Samsung chooses DimaSimma's automatic logistics system for transporting slabs at Ma'aden and Alcoa's new smelter plant in Saudi Arabia. DimaSimma will provide two laser-guided autonomous vehicles (AGVs) to transport slabs weighing up to 40 tons between the CASTHOUSE and ROLLING MILL areas. The AGVs will automatically load and unload slabs and can operate continuously, improving safety over traditional forklifts.

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Last year DimaSimma participated to the tender for
the delivery to the Ma’aden/Alcoa joint venture for
the new smelter centre at Ras al Khair.
At a preliminary stage the Engineering Companies
Bechtel and Fluor carried out the general project
and the technical selection of the bidders.
DimaSimma was chosen as supplier for the
manufacturing and installation of an automatic
system for the “Slab” transport by means of 2 laser-
guided vehicles with capacity up to 40 tons.
The 2 AGV vehicles will carry out the transport of
the heavy and bulky slabs (up to 9 meters length
and up to 40 tons weight).
By means of 2 transfer lines equipped with rails
shuttles, the slabs are transferred on specific
support to the loading stations. Here the AGVs will
automatically load the slabs coming from the
CASTHOUSE area and transport them to the
unloading stations into the ROLLING MILL area,
where they will be stored for the subsequent
process for the coil manufacturing.
The whole system is automatically interfaced with
the load/unload stations and with an automatic
crane in the Rolling Mill Area.
Last week the engineers of Samsung (acting as main
contractor for Ma’aden) surveyed the factory
acceptance test at the DimaSimma facilities, and
after an accurate control gave their approval and
the authorization for the shipment.
It’s not the first exit of DimaSimma in the Middle
East; as since the 2007 are working the automatic
warehouses delivered to Gulf Extrusion in Dubai
and Napco in Oman.
It’s not the first time also for AGVs, but in a
different field, since nine months a system with 5
AGVs is working in the plant of OWI, Egypt, the
biggest carpet factory of the area, and this years it
is foreseen the extension with further 6 AGVs.
AGVs for the aluminium field
By such heavy and bulky materials as the slabs, it is
evident the need of an automated system; anyhow
the AGV concept can be applied in many other
situations.

2. In facts the AGVs (= autoguided vehicles) are
applied since several years in many industrial fields,
but they are not yet so common in the aluminium
plants, in spite of the advantages offered by this
system.
Beside the application in the Casthouse and Rolling
Mill, there are many other possibilities for the AGVs
in the aluminium industries:
- For handling of bulk profiles
- For handling of profiles baskets, also interfaced
with automatic warehouses or automatic stacker
cranes
- For handling of coils
- For handling of billets
- For handling of sheets or panels
- For handling of semi manufactured or finished
products
For special application, AGVs can be provided with
- Motor driven conveyors
- Elevating loading plane, with interesting
application in the aeronautic and automotive
field.
The AGVs can accompany the aluminium during all
the production phases, from the foundry and
casthouse till to the handling of the finished
products.
ADVANTAGES OFFERED BY AGVs
Besides substituting at any effect the traditional
forklift with driver, the AGVs go beyond this and can
reach performances that are impossible to obtain
with the non automatic system`.
1. AGVs can handle any load type, up to 150 tons
2. For moving and curving AGVs need less space
than the traditional forklift with drivers.
3. AGVs are provided with tools for the retrieval
and deposit of the materials, also at different
heights into static shelving, or they can be
interconnected with automatic warehouses, or
simply stack loads at different levels on the floor.
4. AGVs work 24 hours, 7 days in the week, 365
days in the year.
5. AGVs work indoor or outdoor, indifferent to
weather and don’t need lighting.
6. AGVs work in safety and this is a main point, in
consideration of the accident that occurs with
the traditional forklift. AGVs are provided with
devices to detect possible obstacles and
immediately stop, with evident advantage for
the safety of the personnel and for the sake of
the machinery inside the factory.
7. AGVs can be integrated with weighing devices.

3. 8. AGVs function by battery, therefore do not
contaminate neither with gas, nor acoustically.
The vehicles are provided with self-diagnostic
system, i.e. they constantly check the charge
level of their own battery and alternate in the
energizing station, preventing inopportune
interruptions.
9. The software management enables, besides
the material tracking, to manage also the
missions priority, the paths maximization and
the eventual interventions by remote
assistance.
10. Last but not latest, the inversion is very
reasonable in consideration of the service
given by this system, what enables a pay-back
normally in 3 years.
The functioning principle is very simple, it consists
in defining the paths and the material flows, and
therefore the mouvement frequency: from here,
according to the Customer needs, we calculate the
necessary quantity of vehicles.
Along the paths are placed the reference points
that interchange signals with the board
transduction devices of the several vehicles, so that
the AGVs can recognize the paths.
Different navigation systems are available according
to the application:
- laser
- inductive (wire-guided)
- magnetic (tape or spot).
Also combination of different navigation types
might be applied according to the needs.