Tray administration - Create, Change, Delete

General Information

The tray is generally a shelf. In logistics, trays are flat, standardized conveyor aids for holding the actual stored or transported goods in the form of boxes or crates. They are often used in automated small parts warehouses or storage lifts (Vertical Lift Machines). Unlike transport pallets and containers, trays are usually tied to a warehouse and do not leave it.

To control storage lifts (VLM) externally with connect:IT, the physically available trays must first be specified in connect:IT. Without this information, no shelf can be requested or removed. The general tray data can be found in table /STC/TSK31_001. Information on individual bin locations on the tray is stored in table /STC/TSK31_002 and is used for the precise visualization of the tray locations and their status as well as for the control of laser pointers.

Creating trays in connect:IT

There are four different methods to create trays, and the choice depends on the application. For the first two options, existing SAP storage bins are used as the foundation for tray creation. The first option uses the status C grid logic, while the second option is suitable for simple trays that create bins in a line-by-line manner next to each other. Here, the spaces must have the same depth per line.

The other two options combine the status C grid logic with dynamic tables. The third option allows constructing trays graphically piece by piece and then creating SAP storage bins based on them. With the last option, the trays initially remain empty and are filled bin by bin during storage. If a bin is emptied during stock removal, the bin disappears.

Different options for creating trays

1. Creation from SAP storage bins with status C grid logic

2. Creation from SAP storage bins line-by-line

3. Graphical creation of trays with status C grid logic and simultaneous creation of SAP storage bins

4. Creation of dynamic trays with status C grid logic at runtime

Settings for all four options

Storage bin template

The storage bin template is stored in the lift (VLM) Customizing and applied to all lift (VLM) trays. The storage bin template determines at which position in the storage bin number the X and Y coordinates, the tray and, if applicable, the lift (VLM) can be read.

This bin template must be defined in Customizing in the WM assignment for the lift (VLM). For an example, we choose the following bin template:

L-TT-RR-PP

An example storage bin: 1-01-01-01 (In lift (VLM) 1, tray 1 is the bin in the lower left corner, since both the X and Y coordinates are 1)

Option 1 - status C Grid logic with existing SAP storage bins

For this option a grid is used for the placement of the individual tray places, which is virtually stretched over the tray. In order to calculate the required factors, the dimensions of all loading aids which should be stored on the tray must be known and analyzed.

Example

There should be four different loading aids / space types in the lift (VLM) (see picture). The space type R1, for example, has a width of 500 millimeters and a depth of 1000 millimeters.

The following factors must be calculated and stored on the lift (VLM):

X-factor

The X-factor is calculated from the greatest common divisor (gcd) of all widths (X-direction) of the storage bin types or loading aids. In the example there are the following width specifications: R1(500), G1(500), B1(250) and Y1(250). Thus, the greatest common divisor is 250 and the X-factor to be set in the lift (VLM) is also 250.

Y-factor

The Y-factor is calculated from the greatest common divisor (gcd) of all depths (Y-direction) of the storage bin types or loading aids. In the example there are the following depth data: R1(1000), G1(500), B1(750) and Y1(200). Thus, the largest common divisor is 50 and the Y-factor to be set in the lift (VLM) is also 50.

Grid

The grid is only relevant for dynamic trays! When editing a tray in connect:IT, these are temporarily set to dynamic in order to determine free spaces. If the function is to be used, the grid must also be maintained correctly here.

The grid should be the greatest common divisor of X- and Y-factor. In this case 50.

Customizing

The calculated values are stored in lift (VLM) Customizing.

These settings affect all trays in the lift (VLM). In the trays themselves, the parameters can also be overwritten if, for example, there is a tray on which only a certain loading aid is stored. 

From Release 4.9, the following report can be used to calculate the values for grid, X and Y factor: /STC/TSK31_011 - Calculation of lift attributes. The requirement is that an IM or WM allocation exists for the lift and that the relevant dimensions have been maintained for the corresponding plant/storage location combination in table /STC/TSK15_T505 - Dimensions of bin types.

Structure of the storage bins

The storage bins must be assigned in accordance with the X and Y factors at positions R (Row) and P (Position) of the template. A storage bin coordinate consists of an X and a Y value. The coordinates start with the lower left corner of the storage bin on the tray, starting with(1,1).

Example	Description
	Simple example of displacement in the X direction Tray: 3000x1000mm 6 x R1 Change of coordinates only in X-direction XX-01
	Simple example for displacement in X and Y direction Tray: 3000x1000mm 12 x G1 Change of coordinates both in X-direction and in Y-direction XX-YY
	Example of a mixed tray Tray: 3000x1000mm 2 x R1, 2 x G1, 26 x Y1 Change of coordinates both in X-direction and in Y-direction XX-YY Jumps in X-direction for Y1 only by one field in the grid, for R1 and G1 in X-direction jump by 2, as two grid positions are taken.
	Example of tray with all four types Tray: 3000x1000mm
	Since the three bins are all on the same tray in the same lift (VLM), the first three numbers of the storage bins do not differ, since our storage bin template is L-TT-RR-PP. The X and Y coordinates (in the template R(X) and P(Y)) are of interest. The left lower bin usually starts with L-TT-01-01. This bin is of type A and therefore 200mm wide. Since the X-factor was determined to be 100mm, the next bin to the right does not begin with the coordinate L-TT-02-01 but with L-TT-03-01 (violet). And the yellow bin starts accordingly at L-TT-05-01.
	The lower three bins are analogue to the upper example. The two bins on top are of type D (dimensions 300mm x 300mm). The bin on the left has the X-value 01 but the Y-value 03, because the place 1-01-01-01 below is of type A 200mm deep. The right bin at the top also has the Y-value 03 and the X-value 04, because the bin to the left is 300mm wide.