Elevator Control Panel, The Brain of Lifts.
Elevators are being used throughout human history, but modern elevator history is not older than 150 years. Steam and hydraulic elevators had already been used but they were not safe until the discovery of the clutch in 1852 by Elisha Otis. Following this discovery, the first elevator was installed in 1857, and elevators started to become an important part of daily life. The elevators were using hydraulic systems until the electric power utilization in the 1880s with the result of geared or gearless traction elevators replacing the hydraulic ones. In electric elevators, the mechanisms were used to install above the elevator hoistway in a machine room. After the 1950s, hydraulic and ram elevators in which oil is used instead of steam returned because it was cheaper to put the machine room at the bottom of the building.
The first electrical controls were started to be used by relay techniques which are the same as telephones in the 1970s. And in the 1980s, with new developments, microprocessors are introduced to elevator controls. An elevator controller is a system to control the elevators and the elevator control panel is a cabin that holds all of the components to control the elevator. The elevator control panel holds all the power supply units, orchestrates all the operations, and ensures safety. Other functions like registering or canceling car calls, door control, measurement of the carload, and speed are handled by the elevator control panels.
Elevator Control Panels
Elevator control panel location is an important issue that is improved with technology. It can be placed at the hoistway or the machine room above the shaft. With the help of advanced microprocessor technology, elevator control panel parts control the elevator operations. The parts or the components of the elevator communicate with each other by using Control Area Network (CAN). Typical control software of an elevator includes:
- An operating system,
- Task-scheduling programs,
- Input, output, and communication programs,
- Programs of optimizing and controlling the operations of the elements.
Elevator control panel design can differ according to needs. Some of the types and specialties of elevator control panels are below:
VVVF Inverter Elevators
VVVF (Variable Voltage Variable Frequency) drivers or known by other names as VFD (Variable-Frequency Drive), AFD (Adjustable Frequency Drive), and VSD (Variable Speed Drive) are a type of new technology adjustable-speed drive to control an elevator speed by changing the motor input frequency and voltage. This type of Inverter Elevator has become popular with advanced technology and they replaced manually-controlled or dual-speed operation elevators. VVVF systems are more beneficial than the systems using throttling control of fluid flow, like in systems with pumps or fans. VVVF is up 40% energy efficient, more comfortable, and able to receive higher speed. Over the last 40 years, power electronics technology reduced VVVF size and cost and improved elevator control techniques. So, the VVVF system is mostly preferred for elevator technologies today.
Machine Room MR Elevator Control Panel
An elevator machine room is a room that holds the machinery and electrical controls for elevator operations. It is not the latest technology when compared to the others but this system is cheaper. MR elevator control panel uses ARKEL ARL 300 cards. Some of the specialties of these panels are:
- Compliance to standards EN 81/1-2 + A3
- Operates with synchronous and induction motors
- ARL 300 controller card
- With Arkel A-Drive & Fuji Frenic-Lift & Ziehl – Abegg Zetadyn inverter options
- Speed: up to 1,6 m/sn, Number of stops: Up to 24
- Suitable for 4 Lifts group operation
- Door pre-opening and re-leveling
- 2 door controls for cabins with double entrances
- 7 segment & grey cod & binary cod display options
- Emergency rescue with UPS
- Easy installation with serial communication in the cabin
- Compatible with all kinds of manual and automatic doors
Machine Roomless MRL Elevator Control Panel
One of the main differences between the MRL elevator control panel is the usage of the synchronous motor instead of the asynchronous motor. This basic change requires to use of the VVVF inverter in the elevator control panel circuit diagram. On the other hand, the lack of a separate machine room results in an ergonomic control panel and placing it at the highest level in an efficient way. Some of the specialties are:
- Compete with EN81-1+A3 standards
- Operates with synchronous and induction motors
- ARL 300 controller cards like MR elevators
- Arkel A-Drive & