Single-bay storage gets FAZ rolling off the presses
The daily newspaper FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG (FAZ) is printed by FRANKFURTER SOCIETÄTS-DRUCKEREI at its two sites of Mörfelden and Maisach. 800 to 1,600 tonnes of paper are required each week. When the printing plant at Maisach was also commissioned with production of the MÜNCHNER ABENDZEITUNG, the need to create capacity for the short-term storage of paper rolls became even more pressing.
Problem
Given the change in production requirements, it was firstly necessary to come up with a space-saving solution to store additional rolls of paper and secondly, to boost warehouse efficiency. Costly manual processes were set to give way to automated technology, i.e., in future, the printing machines were to be supplied with new rolls of paper automatically.
Westfalia's solution
Westfalia Storage Systems designed a single-bay storage facility for the production sites of Maisach and Mörfelden. The two warehouses are used for temporary storage of the some 140 rolls ready for printing in Maisach and approx. 200 rolls at Mörfelden.
Careful handling
2- and 5-axle storage and retrieval vehicles were chosen to achieve the required flexibility and capacity. They are designed to move both in the horizontal and vertical plane and reach into the rack aisles with their telescopic forks. Their half-shells are specially shaped so that they mould themselves to the rolls to prevent damage to the paper. When picking up the rolls of paper 45 cm to 127 cm thick, the arm can be moved through another axis to manoeuvre them into the optimum horizontal position. In addition, a sensor-controlled hydraulic mechanism compensates for any bending of the fork with loads weighing as much as 2,200 kg. As building conditions on-site prevented the aisle for the SRV from being sunk into the ground, Westfalia manufactured special rails for the facility. They provide for an approach measurement close to the ground, so allowing rolls to be picked up and set down virtually at floor level.
Storage and retrieval
Once a roll of paper has been unpacked in the so-called roll preparation ring and prepared for printing, it is passed on to an SRV and conveyed either to the buffer warehouse or directly to the relevant printing machine as required. Rolls that have not been used in full are returned to day storage until they are to be next used. An SRV can move up to 60 rolls per hour, with all storage and retrieval processes being controlled by an external computer.
