I. Background
Intelligent logistics is a key part of the realization of intelligent manufacturing. For the discrete manufacturing industry, different enterprises differ greatly, the process is complex, the process is discrete, and it is difficult to form a productized solution. Its digitization and informatization is very difficult, and truly reflects the overall level of manufacturing informatization. Through warehousing software input + hardware output, the goods (raw materials, tools, products) and other materials for automatic warehousing and access operations, to ensure that the production line work uninterrupted, according to the production beat for timely and accurate production distribution, so that the enterprise production units with each other and with the many various types of storage between the formation of the supply relationship through the WMS, WCS, the input and output interfaces, such as the software system, efficient and accurate Through WMS, WCS, input/output interface and other software systems, it can efficiently and accurately control the goods and cargo flow, clearly reflect the upstream and downstream warehousing conditions, and ensure the accuracy of the production operation plan and access to goods. Figure 1 is the overall process design of the automated logistics system.
Second, the important position of the manufacturing industry and the current situation
Due to the characteristics of the production enterprises (especially large-scale production enterprises), there is generally no way to set up a conventional warehouse next to each workshop, and the production line production is a real-time process, does not allow any point of pause, so the main role of the intelligent logistics is used to support the production line's uninterrupted production to ensure that the speed of their generation of rapidity and higher utilization of storage space. It is characterized by: occupying as little space as possible, the need to use as much space as possible to store; storage of complex content, including empty pallets, supporting tasks, semi-finished products, finished products; synchronization of information flow and logistics; in and out of the warehouse efficiency to be high; supply and distribution of high accuracy.
1. Industry pain points
The standard process is not easy to develop, difficult to master, equipment, personnel, management and other aspects of the complex situation. Under the premise that personnel are not familiar with the equipment, there is a lack of on-site problem-solving ideas. The actual production caused by the standard implementation of the process can not be, and some products due to some key processes by the machine and other resource constraints, or other special circumstances lead to the existence of a variety of processing processes coexist. The management of product structure and design changes is even more difficult, manual work in the face of a huge bill of materials, complex production conditions, often resulting in delivery delays, inventory backlogs, processing errors, the market sometimes in short supply and so on. Due to the lack of scientific and standardized management of engineering changes, often resulting in some material stagnation, the enterprise's inventory backlog. At this point, there is a need for some personnel, equipment, management and other aspects of upgrading, and improve the limited funds and other issues to ensure that the process is fast and effective. Manufacturing enterprise status quo map, in Figure 2.
2. Application Cases
(1) Project Overview
This project for a discrete manufacturing industry specific product assembly process and assembly process, re-design, layout, the construction of a set of intelligent logistics production line (product assembly production line), this system in accordance with the needs of intelligent logistics and intelligent management to digital production line execution In accordance with the requirements of intelligent logistics and intelligent management, this system aims to change the traditional assembly mode, realize the information tracking and control of the whole assembly production process, such as task ordering, warehousing, AGV shipping, station assembly, etc., and build a batch assembly, in line with the characteristics of the assembly of each station, highly efficient, intelligent and relatively flexible intelligent manufacturing assembly production line.
This intelligent manufacturing assembly line corresponds to the lineside warehouse including equipment: pallet warehouse (box stacker cranes three-dimensional warehouse), material warehouse (automated lifting warehouse), Qi supporting warehouse, AGV, conveyor line, RFID, LED and so on.
The manufacturing assembly line corresponds to the line side of the library including software: pallet library management software, material library management software, complete set of library management software, pallet library control scheduling software, material library control scheduling software, AGV control scheduling software, and ERP interface, interface with the MES and so on.
(2) project workflow
The actual production process, there are often many uncertainties, such as product repair and rework, materials, semi-finished products, scrap, station machine failure, take the material is not timely, etc., it is difficult for managers to control the site conditions in a timely manner.
Figure 3 for the project logistics layout, mainly to address the characteristics of the production enterprises (especially large-scale production enterprises), so that the production line into a real-time process, non-stop, timely delivery of materials, troubleshooting in a timely manner and so on. The workflow is: the upper system through the interface to issue instructions, AGV receive instructions along the conveyor line to the pallet three-dimensional library (Figure 8),
material three-dimensional container to pick up (Figure 9),
the staff can be in the artificial Qi set of workstations (Figure 10) on the material placed by the AGV supporting processing.
Subsequently, the AGV will send the material to the inspection station, after inspection, the AGV along the conveyor line will send the goods to the workstation, the goods triggered by the workstation automatic processing system, for the production and processing of goods. After processing, AGV sends the finished product to the finished product storage area (Figure 11). Intelligent logistics is realized.
