Overhead Conveyance System for Individual Workpiece Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional conveyance systems for processing apparatuses in manufacturing, such as those used for device chips, face inefficiencies when multiple workpieces are housed in a cassette and must wait during processing apparatus downtime, leading to reduced processing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A conveyance system featuring a conveyance passage set above processing apparatuses, with automated vehicles and a control unit that enables workpieces to be conveyed to each processing apparatus individually, allowing for flexible and efficient operation without interference from side-mounted components like conduits or maintenance doors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If workpieces are conveyed one by one to processing apparatuses, then processing efficiency is improved, but the conveyance system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance passage is positioned above the processing apparatuses, transitioning from a conventional horizontal/constraint-based layout to a vertical overhead configuration. This dimensional change allows workpieces to be conveyed individually to multiple processing apparatuses without interfering with side-mounted components, thereby improving processing efficiency while maintaining manageable system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The overhead conveyance passage serves multiple functions: it enables individual workpiece delivery to different processing apparatuses, provides a universal transport route above all apparatuses, and avoids interference with side-mounted components. This multi-functional design improves productivity without proportionally increasing complexity
2Ease of manufacture
If conveyance passage is set above processing apparatuses, then ease of construction is improved, but interference with side-mounted components occurs
Solution Approach 1:
By positioning the conveyance passage in the vertical dimension above the processing apparatuses rather than at ground level, the system achieves easier construction with modular assembly while the overhead routing eliminates interference with side-mounted conduits and maintenance doors
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a conveyance system that conveys a workpiece to each of plural processing apparatuses. The conveyance system includes a conveyance passage, an automated workpiece conveying vehicle that travels on the conveyance passage, a stock unit, and a control unit. The conveyance passage is set in a space directly above the processing apparatus across the plural processing apparatuses. The stock unit includes a workpiece conveying part that conveys the workpiece between a workpiece stocker that houses the workpiece supplied to the processing apparatus and the automated workpiece conveying vehicle.