PC Electric Optimizes Internal Processes with AMRs
PC Electric (PCE) is one of the leading developers and manufacturers of industrial plugs and sockets, exporting over 80 percent. The company manufactures around 700,000 items every week in the highly automated production facility at their headquarters in St. Martin im Innkreis, Upper Austria.
Aiming to optimize the transport of empty containers, PCE opted for our autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), Open Shuttles. The new automation solution simplifies processes, makes work more ergonomic and frees up resources for value-adding activities.
We wanted to simplify empty container transport, make work more ergonomic and free up resources. So we optimized the entire transport process, in this case, with KNAPP.
Daniel Lechner
Head of Automation at PC Electric
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Learn more about the Open Shuttles by KNAPP!
How you benefit from automation with our AMRs
Open Shuttles for flexible and space-effective transport at PC Electric
PC Electric manufactures the components for more than 24 million industrial plugs and sockets each year using modern injection molding machines and lathes. Despite comprehensive automation in production, the company had been transporting empty containers manually for the past 20 years. A significant growth in order volumes meant that employees had to transport approximately 1,200 containers per day over a distance of more than a hundred meters, or 328 feet.
Relieving their employees of this strenuous task and allowing them to tend to more value-generating tasks had top priority for PCE. For this purpose, PCE needed a space-effective, flexible and adaptable automation solution. The company decided to automate their empty container transport using our autonomous mobile robots, the Open Shuttles. The PLC application KiSoft FCS controls the solution completely without connecting to a Host system.
It was important to us to have a partner who would continue to assist us beyond project completion. KNAPP is a renowned company with major references in Upper Austria. We are being well looked after and we feel that good collaboration is important to KNAPP.
Daniel Lechner
Head of Automation at PC Electric
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PC Electric: A glimpse into the AMR solution
The new automation solution has been operating at PC Electric since 2023. For PCE, implementing the Open Shuttles was a flagship project that provided them with a custom solution for warehouse automation. Learn more about what our Open Shuttles can do:
1) Automatic pickup of empty containers
After the PCE products are taken out of the containers and packed in the packaging and shipping area, the empty containers are manually stacked and brought to the get station. Since the containers come in different sizes, the stacks have different heights. The specially designed station can hold stacks of up to 1,600 mm (almost 63 in) in height. As soon as the container stacks are ready for pickup, our fleet control software, KiSoft FCS, commissions the Open Shuttles. Despite the limited space available at the get station, the Open Shuttles are able to dock precisely.
2) Transport
The Open Shuttles navigate the very narrow 103 m (338 ft) long corridor, avoiding forklift truck and pedestrian traffic autonomously. The AMRs have a module to communicate with the automatic rapid action door at the end of the corridor, so when an AMR approaches the door, it opens automatically.
3) Automatic drop off of empty container stacks
Once the Open Shuttle reaches the put station, it automatically transfers the container stack to the station. When the station is full, the employees retrieve the containers and take them to the production area.
4) Efficient charge management
When an Open Shuttle has only 10 percent battery charge left or has no orders to fulfill, the AMR autonomously returns to the charging station located on its travel path. At PC Electric, every AMR operates from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.
autonomous mobile robots
metres travel path (338 ft)
empty containers per day
cycles per hour
Collaborating as partners for internal transport at its best
KNAPP and PCE share a partnership as equals. The development departments of KNAPP and PCE worked together closely during the automation project. For transporting empty containers on the Open Shuttles, a special load-handling device (LHD) with a load stabilizer was developed. The integration of the AMRs was a flagship project for PCE who are already considering using them for more areas of application.
