Mechanical Freight Lift Saves Beverage Company from Production Loss

A major beverage company had a freight service elevator that was out of service and would need major repairs keeping it out of service for several months. They needed a solution to convey totes of ingredients/mixes from the first level to the fourth level. The raw material is fed into the manufacturing process at the 4th level. The lift is critical because without a way to move this material, the plant would come to a standstill.

Autoquip engineers worked with the plant manager to come up with the best solution to help keep their operation running smoothly. Our engineers designed a 4 Post Mechanical Freight Lift with a 9,000 lb. capacity and a floor-to-floor travel of 456”. It was important to the customer to have the freight lift operating at a steady speed to keep up with the pace of production. The freight lift is designed to travel at a rate of 25 ft. per minute.

Special Features:
The mechanical freight lift is controlled by (4) HMI Screens – one at each level and remote troubleshooting capability. The purpose of the remote I/O was to reduce the amount of wiring that had to be run from each level back to the main control station. This was to help with installation. The HMIs (human machine interface) stations allowed the operator to see everything going on with the equipment from each level. The station tells the operator:
– Where the lift is
– The state of all doors, e-stops, fault sensors
– If the lift is running or not
They also allow the operator to control the lift via call/buttons. The HMI’s are also useful for trouble shooting as they provide diagnostics and the ability to control the lift manually at each level.

A partnership with Autoquip saved the beverage company from having any loss in production and allowed them to keep up with demand while their freight elevator is out of commission.