The new aluminium rolling plant of Zhongwang in Yingkou is a system of unparalleled opportunities. In 2015 and 2016, Vollert already equipped two mega rolling plants of the group with fully automated material flow systems. A third now follows. The factory for rolled products becomes one of the largest in the world, at an annual output of 1.3 million tons. The sizes are accordingly: 11 automatic cranes with crane track lengths of up to 800 m, 6 shuttle and tunnelling vehicles, 12 driving and lifting carts and four sword lifting cart pairs (CTC) ensure movement. The entire material flow technology, including the control, comes from Vollert. Up to ten cold rollers are planned for the factory in the final development. A flat-storage was chosen deliberately, instead of high-bay warehouse, for storage of the coils. Fast cranes with travelling speeds up to 4 m/s - for loads up to 33 t - and flat storages linked in parallel permit short cycles and high cycle rates nevertheless. All processes take place fully automated - from storage of the ingots and supply of the pusher furnace to supply and removal of the warm rolls with subsequent coil flat storage, transport to the cold rolls by tunnel shuttle, the subsequent cleaning line, up to packaging.
"That we are building factory 3 now is a great show of our customer's trust," reports Oliver Wolschinski, Vice President at Vollert. "Zhongwang Group know what they are getting from us. The technology and the intralogistics concept have proven their worth in the two predecessor projects from the last three years."
Specialist for crane systems
For the LogiMAT, Vollert uses specific examples to point out the options of special crane systems in different applications. The intralogistics specialist installed several hundred cranes and manipulators and has a broad know-how - no matter if it is about the transport of coils, long goods, sheet panels, wide bundles, paper rolls, automotive parts or construction materials. The cranes lift, turn and stack fully or partially automated loads of up to 100 tonnes quickly, and without damage, and thus link all work stations within production. "Due to the large number of our product, we are able to present bridge, portal or half-portal systems, stacker cranes and fully automatic multiple-axis crane systems with spans of up to 50 m;" explains Andreas Pyzalski, Senior Sales Manager at Vollert. The experts customise the designs and load handling equipment to the available space and the transported goods, and move aluminium coils with temperatures up to 500 °C, as well as oversized steel structures, even under difficult ambient conditions. This includes, for example, ex-protection areas in painting plants. Vollert also offers the entire automation of the crane systems.
LogiMAT, hall 5/booth 5C73, 19-21 February 2019, Stuttgart.
