For Logistics Link South 2006 we built a working model warhouse to demonstate
our Gipsy interfacing software.
The whole model is built using 5,700 Lego pieces. The mechanical parts
of the cranes and conveyor are built from 3 Lego MindStorms Kits and a few
additional Motors, Sensors and bricks !
The model consists of 2 Cranes with Racking and Infeed and Outfeed Conveyors.
Each crane is built using 2 light sensors, 3 Motors and 2 touch sensors. This
allows the horizontal and vertical movement with positioning and fork control.
The ‘brain’ of the crane is the Lego RCX Unit which in effect is a
mini-PLC with 3 Motor outputs and 3 Sensor inputs.
The Lego crane and conveyor units communicate to the control system via our
Gipsy interfacing software. These crane and conveyor units use the same
infra-red frequency for communication, which can give problems when devices try
and communicate simultaneously. We have overcome this by implementing a polling
protocol in Gipsy, so that each device is polled in turn.
Gipsy is our interfacing product, specially designed
so that it can be easily configured to almost any communications protocol. The
fact that we have configured Gipsy to control these model cranes illustrates
just how adaptable Gipsy can be.
Lego, MindStorms and RCX are trademarks of the Lego Group.
