Fixed path: AGVs offer precision in missile production facility

Raytheon’s 70,000-square-foot Huntsville, Ala., manufacturing facility produces interceptor missile components for the military. The company now uses customized automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) to transport large materials, replacing the labor-intensive and damage-prone process of transport by cart or crane.

Because of the explosive nature of the product, regulations mandate that the assembly areas must be kept a certain distance from the testing areas. Parts and finished goods had to be moved manually up to 300 feet. Because of the weight of the products and the safety requirements, carts were loaded by cranes and pushed by four to six technicians.

The facility now uses two 24-foot AGVs and one 10-foot AGV for material movement between the testing area and 19 assembly workstations. After automating the materials handling process, the company has virtually eliminated the potential for human error. The AGVs not only provide material movement over the long distances between the manufacturing and test cells, but AGVs also allow transfer of the product from the AGV to a work or test station. This system coordinated product transfer, supports a zero-lift philosophy, and eliminates all but one movement by an overhead crane.

Because product often remains in a work cell for some time, the AGVs are used solely to move materials and not as an assembly platform. After they transfer product to the station, the AGVs move on to another product. The AGV system tracks all material movements creating a permanent record for future reference.

JBT Corp.
215-822-4600
jbtc-agv.com