Objective:
- Reduction of costs, increase of safety level onsite
Statement of the technical task:
The main objective of the project is to organize the transportation of spools of wire with reinforcing strands (weight 3 tons) from a rope shop along a predetermined intra-shop route, as well as the delivery of empty spools on the return route with unmanned vehicles (AGV).
To ensure safety for people, other vehicles, finished products.
Restrictions:
- – Technical requirements for unmanned vehicles (speed of movement, power unit, number of operations performed per day, route of movement);- The main parameters of the transported cargo (weight, dimensions);- The composition of the supplied equipment;
– Required amount of technical documentation.
Initial Technical and Commercial Proposal. Main Topics.
A Technical and Commercial Proposal has been developed according to all the requirements of the customer company. The developer proposed an option of transporting coils with a tunnel-type AGV.
In this case, the coils were located on a specially designed cart.
The following process algorithm has been chosen: AGV drives under the cart with the coil, captures the cart with the help of a retractable rod and transports the cart along a given route to the point of unloading the coil from the cart.
Tender. Signing an Agreement
The features of this project were a very high mass of goods for such equipment and an uneven floor surface of industrial premises.
In 2019 Severstal-Metiz held a tender. MetraRobotics proposal was recognized as the best, both in terms of technical concept and economic indicators. In the same year, an agreement was concluded for the supply of equipment in accordance with the design specification (TOR) and the proposed technical concept.
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Change of Concept. Justification
At the stage of preparing the design documentation and purchasing of components, a number of issues arose, those solution of led to a change in the technical concept.
Reasons for changing the concept:
- The presence of a large number of components manufactured by Western companies, which would lead to delays in delivery, unstable prices, etc.
- The quality of the floor in some areas of the Severstal group of companies does not allow to scale up this project successfully.
Agreement on a New Concept
The developer made the following proposal:
- To reject the use of tunnel-type AGVs and specially designed carts for coil transporting;
- To take as a basis for the design (chassisas a frame) an electric ET-3013-01 car manufactured by Sarapul EGZ;
- In agreement with the customer it was decided to supply two AGVs based on Sarapul electric cars instead of one tunnel-type AGV and three specialized carts. This solution made it possible to meet all the customer’s needs for this project with a guarantee and with a margin.
The new concept was agreed by Severstal Metiz company in November 2019, subject to the previous deadlines of the project implementation.
Pre-commissioning and Commissioning
In spite of pandemic restrictions all the development, manufacturing and delivery of equipment were carried out on schedule (April 2020).
In pre-commissioning activities MetraRobotics engineers optimized the AGV route and installed a high-capacity battery (compared to regular batteries of Sarapul electric car). Thanks to these rationalization proposals, all the tasks were solved by means of one AGV.
Conclusions and Proposals
- The project was completed in full and on time.
- In the process of pre-commissioning a number of technical issues were identified, according to which proposals were formed for further improvement
Реализация проекта привела к снижению издержек на предприятии, повысило уровень безопасности труда. Внедрение новых технологий позволило компании «Северсталь-метиз» отказаться от аутсорсинговых услуг по перевозке катушек на погрузчиках на одном из участков.
Implementation of the project reduced costs, increase the safety level onsite. Implementation of new technologies let Severstal Metiz Company reject outsourcing service for coils transportation with trucks on one of the sites.
‘This unique device was designed specifically for the needs of Severstal-Metiz’s steel-rollers. Standard solutions rarely exceed one ton in terms of carrying capacity, and we had a need to transport three tons. Therefore, our partner in this project developed and implemented a solution that meets our requirements. I am sure, this is only the beginning of a long way to digitalization of our company”
Sergey Kovriakov
General Manager of OAO Severstal Metiz