The LTW Intralogistics Magazine | 9th Edition | Spring 2014 |

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NEWS FLOW

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NEWS FLOW

PURSUING IDEAS

R&D AT LTW

EDITORIAL

0302

PURSUING IDEASR&D AT LTWTIME IS ALWAYS RIGHT FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS ON THE MARKET. RESEARCH FOR US MEANS CREATING SOMETHING NEW, QUESTIONING THE OLD AND ANALYZING FOR OPTIMIZATION. CURRENTLY 27 R&D-PROJECTS ARE MOVING BETWEEN IDEA AND MARKETABILITY AT LTW – WITH RISING TENDENCY.

ment in order to eliminate the technical risk of series production or market development projects in advance.

Emerging products are checked intensely during the development phase at LTW in line with internal test set-ups or simulations and brought to product maturity – once the customer’s installation is running, the development process naturally has to be completed, then primarily availability is in demand.

Also parts of fundamental research, e.g. clarifying functional connections when using new material, are part of the R&D field of activity.

The Product Management groupThe second part of the Product Development department supports R&D with widespread knowledge about products, technological changes and the market – customers and competitors. This enables us to make informed

The increasing internal networking of research work has subsequently resulted in the former R&D team now being part of the Product Development department, namely in combi-nation with the Product Management group.

So product development ranges from the idea as an initial spark to the market launch of the product or the technical solution.

In cooperation with adjacent departments, e.g. Mechatronics, Control Engineering or Software, eleven employees are currently meeting the challenge of product development and con-tinuous improvement of our products.

The R&D group mainly stands for new products and technologies – it focuses on predevelop-

More and more complex processes in the area of production also require appropriate intralo-gistics – from the beginning we have seen this as an opportunity to improve and have there-fore developed solutions.

The customers have rewarded our pursuit of innovation and over the years have put their trust in more than only our core competence. Meanwhile we are able to score for customers in various sectors as a system supplier: stacker cranes, conveyor systems and software.

On the way from project to project we have always met the relevant challenges and with project-specific development work have initiated products with new potential uses for our customers.

A trendsetting stepIn order to benefit from this spirit of innovation ideally and cross-project, in spring 2009 we set up our own Research and Development (R&D) department. The team of the Product Development department in front of the LTW test set-up for the new belt drive. Within the

scope of our networked methods of working, a total of eleven employees at LTW apply themselves inter-departmen-tally to the development of new products and the optimization of existing products.

product and market related decisions and quickly react to shifts in the market. Additionally, the threads for the areas of standardization and optimization of produc-tion with product support come together in the Product Management group – especially with the latter, an active exchange with Customer Service takes place so that con- structive feedback from operation should be taken into consideration when enhancing our products.

In recent years we have consistently taken further steps in the independent develop-ment of new solutions – development coop-erations with partners from science and industry thereby top our striving for innova-tion and provide for a good network on the market.

On the following pages we would like to give you a precise overview of how we inject life into the topic of research with regard to our product range and beyond.

For interesting conversations about the topic we would like to welcome you at LogiMAT in Stuttgart: 25th to 27th February, Hall 1, Booth 133 – we look forward to seeing you there!

Mario Gerber, Head of LTW Product Development

Dear Readers,

On behalf of the whole LTW company I would like to welcome you to the current issue of NEWS FLOW.

The market is eager for innovative solutions – in the Product Development Department we deal intensively with the corresponding challenges. Happily we have already been able to accompany numerous products on their way to regular operation. There have been and still are research projects across our whole product range and even beyond that – the accordant customer value always remains in focus. Our greatest demand is to sense trends on the market at an early stage, develop praxis-orientated solutions and place them on the market. We are also pleased that we have already been able to use our know-how to open up alter-native business activities – a fully automated truck loading system or our commitment in the field of intermodal transport are clear signs of our innovative capacity.

An idea becomes an application – we are ready for you to challenge us!

We hope you enjoy this issue of NEWS FLOW!

Representative of the whole Product Develop-ment Department

Mario Gerber, Head of Department

05

04

A special challenge for the intralogistics sector: even with ideally configured lifting drives and regular maintenance, ropes have relatively short change intervals. This is why LTW, in a long-term research project, has investigated suitable alternative drive concepts. Many different possibilities from rack to direct drive were carefully examined – however, in the end most of the drive concepts either displayed functional limitations or, from an economic point of view, were not suitable for our application.

