The Fabricator: “Manufacturing’s massive side of material handling Michigan-based Conceptual Innovations engineers ways to move heavy plate and large structures”
An article in the Fabricator shares:
Imagine a highly automated precision sheet metal factory, with laser-cut material moved not with fork trucks but with a highly choreographed army of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) or automated guided vehicles. The sheet metal sector has eye-opening potential for some truly autonomous material handling.
But what about heavy plates or structures fabricated to a massive scale? Working on and moving them can be extraordinarily arduous, introduce a host of hazards, and constrain operational flow in a serious way. The pain might not always be obvious. Work center cycle times in heavy, large-scale manufacturing and fabrication shops can last days or weeks, not minutes or hours. Nevertheless, the efficiency drain and safety hazards are very real.
Elmer Lee, PhD, knows this all too well. The engineer at Albion, Mich.-based Conceptual Innovations—who, as head of exploration, has what may be the industry’s best job title—leads a small team that tackles some big material handling challenges, literally and metaphorically. Well-known aerospace, defense, and (very) heavy equipment OEMs have turned to them to help move loads measured in the thousands of pounds, even tons.
A subsidiary of Caster Concepts, Conceptual Innovations likely would never have grown into what it is today if it weren’t for several key events. Available manufacturing capacity—which includes laser cutting, bending, and welding—gave the organization a runway to launch highly engineered-to-order products. Perhaps most importantly, the organization gives people capacity to think.
Continue reading: https://www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/materialshandling/manufacturings-massive-side-of-material-handling
