Building a next-generation materials handler with additive manufacturing
Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Bastian Solutions Shuttle System
- HP Multi Jet Fusion
- HP 3D High Reusability (HR) PA 12 Glass Beads
- Carbon® Digital Light Synthesis™
- EPU 40 material
Tech Stack
- Additive Manufacturing
- 3D Printing
- Digital Manufacturing
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Cost Savings
- Innovation Output
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Other - Additive Manufacturing
- Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
Applicable Industries
- Retail
Applicable Functions
- Logistics & Transportation
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Additive Manufacturing
- Inventory Management
- Warehouse Automation
Services
- Hardware Design & Engineering Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
About The Customer
Bastian Solutions is a leading materials handling company owned by Toyota Advanced Logistics. The company is dedicated to providing superior material handling and automation solutions to its clients. Bastian Solutions is committed to providing the best technology, quality, and service to their customers. They strive to innovate and create advanced solutions to complex problems. One of their latest projects is the Bastian Solutions Shuttle System, an advanced, customizable electrical robot arm-and-shuttle combo that autonomously picks and moves a range of differently sized and weighted products. This system is designed to meet the high expectations of today's shoppers for on-demand fulfillment.
The Challenge
Bastian Solutions, a leading materials handling company owned by Toyota Advanced Logistics, was faced with the challenge of meeting the high expectations of today's shoppers for on-demand fulfillment. Retailers require innovative materials handling systems that can navigate tight warehouse and shelving spaces to fill orders quickly. They also need picking technologies that can handle a wide variety of product shapes, sizes, and densities without having to invest additional capital in multiple custom grippers for the picking arms. To address these complex set of problems, Bastian Solutions set out to engineer an improved solution. This effort resulted in the Bastian Solutions Shuttle System, an advanced, customizable electrical robot arm-and-shuttle combo that autonomously picks and moves a range of differently sized and weighted products. However, creating a new disruptive materials handler like the Bastian Solutions Shuttle System required Bastian Solutions to use a disruptive method—additive manufacturing. But without on-site 3D printing capabilities, Bastian Solutions sought out a partner that could help make their vision a reality.
The Solution
To create the Bastian Solutions Shuttle System, the company partnered with Fast Radius, a company with technology partners like HP 3D Printing and Carbon®. Fast Radius enabled Bastian to make a truly innovative advanced materials handling robot unlike any on the market. Nearly 50 percent of the bill-of-materials was made using additive manufacturing in Fast Radius’ Chicago factory. By using 3D printing for critical parts, Bastian Solutions can quickly scale the robot arm for its customers’ requirements. Once the adjusted design is submitted to Fast Radius’ Virtual Warehouse, the customer receives the additive parts in days instead of weeks or months. This helps customers get their new materials handling systems up and running with little interruption to their business. Additive manufacturing unlocked entirely new engineering opportunities as Bastian Solutions was designing the robot arm. It allowed for a more lightweight machine, increased energy efficiencies, a multi-faceted gripper, and enhanced protective parts.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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