Automated Vertical Warehouse System

Project Title

Automated Vertical Warehouse System

Project Area of Specialization Mechatronics EngineeringProject Summary

According to the report of the World Bank, digital e-commerce is contributing 15.5% of the global economy. The platforms like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba are the major contributor to it. As per the report of the State Bank of Pakistan, the e-commerce industry in Pakistan has reached new highs of $40.1 billion in 2018 from $20.7 billion in 2017; i.e., an increase of almost 93.7%, contributing almost 60% of the total GDP. Recently, the startup’s Airlift, Bazaar, Tajir, QisstPay received funding worth millions of dollars which are highlighting its potential in Pakistani markets. As per the e-commerce giants, the major issue, which these platforms face, is inventory storage and management. The proposed project is the solution to the above problem statement by providing an intelligent vertical warehousing system that could store or retrieve parcels autonomously. This will help the new startup to optimize space and store the maximum number of parcels vertically without the hassle of noting and retrieving it manually. The system aims to increase the productivity of the local e-commerce industry for the betterment and prosperity of our nation.

Project Objectives

The research objective of our project is Design and develop an Automated Vertical Warehouse System. Design and develop a rolling mechanism with a gear chain for storing parcels in racks through an elevator. Design and develop a sliding mechanism for retrieval parcels in elevators through racks. Integrated racks and elevators are each other and integrating sensors and motors. To implement IOT-based logic for controlling warehouses by using a mobile app. Also, there are many Commercial Objectives of our project, like Warehouse Space Utilization: In Automated Vertical Warehouse Systems, the main benefit is space utilization. They do not need any additional space between two racks because the elevator is attached between the two rows of racks. Product storage capacity has increased by 70% more than the old warehouse. Equipment utilization: In an automated vertical warehouse system, they do not need to use external equipment like lifters, etc., compared to an old warehouse. Labor utilization:  is lower due to the automated vertical warehouse systems. They need less labor than the old warehouses because of the high cost of labor salaries. Accessibility of all products: Automated Vertical Warehouse Systems make it simple to access products in racks, floors, or shelves to the controls system via a mobile app. Protection of all products: In automated vertical warehouse systems, all the storage and retrieval are done by an automatic system. It reduces the product damage ratio as compared to an old warehouse system.

Project Implementation Method

The automated vertical storage system consists of two vertical storage trays in between trays moving up and down for storing and delivering the materials. Three trays of each side can withstand up to 1 kg of materials, so six racks are used in a single storage system. A pick and drop space will locate at one desired location in the system. For each user request, the tray will come, and after usage of the materials used, it can be sent to the same place; this is applicable for all six racks.

Motors are used to move the elevators in the vertical direction. They are working as actuators in the system and provide a linear degree of freedom, which enhances the system's flexibility. The aluminum alloy internal frame structure supports all the parts of the AVSS system. The control system facilitates the automation of the material handling system. It uses a computer to integrate fully-featured inventory management software that can easily manage space and utilization.

Benefits of the Project

An automated vertical warehousing system is designed to optimize the picking and placing of things. However, it has many other benefits also. Integrating the automated vertical warehousing system makes it possible to utilize and maximize inventory via First in First Out intelligently, Last In First Out, lot numbers, expiration dates, order cut-off times, packaging requirements, and many organization industry-specific requirements.

This system can potentially replace these conveyors buffering systems, allowing an operation to store buffer product and retrieve it as necessary efficiently. This buffer management can be implemented in multiple areas of an operation's workflow, depending on the specifics of the process, whether that is staging product/raw material as it is delivered or storing inventory exactly where it will be needed along the production line holding multiple portions of an order picked in different zones and then consolidating them for final packing and shipping.

The influence of e-commerce and omnichannel delivery on the order fulfillment process cannot be emphasized. Customers may now shop and place orders around the clock, and they want their items to be delivered quickly and on schedule. Even though a company accepts and processes orders 24 hours a day, there are typically limits to shipping windows, such as work schedules or excessive night and weekend delivery prices.

To compensate for these limits, an operation can select and process orders constantly and utilize an automated warehousing system to store them in buffer storage until the shipping window opens. This saves time and allows a business to generate continually even when orders cannot physically leave the plant.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Our FYP's purpose is to build a system that automates warehouses. We are working on designing and developing an application utilizing blynk IoT to control our automated racks and elevator. We have two racks, each with three stories; each floor measures 2"(L) x 1"(W) x 0.1"(H) ft and the rack's overall height is 4 ft. We use a tilled mechanism for retrieving by cutting a central portion of the racks and attaching that part with a hinge to the rack body, and beneath that part, we connect a shaft that we spin using a motor; we do this on all six sections of the racks. A 12-volt DC gear motor and IR sensor are employed in each rack. The elevator's location is detected using an IR sensor.

The Warehouse Management System comprises three separate subsystems: To get the status of the equipment, the first subsystem uses the Blynk IoT App module. The second subsystem is NodeMCU which will connect the application to the central microprocessor via Wi-Fi; The third subsystem comprises a master microcontroller, Arduino Mega 2560, which serves as the main coordinator and communicates with the other subsystems through Wi-Fi.

We create an elevator that runs between the racks for storage and retrieval. It is intended to place the product on both shelves; to do this, we hooked the roller to the bottom of the elevator, and when it reached its target location, the rollers began moving it and placed it on the user's preferred rack.

Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry ManufacturingOther IndustriesCore Technology Internet of Things (IoT)Other TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Responsible Consumption and ProductionRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	48630
Racks	Equipment	2	2750	5500
Shafts	Equipment	6	100	600
Bearings	Equipment	12	20	240
Bolts and Nuts	Equipment	16	20	320
Wood Pieces	Equipment	4	300	1200
L Shape Brackets	Equipment	4	650	2600
Motors	Equipment	6	350	2100
Sensors	Equipment	12	120	1440
Connectors	Equipment	6	200	1200
Connecting Wires	Equipment	3	150	450
Arduino Mega	Equipment	1	2500	2500
Soldering	Miscellaneous	1	2800	2800
Grinding	Miscellaneous	1	600	600
Hinges	Equipment	12	10	120
Motor Driver	Equipment	3	250	750
Frame	Equipment	1	12000	12000
Sliders	Equipment	4	700	2800
Dropping Mechanism	Equipment	1	7500	7500
Motors, Driver for Elevator	Equipment	1	3250	3250
Laser Distance Sensor	Equipment	2	330	660