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Article: Metamorphic materials handling? (flexible materials handling systems in Japan)
- Article from:
- Modern Materials Handling
- Article date:
- February 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Imagine a materials handling system that changes automatically to accommodate varying requirements to move, store, control, and protect materials. Resembling a scene from some sort of futuristic factory, a system of conveyors, cranes, monorails, industrial lift trucks, and other types of equipment would reconfigure themselves to carry out the task at hand.
Impossible! Ridiculous! It will never happen in my lifetime! Are these your reactions? If so, then you will be surprised to learn that such a system is receiving serious attention from a team of engineers representing a variety of Japanese manufacturers and users of materials handling equipment.
The ...