Digital lift shaft measurement systems from Variohm

As part of a comprehensive product range, Wachendorff Automation combines its industrial grade incremental and absolute encoders with application-specific components as complete digital shaft copying systems for position feedback on elevators and lifts in medium height buildings and structures.

Available from Variohm Eurosensor, with a measurement range of up to 120 m, Wachendorff’s Silent Move series digital shaft copying systems provide position feedback to within 0.02 mm and lift speeds of up to 4 m/s. For straightforward integration with lift control and regulation systems users can select incremental encoders with pulsed output or absolute values covering CANopen, CANopen LIFT, SSI or RS485.

The Silent Move lift monitoring range includes all necessary components for fast and straightforward mounting in lift shafts used for low-rise residential elevators and home lifts, hydraulic lifts, limited-use/limited-application (LU/LA) systems, cargo lifts, construction site lifts and more.

Silent Move systems are available in two basic design formats: a measuring unit comprising the incremental or absolute encoder on a mounting bracket with pulley wheels and separate toothed belt to attach to a customer designed mounting arrangement; or as a complete measuring system with the measuring unit and all the necessary parts to mount the belt on a standard lift installation (typically including profile rails and clamps, damping spring mechanism and fittings, etc).

The toothed pulley measurement unit, which is optionally equipped for a nubbed belt or timing belt, is attached to the lift car and rolls along the belt which is mounted between the shaft head and the bottom of the lift shaft and includes a simple but efficient spring tensioning mechanism. These systems are available with a circumferential (continuous) belt arrangement or an in-line guided belt. Both arrangements offer particularly quiet and smooth running.

To address the flexibility required for the widest range of lift and elevator applications, Silent Move is available in circumferential and guided formats in a standard range with a nubbed belt and as an extremely quiet ‘Light’ range with a toothed belt. A ‘Compact’ range with a guided toothed belt design provides a solution for particularly tight installation.

All these variants are available with optional Wachendorff WDGI 58B incremental encoders with 5000 ppr TTL or HTL quadrature A and B channels, or WDGA 58B absolute encoders offering a wide choice of industry standard protocols. Custom tailored variants and redundant encoder versions also available on request. A fourth design variant, the WDGMS, is limited to a lower speed and shorter measurement heights and is based on a round cable rather than a toothed belt (limited to 1 m/s and 53 m length). This variant includes a WDG 40S incremental encoder.

Silent Move lift monitoring systems are certified by TÜV Germany and like all Wachendorff measurement devices are covered by a five year warranty. Designed for compactness and simplicity in operation they offer optimised noise reduction with long working life. Encoders and all components are resistant to typical lift shaft contamination and are essentially maintenance free.

A wide choice of electrical output and mechanical configuration options allows lift designers and manufacturers an optimised lift motion profile and gentle acceleration/deceleration performance for maximum user comfort. Installation is fast and straightforward for new or retrofitted systems.