EISENMANN

Electric monorail systems

This is EISENMANN

EISENMANN is one of the internationally leading system

suppliers in the sectors of surface engineering, material
flow automation, environmental technology and thermal
process engineering.

A workforce of around 2,800 develops new technologies

and systems for production, installation/assembly and
distribution. Engineers, technicians and specialists from
various disciplines plan, design, construct and commission
ultra-modern systems and service them through to comple-
te operation of the systems. This includes experts and spe-
cialists with well-founded know-how from various specialist
disciplines and industries. This is an advantage which is
reflected in tailor-made concepts incorporating state-of-
the-art engineering and high economy.

EISENMANN as a logistics specialist or prime

contractor

As a supplier of single components and system components

for material flow automation and as an experienced gene-
ral contractor, we plan and construct conveying compo-
nents such as electric monorail systems through to comple- EISENMANN Technology Center in Holzgerlingen
te logistic systems, including warehousing and building
services engineering.

Our products incorporate the experience of a large number

of projects implemented worldwide in a wide variety of
industries and companies. These include all sectors of the
automobile and component-supply industry, food compa-
nies and commercial enterprises, machine builders and
service providers, in addition to print shops etc.

EISENMANN has the individual, right solution for every

material flow task: the range covers all modern conveying
systems for production, assembly, storage and dispatch.

Our performance profile

• Consultancy and planning
• Simulation
• Customized product and system development
• Design and production
• Component assembly and test set-ups
• Installation and commissioning of all mechanical
and control components
• Instruction and training
• Maintenance and global servicing
Electric monorail test course for practical trials and
commissioning
Electric monorail systems

What is an electric monorail system? Fast and flexibly to the destination

An electric monorail system (EMS) is a rail-bound means of The use of an electric monorail is the obvious choice if it
conveyance with individually driven vehicles which move is necessary to interconnect large spatial distances or even
independently on the rail system. Branch points can be different buildings logistically. Unlike stationary conveyor
implemented on the line with the aid of switch points. The systems (e.g. roller conveyors or carrier chain conveyors),
vehicles are generally supplied with power and control an EMS is far more efficient and faster. This is how your
signals via collector wires on the carrier rail. The actual goods to be conveyed reach their destination within a very
rails themselves are attached either to the shop ceiling or short time.
– if this is too high – to a suspended or column-supported
steel structure. Not every load can be transported with standardized auxi-
liary equipment (e.g. on a Europallet). The EMS in such
Reasons for using an cases is extremely flexible. The basic structure of the trol-
ley, admittedly, is always the same but the hanger can be
electric monorail system (EMS) designed individually to meet your requirements. Even as
• Fast transport an assembly platform and within the framework of innova-
• Gentle transport tive order-picking systems, the EMS highlights its flexibili-
ty of use. An EMS system can be extended flexibly and at
• High flexibility
low cost by using further vehicles even as regards a higher
• Ground clearance
transport capacity.
• Low investment with increase in performance
• Silent transport
Special advantage: ground clearance
• Extremely high availability
• Constant transport over several levels When staff and fork-lift trucks are crossing the EMS is your
• Energy-efficient transport ideal transport system! The floor remains unobstructed and
free of installations and wiring and can thus be cleaned

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Electric monorail systems

simply. During order-picking work, your staff is able to Constant transport over several levels
approach the trolley from all sides and move around the
trolley. Neither are there special requirements as regards the If routing involves connecting several levels, simultaneous-
surface characteristics. ly with continuous transport, the obvious choice is to use
an EMS capable of climbing. Switching to the other level
Gentle, low-noise transport occurs almost continuously which has a positive effect on
throughput times. Moreover, investment costs, operating
Sensitive goods to be transported are in the very best hands costs and maintenance costs are lower than on systems
with an EMS. It avoids vibrations. It allows its load to reach with lifting stations.
the destination safely and quietly, it almost glides. This is
ensured by plastic-sheathed wheels – and also at high
speeds. This also has a positive effect on material wear and,
thus, servicing and maintenance costs.

