Automated Sheet Metal Storage Tower with Loading & Unloading for Laser Cutting Machines

A flexible manufacturing system is only as flexible as its material supply. If the FMS controller can schedule three jobs across two machines but the sheet for job two is buried under a stack on the floor, the flexibility is theoretical. Herochu builds storage towers with integrated loading and unloading specifically to serve as the material backbone of an FMS around laser cutting.

What Makes a Storage Tower FMS-Ready?

An FMS-ready tower must do four things: hold multiple sheet specifications, retrieve them on command from a line controller, present them to the loader in the correct orientation, and accept cut sheets back into storage without disrupting the cutting schedule. A conventional rack does only the first. A Herochu tower with integrated loading and unloading does all four.

The tower becomes the physical inventory layer of the FMS. The line controller tells the tower which sheet the next nest requires; the tower retrieves it; the loader positions it; the laser cuts it; the unloader returns the cut sheet or skeleton to a storage position. The FMS schedules cutting, but the tower makes the schedule physically executable.

How Does a Tower Fit into an FMS with Multiple Laser Machines?

Herochu configures towers as single-machine cells or shared-resource cells. In a shared configuration, one tower can feed more than one laser or handle a mix of laser and punch operations, with the line controller routing sheets to the correct station. The tower’s WMS tracks which machine received which sheet and when, so the FMS has a live material map rather than a static inventory count.

This is where the tower’s role diverges from simple storage. In an FMS, the tower is a routing device. It does not just hold material; it determines which machine can start which job based on what is physically available and where it is located.

How Does the Tower Handle Loading and Unloading Inside the FMS?

Loading is vacuum-based with automatic sheet separation; unloading is gripper-based. Herochu’s integrated systems use computer-controlled suction for pick-up and a gripper for removing the cut sheet from the bed. The sequence is coordinated with the laser’s program: the loader does not present a sheet until the bed is clear and the next program is ready.

For FMS operation, the critical detail is timing. The loader and unloader must work within the laser’s pallet-change window, not around it. Herochu engineers the tower’s retrieval speed, lift speed, and fork adjustment speed to match the cutting cell’s cycle rather than forcing the cell to wait for the storage system. The HC-RT series, for example, runs the robot arm at 10–30 m/min, lift at 5–10 m/min, and fork adjustment at 5–20 m/min, with ±2 mm repeatability.

What Sheet Sizes and Loads Can a Herochu FMS Tower Accommodate?

Herochu’s FMS-oriented towers cover sheet formats from 2500 × 1300 mm up to 6000 × 1500 mm in the HC-RT loader series, with maximum load capacities of 300 kg to 500 kg for the robot-handled sheets. The HC-S storage tower line extends the range to 6000 × 2000 mm with per-layer loads of 3000 kg to 5000 kg. For FMS planning, the tower’s layer count and load rating determine the buffer depth; the loader’s reach and gripper configuration determine which laser beds it can serve.

Customisation is not an afterthought in this line. Herochu builds the tower around the shop’s actual material mix, including non-standard sheet dimensions and mixed inventories where different thicknesses and grades share the same structure.

Can the Tower Integrate with ERP and MES for FMS Scheduling?

Herochu’s WMS layer is designed to connect upward to ERP and MES, not just downward to the tower’s PLC. Real-time inventory queries, batch traceability, and scan-in positioning feed the FMS scheduler with material availability data. When the ERP releases a work order, the tower’s stock record is part of the feasibility check. If the required sheet is not in the tower, the FMS knows before the job is dispatched to the laser.

This data integration is what separates an FMS-ready tower from an automated rack with a touchscreen. The tower’s inventory must be readable by the scheduling layer, not locked inside a standalone control.

What Is the Business Case for an FMS-Ready Tower?

The business case rests on machine utilization and schedule reliability. A manually supplied laser in a job-shop environment can spend a significant portion of the week waiting for material or operators. An FMS with a Herochu tower keeps the laser cutting while the tower handles retrieval, loading, and unloading in parallel. Herochu cites throughput gains of 35% to 50% after the first quarter of operation and payback periods in the 12-to-18-month range for well-matched configurations.

For a shop moving toward FMS, the tower is not the last purchase. It is the first piece of material infrastructure that makes the FMS concept physically real.