With the expansion of production and logistics scale, as well as the improvement of logistics automation, logistics machinery and equipment are more and more widely used in modern production and logistics, and their role is also growing; while modern production and modern logistics have put forward higher requirements for logistics machinery and equipment. The improvement of modern mechanical equipment design capability and the rapid progress of science and technology have led to a sharp increase in the technological, knowledge and cultural content of logistics machinery and equipment, and logistics machinery and equipment are undergoing a huge transformation. In the new century, the technical performance of logistics machinery and equipment will enter a brand-new development stage, and logistics machinery and equipment will surely achieve greater development.
Looking at the current development status of logistics machinery and equipment, it can be seen that in order to meet the needs of modern logistics, logistics machinery and equipment have the following development trends:
1. Large-scale and High-speed Development
Large-scale refers to the increasing capacity, scale and capability of equipment, while high-speed refers to the greatly accelerated operation speed, operating speed, recognition speed and computing speed of equipment. The rapid development of modern social economy has led to the continuous expansion of production and logistics scale. In order to improve operation efficiency and economies of scale, the demand for large-scale and high-speed logistics machinery is growing continuously. The lifting capacity, load capacity, productivity and operation capability of logistics machinery and equipment are getting larger and larger, and the working speed is getting faster and faster.
2. Practical and Lightweight Development
Logistics machinery and equipment are an important material and technical foundation for modern and automated logistics. Logistics machinery and equipment are required to be easy to use, easy to maintain and operate, with excellent durability, fault-free performance, good economy, as well as high safety and reliability. Therefore, more attention will be paid to the development of logistics machinery and equipment with good service performance, low cost and high reliability in the future. Some logistics machinery and equipment are used in general occasions and do not undertake heavy work. These types of equipment are produced in large batches and have wide applications. Considering comprehensive benefits, we can reduce the outline height, simplify the structure, lower the construction cost, and also reduce the operation cost of the equipment at the same time. Such lightweight equipment will achieve faster development in the future.
3. Specialized and Generalized Development
Logistics is a product of social and economic development, and it will definitely present diversified characteristics along with the development of social economy. The diversified characteristics reflect the diversified demand for logistics machinery and equipment, which makes logistics machinery and equipment have a wide variety of types and continuously update. The systematicness and consistency of logistics activities, as well as the rapidity and mobility of transportation and distribution, require some equipment to develop towards specialization, and at the same time require some equipment to develop towards generalization and standardization. Special equipment meets special needs with unique functions and can exert superior efficiency. For example, the functions of special cranes for railways, ships and containers will continue to increase, their performance will continue to improve, and their adaptability will continue to strengthen; container ships, bulk carriers, concrete transport vehicles, tank trucks and other equipment have wide applications and low costs. Some generalized equipment can also realize rapid conversion of logistics operations, greatly improving logistics operation efficiency. For example, large container trailers can carry containers of all sizes for sea transportation, air transportation and railway transportation, and generalized equipment will be further developed in the future.
4. Automation and Intellectualization
Combining mechanical technology with electronic technology, and applying advanced microelectronic technology, power electronic technology, optical cable technology, hydraulic technology and fuzzy control technology to the drive and control system of machinery to realize the automation and intellectualization of logistics machinery and equipment will be the development direction in the future. For example, the new generation of electrical control devices for large cranes has developed into a full-electronic digital control system, which is composed of fully digital controlled drive devices, programmable logic controllers, fault diagnosis and data management systems, digital control given detection devices and other components. The application of advanced technology endows cranes with higher flexibility, thereby improving the comprehensive automation level of a single machine. The operation of transportation equipment increasingly relies on instruments, signals and auxiliary driving systems, and the degree of intelligence is getting higher and higher. The development and application of autopilot systems in sea and air transportation, goods delivery and pickup carts in automated three-dimensional warehouses, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) for road transportation have attracted extensive attention from countries around the world. In addition, with the help of satellite communication technology, transportation equipment can be tracked and controlled throughout the whole journey, and rapid responses can be made to market changes. By the end of 2000, Northwest International Telecommunication Co., Ltd. established a freight vehicle dispatching management system for FAW Storage and Transportation Corporation. The system combines multiple technologies such as GPS, GIS and GSM, and can realize whole-process tracking and monitoring of goods. The system can effectively avoid no-load of vehicles, reasonably and effectively arrange the time of goods receiving and delivery, greatly improve the utilization rate of vehicles, save transportation costs, and enable enterprises or cargo owners to understand the whole situation of goods during transportation, and meet the needs of customers for vehicle safety services, management and dispatching, and information services to the greatest extent. Since its establishment, the system has been operating well, played a very good role, provided a foundation for effective logistics management, and will be more widely used in the future.
Autonomous Handling Vehicle (AHV), an intelligent handling vehicle, will also be widely used. The shape of AHV is similar to the currently used AGV, but it is equipped with two general manipulators. When working, it relies on industrial cameras that function as vision to judge the position and size of the goods. Just like a human being, it can freely handle goods weighing 200-300 kg with the manipulator. AHV has the function of cooperative operation. When the goods to be handled are too long or too heavy, more than two AHVs can work cooperatively for handling, which will greatly reduce the specifications and models of AHVs and facilitate management. The combined operation of multiple AHVs of the same specification can greatly improve the operation capability.
5. Complete Set and Systematization
On the basis of single-machine automation of logistics machinery and equipment, various logistics machinery and equipment are combined into an integrated logistics machinery and equipment system through computers, which is controlled by the control room and coordinated with the logistics system. This type of logistics machinery and equipment has a high degree of automation and information processing functions. It can process various information detected by sensors, such as storage, calculation, logical judgment and transformation, and then issue control instructions to the actuators. This type of logistics machinery and equipment also has good information input and output interfaces, which can realize the complete, accurate and reliable transmission of information in the entire integrated logistics machinery system. Through system integration, logistics machinery and equipment can form superior matching and combination of different types of machines, complement each other's advantages, and exert superior effects. The systems that will be developed in the future include factory production handling automation systems, goods distribution and distribution systems, container loading, unloading and handling systems, automatic goods sorting and handling systems, etc.