High system availability

Virtually 100 % availability is today, in many sectors, e.g. in

logistics, crucial to the decision for a specific system tech-
nology. This can be achieved simply with the EISENMANN
EMS: if a vehicle fails, it can be slid without major effort
from the transport line into the maintenance bay. Material
flow then continues unhindered.

EMS systems are more efficient and more economical

Gentle transport of sensitive goods to be transported even for gradients up to 45°.

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Sophisticated technology

Graded rail system

EISENMANN’s graded rail system covers different weight

ranges. Depending on payload, the right carrier rail with the
required bending and torsional strength is used. Our 180
mm hollow chamber section, for instance, is very popular in
intra-logistics.

The EISENMANN rail system requires no stationary sensors

or busbar sections for control tasks along the route. This
means that adaptations to routing or subsequent system
extensions can be implemented very easily and quickly. This
cuts investment costs owing to short assembly and commis-
sioning times.
Every system has a modular structure, thus allowing short
High-performance trolleys assembly times on site. M = goods up to 500 kg, HII = goods
up to 1,600 kg: HIII = heavy loads up to 3,000 kg.
EISENMANN’s high-performance trolleys with a drive power
of up to 3 kW, 200 mm-diameter wheels and 100 mm-dia- transfer to storage and remove from storage over 500 pal-
meter lateral guide wheels are rugged and have a long ser- lets per hour in a high-bay warehouse apron zone at the
vice life. They guarantee travel speeds of up to 180 m/min. same time.
on straight sections and up to 60 m/min. around bends.

Variable-frequency drives permit acceleration and decelera-

tion adapted to product and its environment. An intelligent
spacing sensor orients itself to the left and right, thus allo-
wing contactless accumulation, even in tight bends. This
means that an EMS circuit with individual hangers is able to

Oscilating hangers

The hangers attached to the trolleys, so that the hangers

are able to swing, greatly reduce the centrifugal forces
acting on the product. Load slip is thus restricted, in parti-
cular when cornering fast.

After cornering, its shock absorbers immediately return the

hangers to their initial position. This allows transfer stati-
ons to be arranged even just after the bends. Floor guides
are not required on high-speed transport sections.
.
EISENMANN individual trolley with drives up to 3 kW

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Sophisticated technology

Floor guidance in transfer areas Also suitable as a floor-mounted rail system

Floor guidance in the transfer areas ensures a high positio- If it is not possible to install a monorail system for any rea-
ning accuracy as regards the conveying direction of the sons, we also construct an electric suspension rail system
goods to be transported and stabilizes the hanger. or electric pallet rail system for you.

Spring-mounted funnel-shaped entry guides are provided The system which is supported on the floor is designed
for threading into the floor guide. This avoids knocks to from the same elements as the electric monorail system.
hanger and product.
Two different switch point systems may be used in the case
of the electric pallet rail system depending on structural
conditions and throughput requirements:

Floor guidance at transfer points ensures stability when

loading

Sturdy and easy-to-maintain

EISENMANN’s electric monorails embody rugged technology

with optimally dimensioned components. The 3-D designs
are created using state-of-the-art design programs.

Our continued improvement process incorporating our own

test course and feedback from our own operator projects
and full-service projects ensure that our EMSs are always
state-of-the-art.
A Spanish logistics service provider received two EISENMANN
Continuous, automatic trolley diagnosis (carbon brush electrical pallet railway systems, one with 9 trolleys and one
wear) incorporated in the rail system greatly reduces main- with 30 trolleys.
tenance effort.

