AS/RS Buffer Systems
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What is the AS/RS Buffer System
Leveraging technology in the largest of warehouses, MWES’ Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) buffer system are designed to provide efficiencies for the demands of a production environment. The benefits go beyond just being a storage system, it can also become a highly efficient hub for managing the manufacturing process.
With its automated material storage and retrieval processes, the MWES AS/RS buffer system can save valuable manufacturing time and reduce production errors. The MWES AS/RS system can store materials in not only an efficient manner but also allows for production environments to quickly manage materials as needed. The system does this by cataloging materials and their locations by how they integrate into the production process. This material storage and monitoring capabilities offer a number of advantages.
Having both the tooling and materials in the same location and an overarching management system to run it, the system can become a central hub for the factory. Receiving can earmark materials upon arrival for certain jobs and send them to be immediately added to the AS/RS system.
The MWES system can manage its location and retrieve it at the touch of a button. The AS/RS system can be the go-to point to verify whether these materials are in-house and ready for production.
What the AS/RS Buffer System Can Do For You

The MWES AS/RS Buffer system allows for the collation and management of asynchronous production processes. Inventory rooms can produce product-specific kitting on a schedule that’s more conducive to their efficiency and load them into the AS/RS system when done.
These kits can be retrieved with the rest of the components needed for a specific production run. Allowing the AS/RS system to manage these kits’ locations and when they’re called, can reduce routing confusion on the floor when building products that have high part commonalities.
Our production-focused storage systems are designed from the start to fit into legacy production facilities. With its scale and operation, our AS/RS system can change how you think about not just warehousing, but production processes – and increase your throughput along the way.
The AS/RS system can be set up for operating on multiple in-and-out materials, not just consumable items. This makes it quite useful for storing fixtures and tooling for jobs in the same place as the materials and WIP needed to complete the production process.
Work in progress can be re-admitted to the system and re-combined with different tooling and fixtures necessary for the next step in the production process. The combined group would then be ready for the next process. Having virtually every aspect necessary to complete a job in the same location and easily retrievable, allows even greater efficiencies beyond saving floor space.

Benefits to the AS/RS Buffer System
For the longest time, the benefits of Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) have been in the sole domain of large warehousing applications, but there’s a significant benefit to be had using AS/RS systems in production environments if they could be designed with manufacturing needs in mind. MWES has done just that!
Our production-focused storage systems are designed from the start to fit into legacy production facilities. With its scale and operation, our AS/RS system can change how you think about not just warehousing but production processes – and increase your throughput along the way.
Operating the AS/RS Buffer System
The system’s operation is relatively easy to follow. An operator delivers a pallet of material to be stored to the infeed system. Then the operator selects the storage function on the HMI. From here the process is entirely automated. The AS/RS system takes into account the height of the material and determines the best location in the racking to store the material. It then summons the shuttle to pick up the material and transport it to the selected location. The retrieval operation is the reverse of storage. No need for operator input after the AS/RS picks the material.
Components of the AS/RS Buffer System
The AS/RS system comprises of four major components: the racking, shuttle, infeed and outfeed and control system. All aspects of the system are designed to be deployed within pre-existing production facilities.
Features of the AS/RS Buffer System
Floor space is a hot commodity in today’s production settings. It also can be one of the biggest determinates of how productive a facility can be. The movement of materials and the storage of components and fixtures can be a puzzle that easily soaks up that valuable square footage if not solved properly.
But getting more control over your materials and inventory doesn’t have to be difficult. MWES has worked hard to develop a system that’s as easy to install and upgrade as it is to operate. Below, we’ve broken out some of the more innovative aspects of the system.
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