Linde MH is presenting a whole phalanx of automated guided vehicle systems and mobile robots (AMR) at the LogiMAT trade fair in Stuttgart. It's featuring the automated L-Matic HD k pallet stacker with a lifting height of up to 3.8 m, and the design of a fully automated L-Matic C pallet stacker.

"The automation of material flow processes is now possible in almost all warehouse and production areas," says Louis Vieira, Head of Sales Automation & Intralogistics Germany at Linde MH, encouraging all logistics managers. In his opinion, processes with a high degree of standardization are particularly suited to this. This includes ground-level goods transport between defined transfer points, for which AMRs with transport platforms are suitable. The same applies to replenishment in high bay racks with automated reach trucks or the picking of pallets in high bay racks up to 16 meters high.

"However, the vast majority of applications for automated industrial trucks are for extremely versatile high-lift trucks." They handle long-distance transport and lift loads to medium lift heights. These range from production supply and disposal to transport between receiving and staging areas, the staging of goods in the shipping area, and even the transfer of goods at the interface to narrow-aisle forklifts.

With the L-Matic HD k, Linde MH is now launching another truck model for these and other applications. It moves goods weighing up to 1.6 t between conveyor belts, racks, marked floor areas, or shelf locations, and stores and retrieves them at heights of up to 3.8 m. The warehouse truck is equipped with various safety scanners that monitor 360°, as well as various load sensors, and travels at speeds of up to 7.2 km/h. It already meets the technical safety requirements of the European standard ISO 3691-4 for driverless industrial trucks. The high-lift truck can be optionally equipped with BlueSpot, warning lights, a second load sensor, and additional obstacle detection, among other features.

All photos: Linde MH

There are various options for (intermediate) charging, both manual and fully automatic. In the latter case, the vehicle connects automatically to a charging station, extending the maximum operating time of around 18 hours to 24/7 operation.

The L-Matic C, presented in Stuttgart as a near-production concept study with a 1.2 t load capacity, is ideal for automation in brownfield applications due to its short, narrow design. Especially in warehouse and production layouts that have continuously grown over the years, space is often limited or the aisles are narrow. In this case, the 1,785 mm long and 840 mm wide high-lift truck with a permanently installed lithium-ion battery is a flexible, scalable option for pallet transport that was previously handled with larger, manually operated industrial trucks.

Equally important is the digitization of data, documents, and processes. This is achieved, for example, with the Linde Warehouse Navigator, consisting of a warehouse management, order picking, and forklift control system. The software solution enables paperless management, monitoring, and documentation of all orders and inventories, as well as goods movements within the warehouse. All storage locations with current occupancy are displayed in 3D, and the forklift driver is shown the fastest route to the destination. At the same time, the software documents all movements of load carriers across changing storage locations.

www.linde-mh.de