SSI SCHAEFER WEASEL LITE User manual

WEASEL®LITE
User Manual

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Weasel®Lite User Manual
Weasel®Lite User Manual
Created by
Dennis Chong
State
Final
Approved by
Markus Külken
Approved on
2021-03-29
Fritz Schaefer GmbH
Fritz-Schaefer-Str. 20
57290 Neunkirchen/ Siegerland
Germany
Phone [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]m
ssi-schaefer.com
© 2021 SSI SCHAEFER, all rights reserved
This publication may neither be reproduced, transmitted nor stored in a retrieval system, including but
not limited to, written material, printed matter, punch cards, film, microfilm or microfiche, magnetic tapes
or discs or any other electronic media form including optically readable tapes or discs, laser discs, and
any other form of computer storage, without the prior written consent of SSI SCHAEFER.
Disclosed matters and/or concepts of the present documentation are or will be protected by intellectual
property rights.

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Contents
1Let’s get started ............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Further information ................................................................................................................ 4
2About the travel path ..................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Material flow planning ........................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Planning your travel path ...................................................................................................... 6
2.3 Tracks...................................................................................................................................... 9
2.4 Markers.................................................................................................................................. 12
2.5 Stations ................................................................................................................................. 15
2.6 Station groups ...................................................................................................................... 20
3About the app............................................................................................................................... 21
3.1 Installation ............................................................................................................................ 21
3.2 Use......................................................................................................................................... 21
3.3 Configuration........................................................................................................................ 22
3.4 Defining actions ................................................................................................................... 22
3.5 Triggering actions................................................................................................................ 23
3.6 Service function ................................................................................................................... 23
4About the vehicle ......................................................................................................................... 24
4.1 Components ......................................................................................................................... 24
4.2 Conditions of use................................................................................................................. 25
4.3 Localization and navigation ................................................................................................ 25
4.4 Communication .................................................................................................................... 25
4.5 Battery ................................................................................................................................... 26
4.6 Charger.................................................................................................................................. 26
4.7 LEDs ...................................................................................................................................... 26
4.8 Commissioning .................................................................................................................... 27
4.9 Operation .............................................................................................................................. 28
4.10 Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................... 29
5About transfer stations ............................................................................................................... 31
5.1 Tracks.................................................................................................................................... 31
5.2 Markers.................................................................................................................................. 32
5.3 Assembly .............................................................................................................................. 32
6About extensions......................................................................................................................... 33
6.1 Weasel®Classic.................................................................................................................... 33

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1 Let’s get started
Congratulations on the purchase of your Weasel®Lite system. As an Automated Guided Vehicle system,
Weasel®Lite will enable you to automate your transport tasks without having to think about IT, such as
servers and WLAN. You will only need:
A travel path consisting of tracks and markers to define where the Weasel vehicles drive, and which
rules apply.
A tablet (or smartphone) at the stations to instruct Weasels via the Weasel®Lite App.
One (or more) Weasel(s), including battery and charger.
This user manual will guide you all the way from the design phase, system assembly to the operation of
your Weasel®Lite system. Also refer to the Operating Manuals you received together with your Weasel®
Lite components. These documents also contain important safety information.
Weasel®Lite was designed for independent installation and commissioning by the customer, who can
combine the individual components according to his specific needs. The operator of the Weasel®Lite
system shall bear the responsibility for the combination of the individual components. Owing to the wide
range of custom options and different conditions, we, as the manufacturer, cannot be held responsible
for your chosen combination. In particular, we cannot guarantee that the individual products will serve
your purpose. If you prefer our specialist staff to carry out installation and commissioning, please contact
us.
1.1 Further information
For more information including accessories for your Weasel®Lite system, visit us at:
https://www.ssi-schaefer.com/en-de/weasel-lite
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your Weasel®Lite system, simply contact our
Support team by phone or e-mail from Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 17:00 hrs at:
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

