Warehouses and distribution centers looking to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and drive productivity have new automation options. OPEX Corp. is celebrating 50 years of innovation and systems for warehouse, document, and mail automation.
The Moorestown, N.J.-based company this week said it will demonstrate its latest advances in goods-to-person (G2P) technology and sorting systems at ProMAT this month.
“We look forward to demonstrating the capabilities, strengths and solutions that have made us a leader in automation for 50 years,” stated Alex Stevens, president of warehouse automation at OPEX. “Our experts will be onsite for consultations and continuous demonstrations of some of our most popular and effective solutions.”
OPEX has been owned and led by the Stevens family for multiple generations. It has nearly 1,600 employees at facilities in Pennsauken, N.J., and Plano, Texas., as well as in France, Germany, Switzerland, the U.K., and Australia.
Infinity ASRS offers capacity, efficiency
OPEX plans to show its Infinity automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), introduced last year at MODEX, at Booth S631 in Chicago. The company claimed that its ASRS “combines unparalleled storage density, configurability and flexibility, and increases productivity, throughput and labor utilization.”
Infinity’s wireless iBOT robotic vehicles can carry up to 90-lb. (40.8 kg) payloads and have access to all inventory and port stations, moving underneath and throughout the system. Unlike other ASRS, Infinity offers up to 35% more storage capacity with iBOT paths that are up to 65% more efficient, asserted OPEX.
The Infinity system uses an interlocking system to store totes triple-deep, and its configurable rack is designed to optimize warehouse space despite any obstructions that may exist, such as columns or other equipment.
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Sure Sort X can add Xtract for fast retrieval
OPEX also plans to exhibit its Sure Sort X with Xtract, a high-speed automated sortation and order-retrieval product. It said the integrated system can “automate multiple manual tasks―sorting, retrieving, and packaging orders―with a simple one-touch solution.”
Sure Sort X has a compact footprint, high performance rates, is cost-effective, and can adapt to meet specific needs, the company said. It can handle nearly 100% of customer-sortable items up to 20 lb. (9 kg). It can also sort items into a configurable array of mixed bin sizes and types while maintaining a throughput of up to 2,100 items per hour, boasted OPEX.
OPEX Xtract can be added to any Sure Sort X system by introducing retrieval iBOTs to work with the traditional sortation iBOTs found in Sure Sort X. Xtract iBOTs move in a loop that has both horizontal and vertical segments within the Sure Sort X aisle, and it can handle up to 200 extracted totes per hour. This is outfitted with Xtract totes and designed to transport items from the sort location to any available roller, v-chute, and transfer (RVT) module.
Once all products for a relevant order have been deposited into the Xtract totes, each tote is retrieved and transported to the RVT module, where the tote door opens and releases the items into the final shipping box or order container. Xtract can handle complete orders up to 30 lb. (13.6kg), addressing multiple order-fulfillment possibilities that span various e-commerce and market vertical needs, according to the company.
OPEX to debut Xtract Tote I/O
New at ProMat this year, OPEX will feature its Xtract Tote I/O module. With the new module, completed orders are extracted from the system, and the tote is then brought to the output module, where it leaves the system and travels downstream in the warehouse. Empty totes are routed back into the system through the input module.
The company will also discuss its Perfect Pick ASRS, a fully configurable dense system that maximizes previously unused vertical warehouse space to offer more storage for inventory. Like the Infinity ASRS, Perfect Pick uses OPEX iBOTs to find, retrieve, and deliver totes to a pick station.
OPEX said Perfect Pick can increase throughput, reliability, and effectiveness, and it plans to exhibit a stationary pick station.
In addition to OPEX’s presence on the trade show floor, John Sauer, senior director of global business development for warehouse automation, will present a session titled “The Future of Warehousing: Human-Robot Collaboration for Enhanced Productivity,” at 12:45 p.m. CT on March 19 at Theater AI in McCormick Place.
