IBM
ASRS Upgrade Case Study
IBM Automated Storage
and Retreival ( ASRS ) upgrade. The upgrade was for an Eaton-Kenway
Stacker with
New Retractor
and On-Board Controls, provided by Retrotech, an automated
material handling, turnkey system provider..
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Upgrade 21 - aisle Eaton Kenway Mini-load
 This
AS/RS system retrofit (modernization) project involved the
upgrade of the 21- aisle Eaton Kenway
mini-load storage
area. IBM’s ASR upgrade goal for the retrofit was
to modernize and improve the functionality and inventory
control
of its mini-load operation. The operation of their existing
Automated Storage Retreival System had deteriorated due
to obsolecence and limited product support.
Retrotech’s
solution provided a plan to continue operation without
disruption
during the stacker asrs retrofit
process.
Retrotech designed new retractors specifically for the
IBM asrs upgrade application.
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The RETROTECH AS/RS Advantage
RETROTECH employed state-of-the-art,
non-proprietary designs in its upgrade to permit IBM
complete self-sufficiency in its operation. By performing
the upgrade “live,” customer inconven-ience
and downtime was kept to a minimum.
- The new retractor design
gives IBM their desired reliability by eliminating the undependable
planetary gear type transmissions of the original table.
- The
new horizontal and vertical positioning and drive systems
optimize stacker movement, sig-nificantly
increasing performance and reliability.
- On-board controls
give maintenance personnel the much needed maintenance
and error trou-bleshooting
capability.
- To allow picking during the retrofit, RETROTECH
developed an Emergency Parts Picker that
was moved from aisle to aisle as needed.
- IBM now has the
flexibility to meet its changing demands and accommodate
future business
growth. Choosing the AS/RS Modernization approach allowed
IBM to increase reliability, flexibility,
and productivity of its mini-load operation in the
most cost-effective manner.
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