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2 About the travel path
The travel path defines the course of your Weasel, the location of goods loading/unloading stations and
the rules the Weasels have to follow on their way. You can customize the travel path to meet your
specific requirements. Once your needs change, you can easily adjust your travel path to the new
situation. The following chapters will describe the rules you should follow when planning and
implementing your travel path.
2.1 Material flow planning
Before you design your travel path, you should have an idea of how the materials to be handled by your
Weasel vehicles are to be moved, i.e. definition of sources and sinks as well as the routes to be taken.
This is also referred to as the Material Flow, and you will certainly have an idea of how your material
flow will be based on your existing operational processes.
Sources are locations where a transport demand arises. Your Weasels will be loaded with products
at these locations. Examples of sources include receiving areas, as well as production, assembly, or
picking areas, where goods for the warehouse or the shipping area are generated.
Sinks are locations where the transports are finished. At these locations, the products on your
Weasels will unloaded. Examples of sinks include the shipping area, as well as production, assembly,
or picking areas, which need to be supplied with goods from the warehouse.
Locations used both as destinations for material transport and as places where a transport demand
arises are Sources and Sinks at the same time. Typical examples include production, assembly, or
picking areas, that require goods that have to be transported further.
All sources and sinks (including combinations) are considered as Stations in the Weasel system, i.e.
special locations in the travel path where materials enter or leave the system. We recommend that you
make a sketch and mark the positions of your stations. Perhaps you even have a drawing of the area
ready? Indicate which stations are sources, sinks or combinations of both. We also suggest that you
indicate the available transport routes between these stations, too. With this done, you can plan your
travel path.

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2.2 Planning your travel path
Each Weasel®Lite travel path is composed of a circuit track, also referred to as the Main Loop, where
the Weasels circulate in the defined direction. You can add any number of stations branching off the
main loop. At these stations, the Weasels can pick up goods (source) and/or drop off goods (sink). The
main loop can be as long and as wide as you wish. It may also include bends, as long as a closed loop
is created. The stations branching off the main loop may have different shapes. The simplest stations
are so-called Bays arranged in parallel with the main loop. The station design options will be detailed
later in this manual. For the time being, you can assume a minimum length of 4 meters and a minimum
width of 1 meter per bay.
Based on your sketch, draw a course of your main loop which connects all stations to one another (e.g.
bays). Note that your Weasels can only move in one direction. Obstacles should also be taken into
consideration. The following sketch shows an example of a main loop and four stations designed as
bays.
Fig. 1 | Simple travel path sketch
Before turning your sketch into a real travel path using prefab track elements, you should know and
follow some rules regarding distances and stop positions. Amend your first travel path draft if any of
these rules are violated:
Distance rule
Sketch
Distance to oncoming traffic: Oncoming traffic typically
occurs if opposite sections of the main loop come close to
one another. A minimum distance of 80 cm must be kept
between opposite tracks. This ensures that your Weasels
have sufficient space to pass without blockings.
Distance in parallel traffic: Parallel traffic typically occurs at
stations. To ensure that Weasels stopping in stations will not
prevent other Weasels from passing, a minimum distance
must of 80 cm must be kept between parallel tracks. This

