Top Modules

Nord Modules,  launched by Bruno Hansen, a co-founder of Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), announced its entry into the U.S. market with a new series of flexible material-moving modules that efficiently connect production lines and internal logistics using autonomous mobile robots (AMR). The safe, ready-to-use and industrial-quality modules enhance automated heavy-payload transportation between production lines and storage systems and increase the flexibility of production lines by enabling companies to easily use the same AMR for multiple tasks. Staff is freed from this load-and-lift activity to higher-value activities, saving time and money while reducing the risk of injuries and the subsequent workman compensation claims.

“As companies recognize the advantages of mobile robots—automating monotonous, repetitive, and injury-prone manual material transportation—they look for new ways to optimize applications to reduce costs and increase productivity,” said Hansen, founder and CEO, Nord Modules. “With our high-quality gates and top modules, they can easily create fully automated systems, with material flowing effortlessly from production lines to the AMR to the warehouse. And standard, off-the-shelf modules make it easy to update lines and flexibly redeploy these mobile platforms for even greater use and faster ROI.”

The Nord Modules product line includes the Top Mover (pictured) that mounts on MiR100 and MiR200 robots to deliver material to and from Nord Modules’ gates installed at production lines, storage systems or conveyors. Integrated software and an intelligent touchscreen enable users to adapt the complete system for specialized work processes, forming an efficient automation of internal transportation tasks. Nord Modules offers three types of gate modules, each with different key benefits:

• Solid Gate (SG): Basic standard module that can receive or hold items and can serve as a flexible pick-up point for autonomous mobile robots.
• Wheel Gate (WG): Integrated stop function and manually controlled wheels enable the mobile robot to push items to a pick-up point or further into production.
• Roll Gate (RG): Integrated motor creates a fully automated gate with rolls that can receive and deliver objects from a 90-degree angle.

All modules offered by Nord Modules are available in either the Flex or new Basic series. The Nord Modules five-finger Flex series offers maximum flexibility, making it ideal for customers to handle many different load sizes within their production or logistics environment. The three-finger Basic series delivers a cost-effective option for consistently bigger load sizes.  

“With multiple industries embracing the increased automation of AMRs, manufacturers are beginning to demand the additional functionality from value-add providers like Nord Modules that build top modules for our MiR fleet to enable multiple applications within a single facility,”  said Ed Mullen, vice president of sales, Americas, MiR. “These flexible customizations are key differentiators for MiR and its integrators. We welcome Nord Modules into our partner ecosystem and look forward to how more of our customers will be able to implement our AMRs straight out of the box, speeding the overall integration process for plant needs.”