The trolleys run through a diagnostic station integrated in

the main line. In the event of a defect, the trolleys are
transferred automatically to the maintenance line and can
be serviced or repaired there, without disturbing system
operation. In the event of failure of the drive, it is disen-
gaged and can thus be shunted to the maintenance line.
Preventive maintenance means that system availabilities of
over 99 % are conventional. Quadro switch point with the V switch point with the
advantage of space-saving advantage of higher through-
design puts – patent-pending

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Control and communication

Own trolley controls

Since 2001, EISENMANN has used its own trolley controls

with an open architecture, and these have been further-
developed in ongoing manner. A digital display with sealed
keypad on each controller and a special-purpose, infrared
remote control offer convenient diagnosis and handling. All
components fitted are freely available on the market.
System adaptations, be they software or hardware, can be
done by the customer himself.

Intelligent system control

Even complex material flow configurations can be coped

with by the intelligent system control from EISENMANN. In
the case of complex trolley management configurations software in the stationary control and in the mobile control
owing to changing transport relationships above ground, is intermatched.
the stationary system control is supplemented, if required,
by an EISENMANN material flow computer. Permanent data communication
Speed reductions in weak-load operation or parking of trol- Permanent data communication via a CAN railbus allows
leys not required are selected automatically by the master short response times. This allows continuous adaption of
routing control system. These operating modes greatly material flow strategies. Bidirectional data communication
reduce power consumption and are gentle on the system allows extensive trolley diagnosis. Programs and parameters
technology. are downloaded from a central point via the railbus.

EISENMANN EMS master routing control system is also able The absolute position sensing system using barcode strip or
to replace PLCs and material flow computers. An industrial steel code rail allows layout-specific speed changes and a
PC incorporated in the control cabinet not only controls high positioning accuracy in the travel direction of the
material flow but also evaluates digital inputs and sets out- trolleys at the load change points.
puts. This also allows complex software functions to be
integrated at low cost at the subordinate control level. The

Host Visualization system VPN-Router

MFC
Ethernet

PLC
Profibus Ethernet

Berghof gateway
Interface TCPIP-CAN
Supplied by
Graphic display Area CAN 500 kbit/s
third party
Berghof
segment controller
CAN railbus
Segment 50 kbit/s Maintenance
segment

Switch point

Example of a control configuration

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Examples from practice

EISENMANN equips IKEA’s largest

logistics center

The Swedish furniture group IKEA supplies its branches

Europe-wide with products which are characterized by a
high order-picking share from Dortmund, Germany. EISEN-
MANN equipped this logistics center, the largest one in
Europe, with a total of 3,500 m of electric monorail system
(EMS). The EMS systems operate on the basis of the “pick by
light” principle.

Efficient order picking thanks to

“goods to man“

Besides transporting goods, the system is used for supply Over 500,000 pallet deposit positions in five silos are sup-
and disposal for “goods to man” order picking. The EMS is plied by 68 storage and retrieval units featuring an EISEN-
guided to 384 order picking positions in 48 bays in which MANN control and software. In addition, EISENMANN sup-
orders are picked directly onto automatically readied ship- plied around 2,000 m of flat conveyor systems and 272 EMS
ment pallets. The shipment pallets are also forwarded by trolleys for transport weights up to 800 kg. With a
fully automated shuttles and lifting stations. In accordance throughput of over 300 pallets per hour, the EMS system
with the “pick by light” principle, the order pickers receive shortens response times to delivery and thus assists the
their orders on the EMS trolley and also confirm here that endeavored short delivery times from logistics center to
they have been picked. branch.

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Examples from practice

Electric monorail system and high-bay ware-

house from one supplied

EISENMANN adapts each order to the specific operating

conditions of its customers. This is also what happens in
Kerava in Finland at the bottler Sinebrychoff, a member of
the Carlsberg Group.

