SK Nexilis, a South Korean company, continues to expand and build factories, this time in Malaysian Borneo.

It has built (so far) two factories, each one containing one AGV system serving two twin production areas (like former Factory 5 + 6).

The product consists of copper foil coils weighing up to 5 tons.

Each one of these factories is divided in four production areas which exchange coils via a central warehouse, with both automatic and manual overhead cranes.

Each factory is served by four AGVs capable of carrying reels weighing up to 5 tons.

The laser guidance system provides sufficient positioning precision to interface the load exchange with an overhead crane from the Italian company Bonfanti.

Missions and data exchange with the MES are performed via MS-SQL Server tables.

Communication with the Bonfanti PLC is performed via UDP protocol.

There are a series of DI/DO signals in the field, which are managed via Modbus to open and close doors and to manage safety and presence signals.

The commissioning process lasted three weeks (each factory) in two different time of the year; there were no problems or unexpected situations, apart from the intense heat and the fact that the building construction site was still underway.

The most challenging part of this system is the presence of a corridor on a bridge connecting the two factories, where the AGVs can navigate from one production area to the other.

This significantly complicated the management of intersections to prevent AGVs from blocking one another, given that the layout provides little space for AGV guidance.

Due to experience gained from previous, very similar SK Nexilis plants, the logic for managing intersections and sorting AGV traffic has been significantly improved.

Another challenge was the logical management of missions, as various scenarios are planned, and depending on the scenarios and the AGV operating situation, the mission must be assigned to one AGV or another.

During the time, number of scenarios have been increased.

Each AGV system is handled by one computer, so that there is on AGV system manager each factory.

AGV navigation type: Laser.

AGV system controller: Windows PC with cold backup, where MS-SQL server is installed.

Charging concept: charging stations with contacts on the side of the AGV, when batteries are low, the vehicle is sent there to stay and charge, as well the AGV goes on charger when there are no transports to execute.

This AGV system is working over three shifts.

Number of AGVs: 8 (4 each factory)

AGV manufacturer: AGVE

Function: AGV navigation software and AGV system manager development.

Year: 2023