News from the world of storage and retrieval machines
Lenze is supporting the young company Vectron with its know-how and the right technology in its plan to revolutionize the world of storage and retrieval machines.
30 Jan 2025Share
The Austrian start-up Vectron has set out to take the world of storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) to a new level. Thanks to an innovative aluminum construction, moving masses can be reduced – guaranteeing efficient use of energy. The specialists at Lenze are providing the drive technology: the well-coordinated portfolio of motors, gearboxes, frequency inverters, control and drive elements meets Vectron's ambitions in all areas. And in combination with Lenze's FAST technology modules, a complete intralogistics industry solution is created – as you would expect from a system supplier.
Fully bolted aluminum construction
“Our approach was to transfer the advantages of storage and retrieval machines for containers to those for pallets,” says Thomas Wakolbinger, managing director and one of the four founders of Vectron Logistics GmbH in Vorchdorf (Upper Austria). ”Regardless of whether it is a storage and retrieval machine with a height of two meters or one with a height of 30 meters, the modular mechanical basic concept is always the same.” A characteristic feature of Vectron devices is the bolted aluminum construction throughout. “The design with plastic wheels running on aluminum profiles and a toothed belt drive was previously only available on the market for smaller container devices,” explains Wakolbinger, “but it offers many advantages, such as very smooth running, high speed and low noise.” Until now, large storage and retrieval machines for pallets typically had steel wheels running on welded train tracks, with steel cables providing the lifting motion – combined with a level of noise that makes it essential to operate the storage and retrieval machine in a separate, sealed-off room.
Reducing engineering costs
“If you want to be successful in the global market, we believe it is essential to apply your strengths to industry solutions. And intralogistics is one of many sectors that Lenze has been focusing on for a long time,” says Manfred Spandl, Head of Intralogistics Austria at Lenze. The requirements for storage and retrieval machines are particularly demanding. ‘On the one hand, a compact design is necessary, combined with high power density and overload capacity,’ says Spandl, ”and on the other hand, operation presents a challenge for the drive technology: Continuously high acceleration peaks, but hardly any constant travel, are the norm. “For these reasons, as a young, small company, we needed a partner who is at home in our industry and understands the requirements,” says Thomas Wakolbinger. “We couldn't afford any problems here and therefore didn't want to experiment. And that applies to the actual drive as well as to the controller and software.” One advantage is that Lenze can provide all the software functions that are important for storage and retrieval machines, which are already complete and tested, thus relieving the design engineers of a great deal of engineering work. “Put simply, we only have to tell the programmable logic controller (PLC) the speed at which the storage and retrieval machine should move to which coordinates. We don't need to worry about the rest – acceleration and coordination of the axes so that both the lifting and the driving axes reach the target at the same time.”
Safety functions included
To make this work so easily, Lenze has integrated a whole range of FAST technology modules into its intralogistics industry solution. Thanks to these prepared and tested software modules, engineering time can be significantly reduced. This is associated with a high degree of standardization and significantly increases system performance. More than 80 percent of all functions of the storage and retrieval unit can be covered, and thanks to Lenze's FAST modules, customers can save a lot of time, resources and thus money. As a special added value, Lenze also offers the necessary safety functions as a plug-and-play solution in accordance with the standards and regulations for storage and retrieval machines. “For example, a regular brake test is mandatory here,” says Thomas Wakolbinger, giving an example. ‘If I had to program this function myself, it would be a huge effort. Now I just have to define the time and the Lenze controller takes over the execution of the test completely independently.’ Lenze's FAST technology modules save development effort and, thanks to their alignment with the Lenze portfolio, form a modular, coherent overall concept.
Maximum energy efficiency
The well-rounded overall concept was also the main reason for Vectron to choose Lenze. “Lenze offers its technology in a customized form and precisely tailored to our application needs – regardless of the size of storage and retrieval machine that our customer requires,” reports the logistics expert. Vectron thus benefits from Lenze's extensive portfolio of motors, gearboxes, frequency inverters and drive elements. High performance combined with economical use of energy is the developers' watchword. “The way in which a storage and retrieval machine is operated places corresponding demands on acceleration with high peak performance. At the same time, energy is generated during braking processes, which we recover and feed back into the grid,” says Manfred Spandl. This is a welcome effect that Vectron is happy to use, further boosting energy efficiency. These and many other features have earned Lenze the reputation of being the experts for solving demanding drive technology applications. “Because even when things get complex and complicated, we have the right solution for our customers,” says Spandl, getting to the heart of the matter. In addition, Lenze provides optimal support in product selection. Wakolbinger says, “The close exchange with the experts from Lenze is a support that we wouldn't want to do without, and the same goes for the support during commissioning and the long-term guaranteed spare parts supply.”
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