The Fulda-based company FFT is known as a system provider for automated and flexible production systems. As a turnkey partner, the company implements turnkey production systems for customers in the automotive and aviation industries. In addition to body-in-white systems, FFT also implements automated maintenance concepts and production cells in the area of final assembly. As part of its turnkey approach, FFT offers its customers complete solutions comprising production systems and associated conveyor technology. They are precisely coordinated as a functional overall system.

New AGV available in three variants

To expand its range of services and meet customer requirements for flexible automation solutions for the logistical linking of their production facilities, the general contractor has developed the FFTigv automated guided vehicle system (AGV). "Our customers expect a production environment perfectly tailored to their requirements from a single source. That's why we decided to produce our own AGV," says Christian Schuster, Account Manager at FFT. The driverless transport system is available in three versions. The FFTigv One S is the versatile basic model with bidirectional drive and a load capacity of up to 1.5 tons. In the FFTigv Eelevate version, a lift table is integrated into the vehicle, which can lift one tonne of load up to a height of 1.56 meters. The FFTigv Agility model can navigate omnidirectionally and is also equipped with an integrated lifting unit. "The big advantage of our AGV is that it can be controlled via the PLC as an integral part of the overall system. This simplifies the system architecture and avoids a customer having to deal with two different systems," explains Jan Kreuzer, Electrical Project Manager.

High charging power for large loads

The FFTigv is equipped with inductive charging technology from Wiferion as standard. "Due to the tight cycle times in the body shop and the highly staggered cycles, it was clear to us from the outset that we would rely on wireless charging for the power supply," explains Jan Kreuzer. "As the Eta-Link system is the standard here and several thousand systems are already successfully in use, Wiferion was the only option for us." The challenge was that the robots had to be loaded with high currents in a short space of time due to the heavy goods being transported. Wiferion therefore developed an energy system consisting of high-performance batteries and a charger that was tailored to these requirements. The FFTigv is equipped with two Eta-Link 3000 fast-charging systems which, when connected in parallel, provide a charging capacity of 6 kilowatts and supply the batteries with energy at a charging rate of 2 C.

Process-integrated charging

FFT stands for flexible manufacturing technology, and the flexibility of the Eta-Link fast-charging system is crucial to this. The charging points can be placed at almost any frequently frequented location in the warehouse. When a robot drives up to a charging point, the energy transfer starts automatically and transfers the power at full capacity after just one second. "We charge our AGVs in the process. In this way, we avoid charging breaks and unproductive travel times to stationary charging stations and ensure that the vehicles are available around the clock," says Nils Kramm, Project Manager Mechanics.

Another criterion for FFT was the robustness of the system. Above all, the production systems are reliable. Maintenance-intensive technologies are therefore not an option for the company. Eta-Link, on the other hand, is an encapsulated system that does not require any mechanical components and is 100 percent maintenance-free. Worldwide, 130 charging systems are already in use in AGVs from FFT. The system supplier is currently building a new production facility with a double-digit number of robots for the BMW Group at its Leipzig plant.