The demand for high speed case and tote level material handling continues to grow as companies strive to fulfill customer demands for case and “each” deliveries direct to retailers and customers. To meet this demand, the supply chain must become more efficient and more responsive, capable of fulfilling smaller order sizes at increased frequency. Traditional solutions such as conveyor accumulation are limited in terms of SKU diversity and storage density.
The HK75/x is a innovative family of Storage/Retrieval Machines from HK Systems that offers dense case and/or tote storage with exceptionally high throughput and flexibility. With configurations that can handle from one to four cases or totes at a time, and optional independent hoist carriages, the HK75/x family can achieve exceptional case and tote throughput rates.
Operation
Unique Scalable Drive Design
The HK75/x platform incorporates a scalable horizontal drive design that can provide performance directly matched to the requirements of the application. For top end performance three drive motors are employed with one of them located at the top of the structure. The top drive not only provides additional performance but minimizes any oscillations inherent in a tall structure.
Flexible Load Handling
A wide selection of load handling devices is available to handle multiple package sizes and shapes and handling requirements.
Smart Inventory Management
Inventory is stored on standard, inexpensive shelving of varying depth. Additionally, the HK75/x machine, directed by the HK/EMS software system dynamically configures load storage within the rack structure to optimize density with varying load dimensions. The result is a minimum of wasted space between stored material, regardless of variance in dimensions.
Applications
The HK75/x Storage & Retrieval System is an ideal solution for applications that require dense storage and high throughput for a diverse set of SKU’s or tote collections. This may include:
Fully Automated Mixed Case Order Fulfillment
In-rack kitting or sequencing of material
Work In Process (WIP) Inventory Buffering
Wave & Batch Sequencing
Dynamic replenishment of pick faces for light or voice order selection
Optimum filing of caseflow rack for mixed pallet building
JIT delivery of inventory in a goods-to-person kitting or picking system
Buffering or pre-staging of slow moving case inventory