In the market, a distinction is frequently made between FTS (driverless transport systems, AGV) and AMR (autonomous mobile robots). DS Automotion GmbH deliberately uses the umbrella term mobile robotics. “The umbrella term is mobile robotics itself,” explains Ronald Lengyel, Marketing Manager at DS Automotion GmbH. This is because the company combines both technologies in one: In certain areas, the vehicle moves completely autonomously and independently determines its route. In other zones, a cycled, virtually track-bound driving mode makes sense for efficiency reasons. Both operating modes are intelligently combined by the vehicle software ARCOS.

Hydraulic systems are used strategically at DS Automotion GmbH where high lifting heights are required. The AMADEUS model achieves lifting heights of up to 2.8 meters and moves loads of up to two tons. Its counterpart ARNY lifts 1.5 tons to heights of up to 10.8 meters. For the remaining vehicles, the company primarily relies on electric spindle lifting systems.

The hydraulic units come from a specialized German manufacturer. Tank, drive and pump are supplied as a pre-assembled unit. The vehicles themselves are developed and designed in Linz, then assembled and wired by a partner company in the Czech Republic, and subsequently returned to Linz for commissioning. There, the software is installed, test drives are performed and the material handling is verified.

Approximately three years ago, during such a commissioning process, a damage pattern occurred whose cause was initially unclear: metal chips in the hydraulic circuit. This was an entirely new damage pattern. Since the vehicles had already undergone several production and transport routes before commissioning, multiple sources of contamination were possible – from the piping to the hydraulic unit itself to possible contamination in-house. “We examined this through a process of elimination,” describes Christoph Molnar, responsible for quality assurance and quality management, the procedure. Through an internet search, he eventually came across OELCHECK.

The OELCHECK analyses provided a clear result: The metal chips were already present in the empty tank before the hydraulic system was even filled. Since the tank is supplied as a purchased component, normally no one opens it to check for contamination.

The significance of the discovery was considerable for DS Automotion GmbH, because hydraulic units are procured in larger quantities and with a globally active customer base, every hour counts: The faster the cause is identified, the more precisely it can be determined which vehicles might be affected.

DS Automotion GmbH strategically employs lubricant analyses where they provide the greatest insight: in cases of anomalies whose cause must be clarified. And such cases occur repeatedly.

For example, a service technician reported that his hydraulic oil had turned completely black after only three to four months. DS Automotion sent a sample to OELCHECK and investigated the cause. In the case described, the cause lay in the specific operating environment at a customer from the food industry: The propellant caused the oil to react and showed a chemical reaction. In other cases, it turned out that an oil with incorrect viscosity was used, no lubricant was filled in at all, or cleaning agents had entered the circuit.

For a company that is responsible for complete solutions, this cause identification is decisive. Because from the customer's perspective, it is irrelevant which supplier a component comes from. The responsibility of a complete systems provider also applies in the case of purchased components.

After approximately three years of cooperation, the balance is clear. Particularly valued is the uncomplicated handling of the OELCHECK analysis kits: They are procured in stock, have no limited shelf life and can be used at any time as soon as a specific case arises.

The comprehensibility of OELCHECK laboratory reports is also explicitly praised. Even those who are not certified hydraulics specialists can understand and interpret the results and recommendations of OELCHECK tribologists as technicians. Equally a plus point is the rapid processing at OELCHECK: After sending in an oil sample, a detailed laboratory report is available after only three days.

The conclusion is correspondingly clear: “From our perspective, it really cannot be better.”