Chinese robotics firm Geek+ has delivered four types of autonomous mobile robots to Siemens Switchgear’s Shanghai warehouse to create an end-to-end system.

The robots are powering Siemens Switchgear’s PFEP plan-for-every-part logistics model, which fully automates picking and production line distribution.

This is the second phase of the Shanghai plant’s smart manufacturing automation project. The expansion introduces more of Geek+’s goods-to-person picking and materials handling robots to the multi-robot configuration and opens up a further 3000m² of automated warehousing space. The system achieved a delivery accuracy rate of 100%, with materials accuracy of over 99.98% in the production line.

Siemens Switchgear in Shanghai first joined forces with Geek+ in 2019 and built a full-process flexible automated intelligent logistics factory using four types of robots. These are the P800R goods-to-person picking robots, MP1000R moving robots, RS2 tote-to-person robots, and X-series four-way shuttles for high-density storage. The entire manufacturing process is now automated with robots, from inbound receiving, to in-store stock management, outbound stock collection and production line delivery.

“We are very proud of this end-to-end automation success with Siemens Switchgear in Shanghai,” said Junzhe Yang, vice president at Geek+. “The company makes cutting-edge electronics technology, and Geek+ uses robotics technology to power their operations. The result is a beautiful example of how well smart intralogistics can function.”

With the growth of Siemens Switchgear’s business, demands for storage capacity, material information, distribution timeliness and accuracy have arisen. The implementation of a PFEP logistics model is a key step for Siemens to react to this. Entrusting the running of the site to smart technology and software provides the 360˚ inventory oversight that this strategy requires. Geek+ says it has created a fully automated, flexible, multi-robot system that represents a breakthrough in intelligent manufacturing.

In this second phase, Geek+ added more MP1000R moving robots equipped with laser-guided simultaneous localisation and mapping capabilities to the production line without interrupting operations. Managed by Geek+’s warehouse management system, these robots autonomously carry out on-time delivery of raw materials to where they are needed in the production line. This matching of required materials and delivery times reduces line side warehouse space requirements by half and yields a material handling accuracy rate of over 99.98%.

In realising this expansion, Geek+ engineers listened to Siemens’ experiences with the first-phase configuration. The team optimised the paths layout of the four-way shuttle storage system and the layout of the picking workstations. The outbound throughput rate has increased from 500 pallets per day to 1000 pallets per day. It also added a steel platform to create a second storage level operated by the original P800R fleet, with a cluster of P800Rs equipped with square pallet docking with low-level hoists in the materials receiving area on the ground floor.

These additions, along with more MP1000R moving robots, have been seamlessly integrated into Siemens’ fully automated facility and freed up an additional 3000m² of storage space. Founded in 2015, Geek+ has over 1500 employees, with offices in Germany, UK, USA, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.