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ensures that your Weasels have sufficient space to pass
without blockings.
Distance between stations: Exit and entrance lanes of
stations should never overlap, i.e. a station exit is followed
by a station re-entrance into the main loop, before another
station exit appears downstream. A minimum distance of 70
cm should be kept between exit and entrance of different
stations to provide sufficient space for the markers required.
Nested stations and crossings should be avoided in the
travel path.
Distance to walls: To guarantee smooth operation of your
Weasels, there must not be any obstacles near the travel
path. The distance between the track and walls running in
parallel with the travel path should be sufficient to allow safe
walking between the walls and the track without the risk of
colliding with the Weasels (especially in case of emergency).
The minimum distance from walls should not be less than 1
m.
Stop position with fine positioning: As you will learn later,
markers are placed along the travel path to instruct your
Weasels on what to do. Some markers, e.g. station markers,
instruct the Weasels to perform a controlled stop. Upstream
of each station marker, a fine positioning marker must be
provided in order to ensure that the Weasel will slow down
and stop at the right position with a tolerance of just a few
millimeters. The front edge of the Weasel will come to a halt
at a distance of approx. 15 cm downstream of the station
marker.
Stop position without fine positioning: Other markers,
e.g. entrance or request markers will tell the Weasel to stop
spontaneously. In this case, there is no fine positioning
function. For this reason, it will take longer for the Weasel to
come a halt. The distance between the marker and the front
edge may be up to 50 cm when the Weasel has come to a
halt. Depending on the floor quality, the distance may be
shorter. This should be considered when it comes to
planning the stations as we did in the station patterns
presented in section 2.5.

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Field of view in curves: The distance rules mentioned
above are simple and can be verified easily. These rules will
be sufficient in many cases. However, if there are
bottlenecks in the area of bends, these rules may not be
precise enough. In bends, the turning of the drive unit must
be taken into consideration. In this case, you will have to
check the field of view of the distance sensors. While the
vehicle contour will require a certain travel distance behind
bends to be in line with the travel path again, the drive unit
and, as a consequence, the distance sensors will be turning
while the Weasel is traveling through the bend. Based on the
current position of the drive unit, there must always be a
clear area of 50 cm to the front and a 10 cm clearance on
the side.
If you need digital assistance when planning your travel path, you may want to use our free
planning/design software which is available for download on our website. With this software, you can
design your Weasel®Lite travel path easily.
Fig. 2 | Weasel®Lite Designer software

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2.3 Tracks
Your Weasels follow an optical track, i.e. a black line against a light background. In this way, you can
define, understand, and change the travel path easily. The optical track is composed of track elements
which can simply be affixed on the floor. With these track elements, you can define both the shape of
the main loop and all stations (e.g. as bays). A variety of such track elements is already included in your
Weasel®Lite Starter Kit. Additional elements can be purchased at any time.
For installation of the track elements, you will need a pencil, a square and a box knife for cutting the
track elements to size, especially for cutting the straights off the reel. In addition, you will need a tape
measure for aligning the track and checking if the required distances are kept. Adhesive tape may be
useful for temporary alignment of track elements before affixing them finally. For long straight sections,
you can also use a chalk line or line laser.
The following table lists all track elements available for designing your Weasel®Lite travel path. Before
affixing the track elements, we recommend to just place them on the floor and check the travel path
once again. It is often easier to identify potential problems (e.g. obstacles) when you actually see the
travel path in the field. You may also want to fix the track elements temporarily using standard adhesive
tape for this purpose.
Track element
Sketch
Straights: Straights come on 25m reels. These track elements
are used for all straight sections in your travel path. Simply cut
the required length off the reel by means of a box knife.

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Curves: Bend sections are supplied as 45° curve elements.
For 90° curves and U-turns you will need two and four of these
elements, respectively. The curve radius is 600 mm. This
element can be used both for turns in the main loop and for
station entrances/exits.
Switches: Switches are track elements which enable switching
from one track to another, i.e. diverters and mergers. Normally,
they are used for station entrances/exits. Please note that there
are two variants: Left switches and right switches.
Once you are convinced that your travel path is correct, you can affix the track elements. In order for
the track elements to stick to the floor properly, make sure to remove any dirt, dust grease and moisture.
Remove the film and press the track element onto the floor firmly. Smooth out the tape to remove any
bubbles.
In the case of longer sections, we recommend that two persons do the job. Align the track by pulling the
ends slightly. Then, starting at one end, remove the film and affix the track on the floor. Smooth out to
remove any bubbles. You may also want to use a chalk line or laser to ensure that the track is aligned
perfectly.