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A major manufacturer of agricultural equipment builds
its 5000 Series utility tractors on a new, fully integrated and networked
"smart" assembly line that operates with the help of sixty-two
smart AGVs.
 The AGVs serve
as platforms on which work-in-progress tractors ride more than a quarter
of a mile on an assembly line with 106 workstations. AGVs are routed
through assembly steps, meshing with cross-trained workers using smart
tools in workstations. AGVs do not move from specific assembly stations
until the work is both verified completed by the control systems and
quality parameters have been achieved. The AGVs also know how to bypass
workstations not required in the manufacturing of a particular tractor.
There can be twice as many labor hours in a high-option tractor as
compared to a basic model. This makes variable routing with smart
AGVs important in juggling production scheduling.
The fleet of 62 AGVs centers around one vehicle design. Each vehicle
is capable of carrying 7,200 lb. gross weight. The platform vehicles
are outfitted with one of three custom fixtures, depending on whether
it carries a tractor chassis, transports an engine or a transmission.
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