As belt drives are already in use on conveyor systems and also on stacker cranes in small parts warehouses, after intensive examination this drive concept was also favored by us for our application. Now it was a matter of finding suitable partners for a cooperation – due to the diverse demands, especially with the maximum payload in combination with the required high breaking resistance, the bar was set very high. Some manufacturers declined from the very beginning, the project threatened to topple.

Start of a constructive partnershipWhen we approached ContiTech, a division of the Continental Group, we finally came across ideal starting conditions – sympathetic listen-ers with an interest in the solution. In Austria ContiTech products are sold, amongst others, by SynchroTech as a system partner with in-house production of timing belt pulleys, and so a meeting at LTW was arranged at short notice, in order to discuss possible approaches to solution.

After intensive reprocessing of existing infor-mation it emerged that with appropriate guidance of the timing belt for the maximum payload, there was even room for improvement. In a constructive exchange of information step by step a technology never before implemented got off the ground, based on the principal of the pulley tackle: the “pulley timing belt” – a currently unique combination of two classics of mechanics, for which meanwhile an extensive patent already exists.

Intensive tests for regular operationOn the basis of about 1.7 million driven cycles on the LTW test set-up a customer project in the cold storage sector has already been

equipped with the new belt technology for lifting. Feedback so far has been positive in every respect – the technics also work flawlessly at – 30 °C and the original requirements have been optimally fulfilled.

The cooperation between ContiTech, Synchro-Tech and LTW was so smooth, constructive and characterized by intensive teamwork, that after the first cooperation ContiTech have asked us, on the basis of the accumulated experiences, to once again test a timing belt for the ContiTech product range – of course we are very happy to comply, and all participants will once more put their backs into the job.

LTW AS DEDICATED RESEARCH PARTNER AS A PRACTICE ORIENTED COM-

PANY LTW MAINLY FUNCTIONS IN

THE AREA OF APPLIED RESEARCH –

INDEPENDENTLY OR WITHIN THE

SCOPE OF MUTUALLY FRUITFUL

COOPERATIONS WITH SCIENCE

AND INDUSTRY.

Whereas fundamental research takes place on a higher level of abstraction and as a rule at universities, applied research is geared to practical usability; it is also carried out at universities, but in addition in private enter-prises or in combined cooperations.

Both areas of research, however, can be impulse generators for each other and profit from one another.

The advantages of cooperations between science and industry are obvious – university institutes can unlock third-party funds for respective cooperations, companies profit from premium equipment and specific know-how of the scientific establishment.

With cooperations within private enterprises the producer can test his product during operation and continuously improve it through consolidated feedback. The user on the other hand gets to know the product of the producer with its corresponding characteristics at an early stage and is able to incorporate his experiences ideally in the design of the components for his own products.

We have already successfully become in-volved in cooperations with partners from science and industry and have been able to gain perceptions – in the following we would like to present how we have specifi-cally implemented relevant research results in practice.

IT WAS A MATTER OF DEVELOPING NOTHING LESS THAN A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE LIFTING DRIVE OF STACKER CRANES – MINIMIZED WEAR AND TEAR, INCREASE OF KINEMATIC VALUES AND OPTIMIZATION OF POSITIONING TIME WERE ONLY A FEW OF THE ABITIOUS GOALS FOR THE RESEARCH PROJECT OF AN LTW COOPERATION WITH CONTITECH AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION PARTNER SYNCHROTECH, THE USE OF A TIMING BELT COMBINES ALL REQUIREMENTS STRAIGHT OFF.

COOPERATION WITH CONTITECH

PUTTING OUR BACKSINTO THE JOB

■ Minimal wear and tear, therefore long life expectancy

■ Low maintenance, no lubricants necessary

■ High maximum kinematic values when lifting

■ Low noise level due to optimized tooth geometry

■ Short positioning times, no repositioning

■ No additional external distance measurement necessary

■ High degree of standardization, compact construction

ADVANTAGES OF A TIMING BELT

Small drive and pulley diameter as well as optimized belt guide make for a compact construction and therefore enable the use of smaller gearboxes compared to rope drives.

