Roll handling
Straight from storage to line-side
A typical plant handling battery electrode rolls, film or tire materials uses AMRs with a roller top module to carry rolls from storage and dock directly with line-side conveyors. Rolls transfer between robot and conveyor with no manual loading.
Typical results
- Manual loading
- 0
- Docking accuracy
- ±10 mm
- To go-live
- 10 wks
Figures are typical values from comparable projects. Your site assessment gives the exact numbers.
The challenge
- Rolls are heavy and their surfaces and edges are easily damaged, so every manual lift or transfer is a quality and safety risk.
- Loading a roll onto a line-side conveyor by hand or with a manual truck takes time and two people's attention at the moment the line is waiting.
- Late roll deliveries stop the line, while early deliveries crowd the line-side area.
- Moves between storage and the line are rarely recorded, which makes it hard to trace which roll went to which machine.
The solution
- AMRs with a powered roller top pick up rolls at storage outfeed points and carry them to the line.
- At the line, the robot aligns with the conveyor and exchanges PLC signals with it. The rollers only run once the conveyor confirms it is ready to receive.
- Line-side calls come from the MES or WMS, or from PLC signals when a station needs a new roll, so delivery follows actual consumption.
- The same robots take empty carriers back to storage, so return trips are not empty.
- The dispatch system manages traffic, charging and priorities, and shows every robot and roll move on a live map with alarms.
How the rollout ran
Conveyor docking is the critical interface, so the project defined it early: transfer heights, the signal handshake with each conveyor's PLC, and what happens if either side is not ready. During the site survey, engineers checked floor condition at each docking point, since even small slopes or uneven joints affect alignment.
The pilot connected one storage area to one line. Docking was tested repeatedly under real loads before the remaining lines were added. Maintenance staff were trained on the roller module and on recovering a robot after an interrupted transfer.
What made it work
In comparable projects, the success factors were mostly about the interface, not the robot:
- Agreeing the conveyor handshake with the line's controls team before installation started.
- Standardizing roll carriers so every robot and conveyor handles the same interface.
- Triggering deliveries from line demand rather than a fixed schedule.
Related cases
- Process transferAutomated flow between processesA typical PCB or electronics plant replaces manual cart pushing between processes with lifting AMRs that take their tasks straight from the MES. The result is steadier WIP flow, fewer people tied up in handling and round-the-clock operation.View case
- Finished goods in/outFinished pallets in and out of storageA typical tire plant or warehouse uses autonomous forklifts, driven by tasks from the WMS, to move finished pallets from the end of the line into storage and out to shipping. Half the manual forklift fleet is freed up while the operation runs three shifts non-stop.View case
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