Solving: Automated Guided Fork Trucks
October 24th 2006 Established for more than 20 years, Solving has been providing material handling solutions to a variety of industrial products, from palletised loads weighing a few thousand kilograms to railway locomotives, transformers and nuclear flasks weighing hundreds of tonnes. Many of these solutions have been based on ‘air bearing’ technology, which enables very heavy loads to be moved with little effort on a thin film of compressed air. This allows flowline production principles, normally associated with consumer goods and car factories, to be applied to heavy industry. Large diesel engines, for example, can be transported through various stages of production using Solving air bearing ‘Movers’, replacing the inefficient static build culture of decades past. Automated products have however become a key feature of Solving’s recent expansion, requiring considerable enlargement of their main design and manufacturing facility in Finland. The focus of this activity has, in recent years, been Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Fork Trucks and these sophisticated products now form a large proportion of Solving’s activities. Using laser, wire or optical technology, specially-design Solving AGVs Movers have been developed to satisfy a wide range of customer requirements. Most of these applications involve loads of up to 15 tonnes and incorporate DC-powered drives. Palletised loads and reels of paper or steel, for example, are regularly moved on Solving AGVs, and programmable controls integrated with production planning enable these systems to run 24 hours a day with little attention. Any number of AGVs can be used on a single system, and future expansion can be accommodated by adding further units. Regular and repetitive handling using fork and pallet trucks can be automated with reliability and safety, leaving the existing fleet to perform the more specialist activities requiring the skills of trained drivers. Solving’s enviable reputation for developing the right solution, working as a team with the customer, is now well established. Large companies world-wide are adopting Solving as their partner in industrial material handling, and Solving’s engineers are available now to apply air bearing or wheeled solutions, using manual or AGV technology, to your loadmoving requirements. Services offered Solving designs and installs AGV, wheeled and air bearingbased equipment for moving a variety of industrial loads in factories. Using the latest in air-film and AGV technology, Solving's range of 'Movers' is designed to move loads from 2 to 200 tonnes or more, either by operator control or using computerised automation. Solving can also supply spares for most makes of air bearing equipment, and offer service contracts if required. More articles from Solving Limited: | 
