Modular Transport and Sorting System with Omnidirectional Wheels

University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, Bucharest, Romania

Abstract

The paper refers to the development of an intelligent sorting and transport system. This research aims to develop such systems and solve problems in multi-directional transport as well as the development of a sorting, transport and positioning system that can be used in various fields. At the same time, the omnidirectional transport system is a modular transport and sorting system. It consists of several small hexagonal transport cells, each with three individually operated omnidirectional wheels. By individually controlling the wheels, objects can be transported freely in all directions. This opens unlimited possibilities to create new concepts for handling materials or to improve existing classic ones. Due to the modular construction and the individual control of the omnidirectional wheels, the sorting tasks can be adapted very quickly. This will allow you to perform different tasks in very small areas. Individual control of objects also allows for exact alignment or individual rejection of objects. The system has been designed to transport work objects. To design the module, it was necessary to create its scale geometric model using the Autodesk Inventor Professional 2018 design environment. To make the module, it was used through the rapid prototyping process with Fused Deposition Modelling, the material used being Polylactic Acid. The solution adopted allows any transported object to always be supported on at least three wheels, this allows the direction of movement of the object to be controlled by the movement of the wheels.