The robot's decision

© Faulhaber

Making decisions? When TORU receives an order to pick a specific pair of shoes, it is initially given the warehouse address plus a barcode. The robot knows where the target compartment must be and navigates close to it. The lifting column at the front of the vehicle then turns 90 degrees to the shelf, a gripper moves to the specified compartment and from then on TORU makes its own decisions. The robot first uses three-dimensional camera images to get an idea of the current situation. "Is there even a shoe box on the shelf? Is there the right barcode? Am I even able to grab the shoe box, even though it is a few centimetres out of place and would jam when I pull it out?"

With these questions, Magazino press spokesperson Florin Wahl describes the central tasks of visual analysis. The answers to these questions are what make the system from Munich so unique. If, for example, there is a carton behind a pick order that has been placed slightly askew on the shelf by an employee, the robot adapts its gripping process to the circumstances. If TORU determines that picking will still not be possible, the job is returned to the system - and a warehouse worker would have to do the picking by hand.

© Faulhaber

High overload behavior

Magazino uses FAULHABER type 3268 drives to position the suction pad along a gear rack. With an output of 62 watts, the brushless DC motors deliver rated torques of up to 72 mNm in continuous operation. The peak torques of up to 96 mNm are of interest to Magazino. The overload capacity is crucial in order to safely manage the breakaway torques when handling the shoe boxes. "We need motors with a high power density," explains Raphael Vering from Mechanical Engineering Development at Magazino. As the peak torques are only required in a narrow time window, there are no problems with the motors getting too hot.

The powerful overload behavior of the motors with their diameter of just 32 millimetres brings a number of advantages for the Munich logistics pioneers. The design provides the basis for being able to use smaller motors thanks to the reliable control of the breakaway torques. This means that smaller drives are naturally lighter. "The mass of the gripper must be as low as possible because we have to move it along the vertical axis in the TORU," explains Raphael Vering. The heavier the gripper unit, the greater the required motor power of the vertical axis.

Behind the idea of TORU is a sophisticated system of automation, robotics, vision and autonomous driving. When evaluating the drives, Magazino was therefore looking for solutions with optimum power density. These, in turn, must also be able to be elegantly integrated into the existing automation network. "Support for CANopen communication was crucial for us," recalls Raphael Vering. The fact that the Munich-based company was also able to use a custom-fit motion control solution from FAULHABER gave the development team more freedom to further optimize the new logistics solution.

The FAULHABER company

© Faulhaber

FAULHABER is one of the leading suppliers of high-precision miniature and micro drive systems. The portfolio includes powerful DC motors, brushless DC motors, stepper and linear motors as well as piezo motors. Precision gearboxes, linear components, encoders and drive electronics assemblies for the construction of complete systems are also available. Important applications include production automation and robotics, optical systems, aerospace, medical and laboratory technology. FAULHABER has received numerous awards, for example as TOP100 Innovator or Factory of the Year 2018 in the category "Outstanding Small Series Production". In addition to its headquarters in Schönaich in Baden-Württemberg, FAULHABER has further development and production sites in Switzerland, the USA, Romania and Hungary and is also represented in over 30 countries worldwide. The drive specialist currently employs almost 2,000 people worldwide.