GlaxoSmithKline Boronia Victoria

This installation features two stacker cranes, each servicing four aisles of the high rise store, with two-pallet conveyors linking each of the sixteen crane infeeds and outfeeds to a shuttle trolley incorporating two single-pallet conveyors. The shuttle trolley then moves the pallets to or from the three main conveyor systems.

Considerable care was taken with the shuttle control algorithms to optimise its travel and allow it to simultaneously pickup and deliver as much as possible.

Forklift drivers then service these conveyors under RF terminal control from the “Movement Controller”. There is also provision for the cranes to be controlled via RF terminals, though normally these instructions are relayed directly to the crane PLC via infra-red serial devices.

The conveyor system incorporates light curtains, alignment bars, and sizing stations.

Communication between the “Movement Controller” and the cranes is via an infra-red serial link.

Communication between the “Movement Controller” and the host computer system is via FTP/TCP-IP/Ethernet.

All PLCs are OMRON.