Workshop Intelligent Logistics with AGV Forklifts and Roller Vehicles

Project scope

We defined an intelligent workshop logistics project for magazine/carrier-type materials. The material size is 230 x 219 x 311 mm, with a stated maximum single-unit weight of 5.81 kg. The customer system connects through an SRD standard API, and loading/unloading is planned around a single-tray roller conveyor with no side guides. That makes the scope an AGV Forklifts application for workshop material flow automation.

The project covers automatic transfer between raw-material storage, preparation areas, line-side buffer areas, finished-goods outbound points, elevators and warehouse storage. The target is to replace manual transport with unmanned vehicles and improve line-side material movement efficiency.

Business objective

The upper-level system coordinates production-line information reading, material information reading and AGV task dispatching. The design aims to automate material circulation, improve labor efficiency, reduce manual transfer and provide an intelligent workshop logistics system for production.

The operating basis is a double-shift mode. One shift is 12 hours minus 100 minutes, or 10.33 effective hours, and two shifts provide 20.66 effective hours.

Flow and carrier analysis

We used customer-provided daily transport data and converted it into hourly flow by averaging across 20 hours. This flow is used as the baseline for vehicle quantity calculation, route design and equipment selection.

The existing raw-material carrier is 1,150 x 600 x 1,160 mm, with a bottom height of 130 mm. The plan considers raw-material loading, finished-goods unloading, buffer areas and line-side transfer constraints.

Operating constraints

The project involves multiple floors, elevators, line-side buffer areas, preparation areas and warehouse storage points. The logistics flow must coordinate raw-material inbound delivery and finished-goods outbound transfer without blocking production passages.

We identified that current transport requires manual work and route coordination. We also identified docking-height differences and docking-surface inconsistencies as important transformation items.

Route and docking constraints

The first-floor AGV route includes picking locations, offline points, insertion-workshop transfer points and elevator connections. Some main passages need widening by around 30 cm. For vehicle docking, the design requires a unified docking height of around 340 mm and a unified docking surface, because existing machine interfaces include both wide-side and narrow-side docking.

Vehicle quantity and investment pressure

The plan calculates vehicle quantities for both forklift-style handling and roller-vehicle handling. For part of the raw-material and finished-goods logistics project, we estimate eight vehicles and expect four manual positions to be reduced. For roller-vehicle operation, we recommend 11 roller vehicles and four chargers for 24-hour automated operation.

Logistics handling concept

The solution uses unmanned handling forklifts to replace manual vehicle operation, a central control system to manage task calls, wireless networking for unmanned forklifts, preparation and receiving areas, and 24-hour unmanned transport recommendations.

Raw-material workflow

The raw-material flow starts from the raw-material warehouse and preparation area, moves through the warehouse buffer area and line-side preparation area, and then reaches the target production line. The system supports location binding by scanning address codes, automatic buffer allocation, unmanned vehicle task assignment and warehouse picking-area preparation.

Finished-goods workflow

The finished-goods flow includes automatic or manual palletizing, scanning start and target areas, system target-point calculation, unmanned forklift pickup, elevator transfer and warehouse storage.

Line and process mapping

We mapped multiple product specifications, production lines and movement paths. The mapping includes approximately five specifications and uses coded positions such as A1-1-1 to express start points, target points and production-line relationships.

Vehicle selection

The design includes a laser SLAM handling forklift and a laser SLAM lift vehicle.

Item	Laser SLAM handling forklift
Navigation	Laser SLAM
Use	Pallet/material handling and warehouse transport
Role	Raw-material and finished-goods transfer

Item	Laser SLAM lift vehicle
Navigation	Laser SLAM
Use	Lift-and-transfer operations
Role	Line-side or docking transfer

Docking transformation

The docking transformation section requires unified conveyor height and unified docking direction. It also describes laser radar, high-position obstacle avoidance, indicator lights, steering indicators, emergency-stop alarm reminders and other vehicle features.

Charging and vehicle functions

The project configures automatic chargers. The recommended single charger power reserve is 220 V, 1.5 kW, with a 220 V 10 A socket. The vehicle functions include Wi-Fi roaming, follow-up functions, slip detection and multi-vehicle coordination.

AGV and equipment configuration

The AGV list includes handling forklifts, lift vehicles, roller vehicles, chargers and related implementation items. The investment section states that eight vehicles can cover raw-material loading and finished-goods unloading with an expected reduction of four people, excluding intangible benefits and semi-finished-goods automated warehouse distribution.

For a fuller walkthrough of how we mapped the cross-floor routes, selected the vehicle mix and organized the dispatch logic, see our multi-floor intralogistics design article.

System architecture

The system connects ERP, MES, WMS, AGV scheduling, RCS, WCS, central dispatch and equipment execution layers. The operator console supports map zoom, inventory search, map switching, equipment management, location status, task management, call management and inventory operations.

Site and network requirements

The site requirements include clean and level floors, no damage, no hollowing, no oil or glue contamination, slope no greater than 5%, and flatness within 5 mm per 3 square meters. Wi-Fi requirements include 802.11 protocol support, channel planning and workshop wireless coverage. VPN requirements include external-network access for early server software deployment and reliable remote access for maintenance.

Expected benefits

The design is configured to automate raw-material delivery and finished-goods transfer, reduce repeated manual transport and coordinate vehicle tasks through a central system. The plan estimates four manual positions can be reduced in the raw-material and finished-goods logistics scope.

Deployment and support

The implementation plan is organized by week, beginning with contract signing, project kickoff, design, procurement, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, trial operation and acceptance.

The service plan states a 30-minute response after receiving after-sales requests. Remote support is attempted first; if remote support cannot resolve the fault, on-site service is planned within 24 hours during the warranty period.