Top Mover (TM153)
Nord Modules, founded by Bruno Hansen, a co-founder of Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), has announced its entry into the U.S. market with a new series of flexible material-moving modules that efficiently connect production lines and internal logistics using autonomous mobile robots (AMR).
"The safe, ready-to-use and industrial-quality modules enhance automated heavy-payload transportation between production lines and storage systems and increase the flexibility of production lines by enabling companies to easily use the same AMR for multiple tasks," said a company spokesperson. Staff is freed from this load-and-lift activity to higher-value activities, saving time and money while reducing the risk of injuries and the subsequent workman compensation claims.
"As companies recognize the advantages of mobile robots-automating monotonous, repetitive and injury-prone manual material transportation-they look for new ways to optimize applications to reduce costs and increase productivity," said Hansen. "With our high-quality gates and top modules, they can easily create fully automated systems, with material flowing effortlessly from production lines to the AMR to the warehouse. And standard, off-the-shelf modules make it easy to update lines and flexibly redeploy these mobile platforms for even greater use and faster ROI."
Product Portfolio and New Product Launch
The Nord Modules product line includes the Top Mover that mounts on MiR100 and MiR200 robots to deliver material to and from Nord Modules' gates installed at production lines, storage systems or conveyors. Integrated software and an intelligent touchscreen enable users to adapt the complete system for specialized work processes, forming an efficient automation of internal transportation tasks. Nord Modules offers three types of gate modules, each with different key benefits:
- Solid Gate (SG): Basic standard module that can receive or hold items and can serve as a flexible pick-up point for autonomous mobile robots.
- Wheel Gate (WG): Integrated stop function and manually controlled wheels enable the mobile robot to push items to a pick-up point or further into production.
- Roll Gate (RG): Integrated motor creates a fully automated gate with rolls that can receive and deliver objects from a 90° angle.
All modules offered by Nord Modules are available in either the Flex or new Basic series. The Nord Modules 5-finger Flex series offers maximum flexibility, allowing customers to handle many different load sizes within their production or logistics environment. The 3-finger Basic series is designed to deliver a cost-effective option for consistently bigger load sizes.
"With multiple industries embracing the increased automation of AMRs, manufacturers are beginning to demand the additional functionality from value-added providers like Nord Modules that build top modules for our MiR fleet to enable multiple applications within a single facility," said Ed Mullen, VP of Sales, Americas, MiR. "These flexible customizations are key differentiators for MiR and its integrators. We welcome Nord Modules into our partner ecosystem and look forward to how more of our customers will be able to implement our AMRs straight out of the box, speeding the overall integration process for plant needs."
U.S. distributor Hermitage Automation is the first distributor Nord Modules has signed to take its modules into the U.S. market. According to Hansen, the company expects to grow its distribution network extensively in the near future.
"Increasing awareness for our value-added product portfolio and building a strong global distribution network are our current priorities," said Hansen. "As a result, we signed with Hermitage and hired COO Kenneth Henriksen, an established name in the robotics industry. Kenneth brings an extensive engineering background and experience in technical sales and sales management, most recently with robotics companies like Purple Robotics and OnRobot."
For more information contact:
Nord Modules
sales@nord-modules.com
www.nord-modules.com
Hermitage Automation & Controls
10080 Patterson Park Road
Ashland, VA 23005
sales@hermitageautomation.com
800-969-3030
www.hermitageautomation.com