RetroFit of drive and control technology

Increasing plant performance with TELOGS

Continental is one of the most important suppliers to the automotive industry. Part of the worldwide distribution is handled by the subsidiary Continental Trading GmbH at the Babenhausen site. In order to continue to ensure optimized and on-time delivery of products, Continental Trading commissioned TELOGS GmbH to develop a concept for the control technology modernization of the automatic small parts warehouse (AKL) and the upstream conveyor technology. During ongoing 2-shift operation, the maintenance and retrofit expert upgraded the entire drive and control technology to SPSS7 and expanded the safety concept as well as the user comfort of the plant. In addition, a computer-based material flow computer (MFR) was installed.

“All measures are aimed at ensuring trouble-free operation in the long term”

Almost everyone who drives a car has already received spare parts in the workshop at some point. The probability is high that these components
originate from the Global Logistics Center of Continental Trading GmbH in Babenhausen. Because Continental is not just a manufacturer of car tires,
but is also considered one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. Every day, several tens of thousands of parts from the product range are shipped from the Global Logistics Center to customers all over the world. The logistics center consists of a high-bay warehouse and a three-aisle automated small parts warehouse. Upstream of this complex is a container conveyor system with picking and storage zone.

Weekend cure for the logistics facility
All work on the plant had to be carried out during ongoing operation. As a result, TELOGS was only able to retrofit and replace from Friday evening to Monday morning at 6:00 am. This was only possible with a tight deployment plan. This provided for the successive replacement of the controls of the three AKL units. This meant that RBG that had not been upgraded had to be operated in parallel with the RBG that had already been upgraded. The planners designed the control and drive technology of the RBG according to the latest criteria of safety technology: For this purpose, TELOGS selected a safety PLC as well as a drive technology that safely switches off in case of deviations from the speed or position profile. To reduce the energy consumption of the system, the retrofit expert replaced the entire drive technology, including the motors, and integrated a variant with appropriate servo drives. In this concept, the braking energy of one axle is used to drive the other axle. “The new drive control system enables precise positioning of the AS/RS and also reduces wear on the mechanics. This allows us to significantly increase the performance of the miniload stacker cranes,” says Bernd Landgraf, Manager Global Logistics Center, describing one result of the new solution. In addition, the existing busnet for communication between the conveyor system and the SRMs was replaced by Profisave based on Profinet.

More user friendliness
To increase user-friendliness, TELOGS coupled the system with the existing warehouse management computer and integrated a new material flow computer. This fulfills several tasks at once: It replaces the communication with the warehouse management computer that was previously handled by the control system via protocol converters. It also provides visualization of the entire AS/RS and displays operating states at the data or control level. It provides the plant operator with relevant data for logistics operations via further evaluation options.

Sustainable and safe in the long term Operation
“All measures are aimed at ensuring trouble-free operation in the long term,” says Jürgen Dönges, Managing Director of TELOGS, explaining the procedure in retrospect. Thanks to the long-term availability of spare parts and a reduction in the risk of malfunctions, Continental has been able to increase the plant’s output by
of the AKL increase. Avoiding malfunctions will also significantly reduce repair costs over the next few years. “None of our customers noticed anything about the warehouse modernization. For me, this is an important seal of approval for TELOGS’ performance, in addition to the newfound reliability of the plant,” says Bernd Landgraf.

Results at a glance

• Increase in plant performance and reduction of the risk of malfunctions due to long-term availability of the installed components
• Increasing the performance of miniload stacker cranes
• Increase in user-friendliness
• Reduction of the energy consumption of the plant