(3) Logistics and information flow
The relationship between logistics and information flow is inseparable. On the one hand, logistics activities generate a large amount of information on the supply of raw materials, consumption of finished goods and so on. In order to improve the efficiency of logistics, the information flow is required to maintain a smooth and accurate feedback of the information required for the operation of various aspects of logistics. On the other hand, the continuous progress of information technology for the timely and large-scale transmission of information to create the conditions, in turn, to promote the expansion of the scope of logistics services and logistics organization and management means of continuous improvement, to promote the improvement of logistics capacity and efficiency.
Figure 4 shows the logistics and information flow diagram, is for the specific product assembly process and assembly process, automatic material and intelligent management needs, through the interface with the upper interface, with the production line execution control, to realize the process (built-in, support VPPC import), task (manual entry, support VPPC import) and material (material library) import, export, to change the traditional assembly model
A set of digital assembly production line that realizes batch assembly, meets the assembly characteristics of each station, and is highly efficient, intelligent, and relatively flexible.
(4) network structure
Logistics information platform is the center of the efficient operation of intelligent logistics. The main value of the information platform lies in: efficient collaboration of information, the smoothness and transparency of the information of each link, which can make the supply chain of enterprises efficiently and timely grasp of logistics information, and through *** enjoy the information to support the industry and the market to standardize the establishment of collaborative work mechanism.
Figure 5 shows the powerful operation structure diagram of the whole intelligent logistics, which realizes the automation of logistics through big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, self-driving vehicles, AGV automatic guided vehicles and trucks, IoT sensors, robots, self-organizing intelligence, intelligent shelves, intelligent containers, GPS, radio frequency identification (RFID), electronic data interchange (EDI), blockchain and so on, visualization, controllable, intelligent, networked, so as to improve logistics efficiency, reduce costs, and promote the supply chain to a higher level of development.
? (5) Business process
Figure 6 shows the complete business process diagram. It mainly includes production tasks, production preparation, task control, production execution, and production statistics. First of all, the production task is imported, new (you can query the task change log at any time). Secondly, the raw materials will be used for warehousing; the personnel will be deployed; the workstations and tooling will be prepared; and the material library will be configured as a complete set, and so on. Again by querying the executable conditions of the task; adjusting and ordering the task; tracking the progress of the task implementation; exporting the quality and progress of the task implementation and other data. Next, it carries out the execution of intelligent scheduling of production stations. Finally, through the statistics of the data, realize the real-time view of dynamic data; production statistics, quality statistics; affairs (troubleshooting, maintenance, etc.) records.
(6) Functional modules
Figure 7 shows the functional module diagram of the digital production line execution control system designed for this project. It mainly includes: task management, production execution, production logistics, statistical analysis, basic data management, production scheduling, production line data collection seven functions. It realizes the functions of temporary storage, picking and dosing of materials required for assembly line and part assembly line, and realizes the automatic distribution of materials from workstation to each workstation with the support of AGV. It also realizes the automatic distribution of materials to each workstation with AGV. The digital production line execution control system can realize the trace management of materials, which can realize the automatic recording, alarm, remote viewing, statistics and statistics of production tasks, quality and working hours.
3. Upgrading from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing
The above project really solves the problem of complexity of traditional manufacturing in terms of equipment, personnel and management. Under the fully automated operation, it reduces the labor cost, shortens the process time, reduces the process flow, and reduces the cost expenditure of personnel and process flow, which really changes the drawbacks of the traditional manufacturing industry, and realizes the upgrading of the traditional manufacturing to the intelligent manufacturing, as shown in Fig. 12.
3. Summarize
Intelligent logistics system is not a simple combination of equipments, but a systematic way of thinking. The full application of equipment functions to achieve seamless and fast hardware and software interfaces, which is a complex process of global optimization. Through the use of system integration methods, so that a variety of materials the most reasonable, economical and effective flow, to achieve the informationization of logistics, automation, intelligence, speed and rationalization, so that the storage of goods from the static storage of the form of transition to dynamic storage, so that the goods in the warehouse according to the need for automatic access to the warehouse, so that the warehouse is transformed into an important link in the logistics of the enterprise's production; through the short-term storage, so that purchased parts and self-produced parts of the production at the Through short-term storage, the purchased parts and self-made production parts can be automatically output to the next production process at the specified time, thus forming an intelligent logistics operation process. Intelligent logistics in the discrete intelligent manufacturing assembly line application is more and more pivotal role. With the rapid development of warehousing and logistics equipment manufacturing industry, there will be more hardware and software technology applied to intelligent manufacturing production.