In this case, as a specialist for integrated system solut-

ions, EISENMANN implemented a 14-storey high-bay ware-
house for finished goods with over 35,000 pallet deposit An EISENMANN servicing contract ensures
positions, a 1,300 m-long electric monorail system (EMS)
high availability
and a pallet conveyor system to connect to the ware-
house apron zone. The EISENMANN branch in Finland is responsible for servi-
cing and preventive maintenance of the system. Using staff
With 78 trolleys and a throughput of approx. 400 pallets specially employed for this, it ensures the contractually
per hour, the EMS system controls material flow between agreed high availability of the system.
bottling plants, order-picking areas and the truck dispatch
area. It also controls the entire system via an EISENMANN
material flow computer.

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Planning support with simulation

Before we install the EMS system on your premises, we The input data for performing the simulation is acquired.
simulate material flow. Our simulation team avails of many You supply us with the required transport matrix and, if
years of experience in this sector. applicable, a working time model. We elaborate the layout
and define the conveying characteristics and strategies.
Simulation tool
The simulation model is implemented and verified. The
For almost 20 years now, we have been working with the input parameters can be varied in various simulation runs.
well-established tool Plant Simulation (previously Sim-
ple++, eMPlant) of the Siemens PLM company. Modeling is The simulation experiments are evaluated. Various results,
done on the CAD layout and this supplies a 2-D animation such as the following, for instance, are of interest, depen-
of your material flow configuration. ding on the aim of the simulation.

Procedure in the simulation project

• Throughput values achieved hourly
The procedure for the simulation study is based on VDI
Directive 3633. We define the objective of the simulation • Required trolleys
together with you. The objectives to be pursued differ
depending on project phase. • Capacity utilization of conveyor system components
and stations

• Planning support by corroboration and development • Occupancy of buffers/queues

of new concepts and visualization of material flow
• Effects of planned strategies
• Project planning support by material flow confirmation
and determining the number of trolleys • Identification of accumulation or narrow spots

• Execution support by analysis of the effect of We then present you with the results and submit documen-
malfunctions and testing material flow strategies and tation to you.
contingency concepts

Example of a simulation model

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Our servicing pledge

The EISENMANN Service offers an extensive range of servic-

es. These are tailored individually to the customer's needs,
thereby taking the know-how of the customer's employees,
the cost structure, the processes and the need for expertise
into consideration.

Therefore, we regard ourselves as system providers when it

comes to meeting the individual customer's requirements in
anoptimum way.

Maintenance Management
Inspection
We determine the actual state of your system by conduct-
ing inspections and then inform you about the weak spots
and possibilities for increasing your performance, or let you Spare Parts Management
know if there is an urgent need to take action.
Our central spare part management system allows us to
Servicing ensure high availability of spare parts.
In order to determine the target state of your system, our
specialists not only conduct the servicing, but also carry We can offer you advice as regards defining system-speci-
out mechanical and electrical check-ups and safety tests. fic spare-parts packages and also individual spare parts. We
Routine servicing guarantees an optimum functioning of proceed by bundling your orders and tying up tailored pack-
your system and increases its service life. ages for safeguarding your production, and also emergency
packages.
Repair
These make a tremendous contribution to, amongst other
Our maintenance team also carries out any necessary
things, reducing purchasing processes and ensuring system
repairs and component replacements of course.
availability.
Improvement
Besides the sales we also offer a repair, and spare parts
The functional security of your equipment will be increased replacement service.
by technical and administrative measures without affecting
the functional performance.

Maintenance Management
(DIN 31 051:2003-06)

Inspection Servicing Repair

Determining and evaluating Measures for sustaining Restoration of

the ACTUAL status the target state NOMIAL status

Measuring Cleaning, Lubricating, Repair

Testing Preserve, Adjusting, Replace
Diagnosing Replace Check function

Our service offering for your EISENMANN systems

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 EISENMANN
EISENMANN Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG
EISENMANN Service GmbH & Co. KG

Tübinger Str. 81 · 71032 Böblingen · Germany

Daimlerstr. 5 · 71088 Holzgerlingen · Germany
Phone +49 7031 78-0 · Fax +49 7031 78-1000
11/2010

[email protected] · [email protected]
www.eisenmann.com