Ebook: Progress in Materials Handling and Logistics

Material handling and logistics have become especially important to industrialists because of the competitive advantage that results from using the right methods to provide the right amount of the right material at the right place, at the right time, in the right condition, in the right sequence, in the right orientation, and at the right cost. But, what are the right methods? The emergence of sophisticated control systems, coupled with advances in hardware design, has resulted in a wide variety oftechno­ logical alternatives availablefor practically any application. Yet, with the emergence of just-in-time methods and the apparent success of the firms that have relied on the use of people and" simple" rules, rather than technology, the proper role of hardware and software in material handling and logistics is open to debate. Despite all that has been accomplished to date, the design of material handling and logistics systems remains an art as well as a science. Regardless of whether it is people, conveyors, lift trucks, robots, guided vehicles, laser scanners, storage/retrieval machines, carousels, voice encoding, machine vision, automatic palletizers, or other methods that are appropriate, selecting the right methods for moving, storing, and controlling material is vital. It is important that the selection decision be made after consideration is given to the requirements for amount, material, place, time, condition, sequence, orientation, and cost.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-x
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Guided Vehicle Technology: From Automated to Autonomous....Pages 3-13
The Design and Construction of Three Autonomous Vehicles....Pages 15-24
Evaluation of Heuristic Control Strategies for AGVs under Varying Demand Arrival Patterns....Pages 25-39
Towards a Free Roving Vision Guided AGV....Pages 41-55
Front Matter....Pages 57-57
Algorithms and Architectures for Machine Vision....Pages 59-74
Increasing the Speed of Computers Using Optics....Pages 75-84
Control of High Speed Material Handling Manipulators....Pages 85-92
Experiments on the Control of a Satellite Manipulator....Pages 93-105
Front Matter....Pages 107-107
Control Design Issues for Material Handling Systems....Pages 109-119
The Automation of Material Handling System’s Control Software....Pages 121-132
The Analysis of AS/RS Performance....Pages 133-150
An empirical Evaluation of a General Purpose Automated Order Accumulation and Sortation System used in Batch Picking....Pages 151-177
Front Matter....Pages 179-179
Simulating Material Handling Systems....Pages 181-197
Networks of Queues with Blocking and Load Balancing....Pages 199-207
Manufacturing Systems Modelling: Its Role and Current Issues....Pages 209-221
Modeling Flexible Manufacturing Systems Using Product-Form Queueing Networks....Pages 223-235
Validation of Manufacturing System Models....Pages 237-245
Front Matter....Pages 247-247
Real-Time Adaptive Scheduling in Flexible Manufacturing Systems....Pages 249-255
Real-Time Optimization in the Automated Manufacturing Research Facility....Pages 257-274
Machine Configuration for Flexible Assembly Systems....Pages 275-289
Front Matter....Pages 247-247
Design and Operating Issues in Flexible Manufacturing....Pages 291-299
Front Matter....Pages 301-301
Linehaul-Backhaul: Solutions with Spacefilling Curves....Pages 303-328
Back Matter....Pages 329-348

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-x
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Guided Vehicle Technology: From Automated to Autonomous....Pages 3-13
The Design and Construction of Three Autonomous Vehicles....Pages 15-24
Evaluation of Heuristic Control Strategies for AGVs under Varying Demand Arrival Patterns....Pages 25-39
Towards a Free Roving Vision Guided AGV....Pages 41-55
Front Matter....Pages 57-57
Algorithms and Architectures for Machine Vision....Pages 59-74
Increasing the Speed of Computers Using Optics....Pages 75-84
Control of High Speed Material Handling Manipulators....Pages 85-92
Experiments on the Control of a Satellite Manipulator....Pages 93-105
Front Matter....Pages 107-107
Control Design Issues for Material Handling Systems....Pages 109-119
The Automation of Material Handling System’s Control Software....Pages 121-132
The Analysis of AS/RS Performance....Pages 133-150
An empirical Evaluation of a General Purpose Automated Order Accumulation and Sortation System used in Batch Picking....Pages 151-177
Front Matter....Pages 179-179
Simulating Material Handling Systems....Pages 181-197
Networks of Queues with Blocking and Load Balancing....Pages 199-207
Manufacturing Systems Modelling: Its Role and Current Issues....Pages 209-221
Modeling Flexible Manufacturing Systems Using Product-Form Queueing Networks....Pages 223-235
Validation of Manufacturing System Models....Pages 237-245
Front Matter....Pages 247-247
Real-Time Adaptive Scheduling in Flexible Manufacturing Systems....Pages 249-255
Real-Time Optimization in the Automated Manufacturing Research Facility....Pages 257-274
Machine Configuration for Flexible Assembly Systems....Pages 275-289
Front Matter....Pages 247-247
Design and Operating Issues in Flexible Manufacturing....Pages 291-299
Front Matter....Pages 301-301
Linehaul-Backhaul: Solutions with Spacefilling Curves....Pages 303-328
Back Matter....Pages 329-348
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