Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV)

AGVs do not require an operator.
Good for high labor cost, hazardous, or environmentally sensitive conditions (e.g. clean-room).
Also termed "automated" guided vehicle.
AGVs good for low-to-medium volume medium-to-long distance random material flow operations (e.g. transport between work cells in a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) environment).
Two means of guidance can be used for AGV systems:
Fixed path: Physical guidepath (e.g. wire, tape, paint) on the floor used for guidance.
Free-ranging: No physical guidepath, thus easier to change vehicle path (in software), but absolute position estimates (e.g. lasers) are needed to correct dead-reckoning error.

Tow AGV
Used to pull a train of trailers.
Automated version of a tractor trailer.
Trailers were loaded manually (early type of AGV, not much used today).

Unit Load AGV

Have decks that can be loaded manually or automatically.
Deck can include conveyor or lift/lower mechanism for automatic loading.

Typically 4 by 4 feet and can carry 1–2,000 lb. loads.

Typically less than 10 vehicles in AGV system.

Assembly AGV
Used as assembly platforms (e.g. car chassis, engines, appliances).
Greatest development activity during the 1980s (alternative to AEMs).

Typically 50–100 vehicles in AGV system.