The optimized tooth geometry and special coatings enable operation of the lifting device at a low noise level.

Thomas Winkler, Developer PU timing belt ContiTech: “Even we as a leading producer in the area of PU timing belts were able to gain new insights with this innovative and challenging project – it was only thanks to the ex cellent and cooperative teamwork of LTW, SynchroTech and ContiTech that we were successfully able to implement the pulley timing belt with all its requirements.”

Even after about 1.7 million driven cycles on the LTW test set-up the timing belt shows almost no wear and tear at all.

0706

While observing scientific institutions and their research projects, the activities of the Institute for Materials Handling, Material Flow and Logistics (fml) of the Technische Universität München caught our eye in autumn 2011 – a public, software-oriented research project for designing high-bay warehouses.

Immediately we recognized the potential for comprehensive application, it piqued our curiosity. Direct talks with representatives of the institution fml led to the agreement to extend the basic findings with an industrial research project – basically to further develop

the existing research results according to our product range.

Stock-check on both sidesWe had an ambitious way ahead: the corporate research activities started at the beginning of 2012, the goal was an operational software for warehouse system planning by the end of 2013. In the beginning we had to compare: what do we already have and where do we want to go?

Both partners analyzed the existing material for optimization potential – slight inaccuracies of our own tools in certain areas on the one hand, compared to limitations of the fml software only being able to display aisle-bound systems on the other hand. On both sides intensive know-how was required, complex and profound work had to be done.

Focusing on customers needsDue to the close contact with customers the LTW sales team was intensely involved in designing the software. Based on first fml concepts intensive feedback loops followed – further optimization potential was brought to light and included in the following software version. Many intensive telephone calls and on-site appointments on both sides were finally leading to the home straight, an elaborate test run of the software was on the schedule. The interpretive results had already been verified with implemented LTW projects – 100 % con-cordance stands for the perfect crossing of the finishing line.

Both cooperation partners agree that during this intensive period of cooperation an efficient consolidation of theory and practice took place.

The new warehouse planning software LSPPreviously complex and time-consuming warehouse planning is now possible with a few mouse clicks – additionally, with this tool, which is exclusively available to LTW, a multitude of alternative approaches to solution can also be immediately visualized. The software detects the ideal intersection of the parameter price, performance and storage capacity – and also considers the optional use of aisle-bound or aisle-changing stacker cranes for the ideal layout.

The possibilities of the software tool are nowhere near exhausted. The results of the cooperation have brought up many further interesting applications around the high-bay warehouse – new research projects are already waiting in the wings!

With only a few mouse clicks the visualization of the high-bay warehouse is complete, if desired also with alternative approaches to solution. The new software detects the ideal intersection of the parameter price, performance and storage capacity including the associated geometry.

HOW A SOFTWARE OPENS UP NEW AND VERSATILE POSSIBILI-TIES FOR DESIGNING HIGH-BAY WAREHOUSES.

LTW COOPERATION WITH TU MÜNCHEN

WAREHOUSE SYSTEM PLANNING BY MOUSE CLICK

The direct truck loading system SpeedFlexx features high loading speed and unique logistical flexibility on the market – loading processes with or without pallets are possible without any difficulties.

In the terminals stacker cranes take over the loading and unloading of the railway wagons – in the high-bay warehouse block an automated bundling of the streams of goods takes place, thus reducing empty runs to a minimum.

In this research project we developed a fully-automated direct truck loading system with a loading capacity of up to 260 t/h for the German medium-sized company HAVER & BOECKER. The system stands out due to modular, maintenance-free construction and is designed for loading processes of small and large packages, either with or without pallets.

With the SpeedFlexx, however, we didn’t just research, we have already built it – the first SpeedFlexx system has been in operation in Germany since 2012, two more systems have recently been sold to Thailand. The SpeedFlexx system is currently the fastest automated truck loading system on the market.

Further information: http://www.diemaschinenfabrik.com/en/products/ bag-handling/haver-speedflexxR/

INVESTIGATING ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS AREAS

LOOKING BEYOND THE HORIZON

SPEEDFLEXX LOADER

With LTW Green Logistics (LGL) we focus on an alternative approach for shifting transport of goods onto rails. In cooperation with various part-ners from industry and research we are developing an environmentally friendly intermodal logistic system for packaged goods on a pallet basis.

