New Automated Guided Vehicle Systems for Our Production

Automated guided vehicle systems are nothing new at colordruck Baiersbronn. They have been supporting our internal transport processes in production since 2008. In July, we replaced our existing vehicles with new AGILOX ONE AGVs. They offer a number of improvements and open up new possibilities for our day-to-day production operations.

A key advantage of the new AGVs is their flexible programming. Our trained employees can create and adjust routes, storage locations and positions directly in the system. This allows us to respond more quickly to new requirements and carry out transport tasks that were not possible with our previous vehicles.

Navigation has also changed significantly. While our previous AGVs required permanently installed reflectors for orientation, the new vehicles can move freely through the production environment. They automatically detect obstacles along their route and navigate around them.

Thanks to their omnidirectional driving capabilities, the vehicles can also move in any direction without the need for time-consuming turning or manoeuvring. This enables them to reach positions that our previous AGVs could not access automatically.

Charging is fully automated as well: the vehicles independently drive to their charging stations, where they are charged inductively. Manual battery replacement is no longer necessary.

To ensure a successful start, the project and core teams, as well as employees from Maintenance and IT, received training from AGILOX. In addition to operating and configuring the system, the training also covered maintenance and diagnostics.

The core team then passed on its knowledge to other employees in Production. This enables us to operate the system safely and carry out many adjustments, maintenance tasks and diagnostic procedures ourselves in the future.

With the new automated guided vehicle systems, we are further developing a solution that has proven its value in our operations for many years. The new capabilities provide greater flexibility and help us adapt our processes to changing requirements.

For us, this upgrade is another step towards efficient, future-ready production. After all, sustainable business practices also mean continuously improving existing processes and using new technologies where they create long-term added value.