Actian > Case Studies > Tsubakimoto’s Material Handling System: A Case Study on High-Speed Sorting

Tsubakimoto’s Material Handling System: A Case Study on High-Speed Sorting

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases

Applicable Industries

Automotive
Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Material Handling Automation
Picking, Sorting & Positioning

Services

System Integration

About The Customer

Tsubakimoto Chain Co. is a global machinery manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1917, the company has expanded its business globally on four core pillars: chains, precision machinery, automotive parts, and material handling systems. The company operates 81 group companies in 26 countries worldwide, with a total number of employees of 8,818 as of March 31st, 2019. The company's net sales are about ¥238,515 million annually. One of Tsubakimoto Chain’s core businesses are “Mate-Han” systems utilizing the chain technology that is the origin of their company name. These systems refer to efficient operations and structures for the movement and transport of objects at manufacturing and logistics sites.

The Challenge

Tsubakimoto Chain Co., a global machinery manufacturer based in Japan, was faced with the challenge of creating a registration and identification database capable of tracking and sorting up to 10,000 items per hour on their high-speed conveyor belt sorting systems. The company needed a solution that could meet their millisecond-level response times for database reads and writes. The challenge was not only to find a database that could handle the high volume of items but also to ensure that it could maintain its speed and efficiency over time. The company also needed a solution that could seamlessly integrate with their existing systems and processes.

The Solution

In response to this challenge, Tsubakimoto tested several different databases and ultimately selected Btrieve, later reselecting PSQL (its successor), and now Zen. These databases were chosen for their ability to meet the company's millisecond-level response times for database reads and writes. The company has been using Actian Zen for 25 years to support their real-time, embedded OEM data management requirements. As the competition has continued to change, they have continued to re-evaluate and reselect Actian Zen. The company has found that Actian Zen offers superior processing speed compared to other databases, making it the ideal solution for their high-speed sorting systems.

Operational Impact

The adoption of Actian Zen has allowed Tsubakimoto Chain Co. to maintain high-speed sorting and high shipping accuracy, which are highly trusted by their customers. The company's “Tsubaki LINISORT” series of automatic sorting machines, which are driven by a linear motor drive system to provide fast, quiet and highly reliable operation, are one of the company’s main products in their “Sorter” product family. The registration and identification database for this product uses Actian Zen, which has been used continuously since the early 90s. Despite the variety of databases in the market, Tsubakimoto Chain has continued to use Actian Zen due to its unbeatable speed and stability.

Quantitative Benefit

Tsubakimoto’s Material Handling System is capable of sorting up to 10,000 items per hour
The company has been using Actian Zen for 25 years to support their real-time, embedded OEM data management requirements
In performance tests, other databases showed results that were ten times slower than Actian Zen