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NY H86415





January 11, 2002

CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:103 H86415

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8428.90.0090

Mr. Michael G. Hodes
Hodes Keating & Pilon
39 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1020
Chicago, IL 60603-1731

RE: The tariff classification of the Night Train FMS System from Finland

Dear Mr. Hodes:

In your letter dated December 10, 2001 on behalf of Finn-Power International, Inc. you requested a tariff classification ruling.

Your client intends to import, in a single shipment, the Night Train FMS automated material handling and storage system. This system is composed of individual components connected together by electrical cables and is designed to work in conjunction with various Finn-Power machine tools for sheet metal fabrication (the machine tools will not be imported with the Night Train FMS system).

The Night Train FMS system is intended to provide efficient unmanned handling of raw sheet metal and completed work pieces machined from the sheet metal. It allows an operator to program in one or more job runs and have the system follow those instructions without operator supervision. The system directs a shuttle wagon to pick up sheet metal which has been loaded on special cassettes, move the cassettes to a shelving system for storage, remove a designated number of cassettes, carry them to a work station for machining, remove finished pieces after machining has occurred, and store them on the cassettes at a designated location in the shelving system. All of these operations are monitored by a controller which, by means of software, directs the shuttle wagon to the various stations and stores data regarding the location of the material in the shelving system.

The basic Night Train FMS system is composed of the following components:

1. Night Train Wagon (NTW), which shuttles raw materials and finished parts between the shelving system, an I/O station (described in the next paragraph), and the appropriate machine tool. The NTW moves along two parallel floor rails and receives power through a contact that slides along a power track mounted next to the rails. The NTW features telescopic forks which can be raised and extended to pick up a cassette from the storage system, or return a cassette to a designated storage location. Its movements are controlled by commands it receives from a storage control terminal.

2. Raw Material/Pallet I/O Station, which includes the control and operating panel for the NTW described above. The I/O Station is equipped with pins to support a stack of metal sheets, as well as alignment bars to maintain the squareness of the stack. At this station the NTW lowers an empty cassette so that sheet metal support pins penetrate through holes in the cassette. A stack of metal sheets is then placed on top of the support pins and, after alignment, the NTW lifts the cassette with its stack of metal sheets and moves it to its designated storage location.

3. Storage Control Terminal, which provides the operator with the ability to store, retrieve and monitor the status of the Night Train FMS System. One terminal is included with the basic system; optional terminals can be added for additional material management operations.

4. Shelving System, which is configured of shelving blocks containing 10, 12, 16, or 18 specially configured shelves as well as safety fences. A shelving system can contain a minimum of four blocks. More blocks, along with the necessary rails and safety fences, can be easily added at a later time.

5. Cassettes, which are the movable shelves of the Shelving System on which the sheet metal stacks and machined work pieces are stored. They consist of structural metal tubing covered with sheet metal tops containing a pattern of holes that matches the configuration of the pins in the I/O Station. They are loaded/unloaded by the Night Train Wagon.

The applicable subheading for the functional unit formed by the Night Train FMS System, imported in a single shipment, will be 8428.90.0090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for other lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery: other machinery: other: other. The rate of duty will be free.

It should be noted that, in accordance with Note 6 to Chapter 85, software imported on the media of heading 8524 is separately classifiable in the appropriate subheading of heading 8524.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Alan Horowitz at 646-733-3010.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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