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4-way shuttles are emerging as a revolutionary solution to the limitations of conventional shuttle-based systems. conventional shuttles are restricted to single dedicated aisles and rely on a common conveyor line for moving picked pallets or totes, which can create bottlenecks and inefficiencies. 4-way shuttles address these challenges by enabling shuttles to traverse multiple aisles and levels, thereby eliminating the need for a common conveyor line by directly transferring pallets or totes to required Goods to Person (GtP) station.
This innovation reduces the load on conveyors, lowers costs through the use of cheaper low throughput diverts and alternative conveyance technologies, and shortens the overall length of conveyors, while also enhancing the flexibility of storage system planning.
The Problem
The Problem
The two key issues that need to be addressed for the conventional shuttle-based automation are.
Conventional shuttles are confined to travel within a single dedicated aisle.
All picked load units from all shuttles move through a common conveyor line, many time making it infeasible to handle required throughput and use of multiple layers of conveyors or Rail Guided Vehicles (RGV) and high cost diverts.
To address these challenges, the focus should be on enabling shuttles to move across multiple aisles and levels while eliminating the common conveyor line.
The Solution: 4-Way Shuttles
The Solution: 4-Way Shuttles
All pick stations are served by all shuttle aisles, divided into clusters, giving access of all SKUs to every GtP. While conventional shuttles have access to only one outbound lift, which connects to a common conveyor joining all lifts. 4-Way shuttles can access all lifts and navigate across all aisles and levels, allowing multiple shuttles to work simultaneously on one level.
Let's understand based on example of tote shuttles,
Clustering based on lifts and GtPs. For instance, if one lift can handle the productivity of 400 totes per hour and one GtP can process 200 totes per hour, we can create a cluster of 2 GtPs and 2 lift. All the SKUs will be accessible to all GtPs and can be picked by any shuttle across all storage system. This approach will eliminate the core problem of all totes moving on a common conveyor and offer the speed advantages of conventional shuttles with a simplified web of conveyors.
Advantages
Advantages
Reduced load on conveyors: Instead of 400x2=800/hr totes moving on a conveyor from above example, we have essentially reduced it in to two loops of 400 totes/hr.
Cheaper solutions: In case of tote handling, cheaper low throughput diverts can be used. In case of pallet handling, it can also change the conveyance technology from RGV to pallet conveyors.
Reduction in length of conveyors.
Flexibility to use periphery of storage system to plan picking.
In conclusion, 4-way shuttles represent a significant advancement in high throughput automation, effectively overcoming the limitations of conventional shuttle systems. By facilitating movement across multiple aisles and levels and eliminating the common conveyor line, 4-way shuttles enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and offer greater flexibility in storage and picking strategies. This innovative approach paves the way for more efficient and adaptable automated systems in the future.
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