Block trains operate between automated terminals, on which stacker cranes take over the receiving of goods as well as the loading of the trains. The terminals are ideal transition points from road to rail haulage and vice versa, since with the interconnected high-bay warehouse block there is a perfect time lag of the two transport systems.

Thanks to availability around the clock and an automated intermodal transport chain as far as possible, the whole logistics are able to be organized more flexibly, efficiently and therefore economically – ask for further details: LGL@LTW.at.

LTW GREEN LOGISTICS

IN ADDITION TO OUR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES WITH REGARD TO OUR PRODUCT RANGE WE HAVE, WITH OUR KNOW-HOW, ALREADY TURNED TOWARDS ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS AREAS – SUCH COOPERATIONS ALSO MAKE US STRONGER AND ARE ALREADY BEARING FRUIT.

ADVANTAGE THROUGH KNOWLEDGELTW IS PARTNER OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DUAL

LTW Intralogistics GmbHAustriaAchstrasse 53 6922 Wolfurt T + 43 5574 6829 – 0 F + 43 5574 6829 – 29 office@LTW.at www.LTW.at

LTW Intralogistics GmbHGermanyMax-Eyth-Strasse 30 89171 IllerkirchbergT + 49 7346 3084 F + 49 7346 3083 office@LTW.at www.LTW.at

LTW Intralogistics, Inc. USA 3285 North George Street PO Box 0115 Emigsville, PA 17318T + 1 717 767 7210 F + 1 717 326 1279 office@LTWUSA.com www.LTWUSA.com

We would be pleased to give you informa-tion about optimization potentials of intralo- gistics, current best practice solutions and our products at one of the following trade shows and technical events.

ECSLA Conference24.02. – 26.02.14, Maastricht, NLwww.ecsla.eu

LogiMAT 201425.02. – 27.02.14, Stuttgart, DEwww.logimat-messe.de

MODEX 201417.03. – 20.03.14, Atlanta, USwww.modexshow.com

123rd IARW-WFLO Convention & Expo26.04. – 30.04.14, San Diego, USwww.gcca.org

IWL Logistiktage05.06. – 06.06.14, Ulm, DEwww.iwl.de

Electrical Engineering Dual is a new bachelor study course, which starts in autumn 2014 at the university of applied sciences, FH Vorarlberg (FHV). It combines studying for a degree with vocational training in a company.

LTW is one of the first companies that is already a partner in the new study course – this is how we actively take our opportunity to secure highly qualified graduates, involve the students in the company at an early stage and system - a tically build them up.

Thanks to the combination of theory and prac-tice, the students on the other hand are best possibly prepared for the diverse demands in

the working world. Following a one-year basic course, the subsequent degree study phases at the FHV rotate in three-month cycles with con-solidation “on the job” at LTW. Theoretical and practical solutions are developed in the course of real-life tasks. The results arising from this cooperation, e.g. from project theses, can be directly integrated into implementation. After the one-year basic course the students receive a continuous remuneration, based on their level, until they qualify – a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Further information: http://www.ltw.at/studies-en.html

Conveyor systems> All-in-one solutions> Highly flexible> Low maintenance

Software > Warehouse control> Warehouse

management> Visualization

General contractor > Complete turnkey

solutions> Worldwide references

Stacker cranes > For all types of

warehouses> Aisle-changing

technology> Energy efficient

ENGINEERS OF FLOW Interface-free material flow in high-bay warehouses: LTW develops, manufactures and installs turnkey intralogistics systems worldwide.

TRADE SHOW DATES

Media owner and publisher: LTW Intralogistics GmbH Achstrasse 53, 6922 Wolfurt / Austria T + 43 5574 6829 – 0, F + 43 5574 6829 – 29 office@LTW.at, www.LTW.at Conception, editing: LTW Intralogistics GmbH Layout: transfair.at Photos: Ralf Becker, LTW; Till Hückels Printing: Buchdruckerei Lustenau Print run: 6,000 (German), 2,000 (English)

For the online version of our NEWS FLOW please go to www.LTW.at/newsflow-en.html

Further information: Please contact Ralf Becker, T + 43 5574 6829–226 ralf.becker@LTW.at, www.LTW.at

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