Automated Warehouse Systems. Designed for you.

A horizontal carousel is a series of bins which revolve on an oval track. Every bin has shelves which are adjustable to .75″ and can be configured for a myriad of standard and special applications. The carousels electronic control system allows multiple locations to be queued and sequenced to optimize positioning of the closest locations first. Multiple carousels can be organized into pods. A pod of multiple carousels allow picks to occur simultaneously by pre-positioning the closest locations on each carousel. This optimizes picking for one or more operators and eliminates wait time in-between picks.

Streamline-RT WCS / WES / WMS software optimizes machine efficiency and increases through-put and productivity. A horizontal carousel system with this application can improve operator productivity 500% and improve space utilization by up to 50% or greater.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Learn More

Horizontal carousels can also be configured to use a robotic inserter/ extractor to pull entire totes from the carousel system and send to a remote order picking or kitting operation, also known as an Automated Stroage Retreival System (ASRS). By using robotic inserter / extractors, the totes can be sent to a more ergonomic picking or kitting workstation where all the transactions are performed at an ideal operators working height. By incorporating Streamlines’ Boss Tilt Picking Station, the productivity of each operator can go from 100 lines per hour “LPH” to 300+ LPH per person. In addition to being more ergonomic, the remote picking and kitting workstations are able to have access to all of the storage locations.

Pros for the Carousels ASRS are every operator has access to all storage locations so complete orders can be started and completed by the same operator. The picking and stocking can be started and completed by the same operator. The picking and stocking can all be done from an ergonomic working position. Con’s compared to other types of automated picking systems are that these operations tend to rely on ancillary conveyor systems for their operation. Although, they may relay on ancillary conveyors for their operation, the advantages can definitely outweigh any negatives.

Vertical Carousels unlike horizontal carousels rotate vertically.  They bring the product location to an operators waist level and thus are very ergonomic. They typically aren’t used for high speed order selecting operations. They are used a lot for storing items close to point of use for manufacturing operations where you need to conserve floor space for manufacturing purposes instead of using the floor space for storing products. Therefore the return on investment for vertical carousels has traditionally come from better space utilization.

Pros for the vertical carousel are space savings and ergonomics. Con’s compared to other automated storage is they lack productivity compared to the other AS/RS solutions and they sometimes suffer from imbalanced load conditions due to storage pans having different weights. Streamline-RT’s software optimization, load weight algorithms and our Streamline’s Vertical Carousel’s dual drives dramatically improve productivity and almost eliminate load imbalance issues.

Vertical Lift Modules are large storage devices that optimize space and minimize foot-print. Their size can vary from small and medium to very large. Depending on your needs, their tray size can range from 6 -13 ft wide and you can have up to 120 trays per machine. They operate similar to an elevator, with each tray being stacked inside the machine and being retrieved on request. A request for a tray is submitted via an optimized user interface that routes to an exit bay where an operator can either pick or put-away items. All trays are stored inside the machine when they are not in use. They are better optimized than a vertical carousel because depending on its size, a VLM can route up to two trays to an exit bay at once, saving time. VLMs are also more ergonomic, delivering all trays to waist level.

Using either alpha-numeric displays below each pick location or touch-screen display screens, an operator is guided through a shelving, pallet rack, carton, flow or carousel system for the desired operation. The operation that the operator is guided through could be restocking, cycle counting, or order selecting. Regardless of the operation, by displaying the desired action and quantity with feedback to the operator, the productivity, accuracy, and accountability are improved dramatically. Operator productivity is increased 200-300% and accuracy figures reach 99.997%. By performing scan verification, we can reach 100% accuracy.

With carton flow rack, the product is automatically rotated on a first in first out basis. Merchandise is stocked in the rear of the carton flow rack and moves toward the picking station in front on an inclined shelf equipped with specially designed roller track. When a carton is removed from the picking station, the next one in line rolls to the front. Carton flow always keeps items within reach. Inventory is easier to monitor and control since products are fully visible at all times. Restocking and picking typically offer the greatest opportunity for improving efficiency within order picking operations.