Quote:
Originally Posted by Ari423
I think you're misunderstanding what I'm suggesting. The bottom of the piston's travel would be at the lip of the second tote on the stack. The piston would then travel up so the bottom of the second tote would just clear the top of the chute. Granted this is more than 25" of travel, but it's 12" less than it would be otherwise, you have to lift one less tote per 6 stack, and you only ever have to lift 4 totes at a time instead of 5. Therefore, since air consumption is lift force * lift height, you can decrease both lift force and height for an overall decrease in air consumption.
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No, I understood, that you never need to lift more than four totes
at a time. Perhaps I took your strategy even farther than you meant. Here's what I'm thinking as "making a stack":
- Drop two totes through the chute. The first lands on the floor, the second on top of the first.
- Lift those two totes high enough for the next step (about 30-36") (2 totes lifted)
- Drop two more totes through the chute.
- Lower the raised stack onto the stack on the floor, and continue to the low end of the stroke.
- Lift the four totes high enough for the next step (4 totes lifted).
- Drop two more totes through the chute.
- Lower the raised stack onto the stack on the floor, and continue down at least far enough to disengage from any totes.
- Open the release gate for the main robot to score it.
Six totes per stack when doing pairs is 2 for the first lift and 4 for the second lift; 2 + 4 = 6. Fifteen totes on single-stacking is 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5. It doesn't matter where the lift engages the tote; the length of stroke must be as high as the bottom of the tote moves up plus the "engagement distance", that is the amount of motion between the bottom of the stroke and the tote being lifted off the floor. I'm estimating that to clear a 2-stack with a few inches for free entry of the second tote would be about 30-36".
If you were thinking of leaving a tote on the floor the whole time, that would be lifting 10 totes a bit over half as far as the six above. It's probably a wash in terms of air, but two lifts should take less time than four.