Novel approach to semi-automated warehouse for manufacturing: design and simulation

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present a novel design of semi-automated warehousing system for manufacturing applications. The approach bases on a new type of storage of carriers, called drawer racks. This concept adopts a modified shelving system based on single or double sections of row racks rotated by 90 degrees. Each drawer rack can move perpendicularly to the transportation corridor. The motion of the rack is possible thanks to the automatically guided vehicle that translates under the line of racks. In the paper, we show a comparison between the designed new system and conventional storage solutions for manufacturing. This indicates that the drawer racks require less space per pallet place without a significant interference with a building infrastructure. In this work, we discuss various design solutions for key components of the drawer-rack and AGV that can operate a rack of 40 pallet places. The designed system was tested if it meets the assumed performance level. The simulation model was created in discrete event system environment. We compared the warehouse layout and material flow for conventional row racks with the newly proposed system. We found out that the new system operates at the higher efficiency but requires less space.