Tugger train

A dynamic milk run only stops at stations where goods actually need to be collected or delivered. The software from Bosch Connected Industry plans transport requirements in real time and continuously checks which new orders can sensibly be added to the current route. Sub-routes without a delivery order are dropped. A tablet shows the driver the stations, load and destination, which improves the utilisation of the tugger trains.

Automated tugger trains handle transport between the logistics supermarket and the line, managed by a central control system. Since 2021, almost 100 underride robots and 40 automated tugger trains have been supplying the production lines at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles in Hanover with bulk material, vehicle parts and body parts. All of them communicate via VDA 5050 with the SYNAOS platform, which reliably controls more than 135 devices and ensures a constant daily supply of material.

They deliver sequenced material to the right line at the right moment. At Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, material arrives from the truck ramps in large load carriers and goes first to internal supermarkets. There, an employee places the just-in-sequence containers on a transfer point, after which the SYNAOS control system takes over and brings the material to the line automatically. Because the lines are interlinked, any late sequence immediately affects the whole system.

The tugger train collects goods from the supermarket and only stops at stations where there is current demand. In the Nexeed Industrial Application System from Bosch Connected Industry, every vehicle is stored with its load capacity and scheduled route. Together with the current loading status, position and load factor, the software selects the right milk run for new transport orders. Paper-based manual processes disappear, and the material flow becomes transparent.