The Material Handling Blog

As a design engineer in the robotic material handling field, I am always looking for new and innovative ways to handle different types of products. About a year ago, I was briefly introduced to a new robotic end effector technology that I thought would be worth spending the time to research and share.

With the recent release of the Samsung Galaxy S4, I finally reached the tipping point and tossed my antiquated Blackberry to the wayside, but when I was researching which smartphone to select, I looked online only to be overwhelmed by the number of options. This led me to visit a small kiosk in the mall before finally making my purchase online. In this instance, and in many others as the trend continues to grow, the storefront served to augment my online buying decision...

In college, I was given the opportunity to attend a wine tasting session to learn the basics and proper food pairings. Since then, I was fortunate enough to marry an individual whose hobby is cooking and who over the years has enjoyed seeking out the right (reasonably priced) wine to go with whatever dish she might have prepared. However, it is after the wine is made and bottled that my private interests have intersected with my professional endeavors; somehow this bottle has to get from the winery to my table...

You know what your operation needs: a better, faster, and more accurate order fulfillment solution. As with most things, however, the order fulfillment process is much more complex and involves people, resources, record keeping, and transportation—all of which require time and management.

For the last several years, a green movement has swept the globe. Consumers, organizations, and large corporations have all moved toward green initiatives. However, in an industry filled with automation and machinery, the thought of going green might seem like a faraway dream. Luckily, new innovations in conveyor technologies have led to the possibility of greener business practices in the fields of materials handling and automation...

Simulation, animation, they’re basically the same thing, right? With the graphic capabilities of some simulation software packages, such as Demo 3D, it’s easy to see why people think these are synonyms. In reality, an animation is a moving picture used for demonstration, while simulations can be used for so much more...

With the pace of business continually accelerating, it is nice to see the selection of new engineering design tools rising to the occasion. Although there is no substitute for sound engineering fundamentals, these tools can help engage an engineer's creativity by speeding up the iterative design process.

During the design process of any system, it is desirable to know how the possible range of input values will affect the system output. One back-of-the-envelope method is to assume the amount of resources the system will use, err on the high side, and protect yourself against failure.

Before I accepted my position as a research and development engineer at Bastian Material Handling , I only knew of a peripheral definition for material handling. This was due to my focus as an undergrad in automotive engineering, with some topical interest in aerospace and biomechanics.

To showcase the usefulness and advantages of material handling simulations I've included the top 3 reasons one should consider simulating their current or future processes.

An Engineering Study is an inexpensive and efficient way to add temporary expertise to help study a distribution or manufacturing issue and come up with an engineered solution. At Bastian Solutions, we identify and measure several key performance indicators that, in most situations, management doesn’t have the time or the experienced staff required to...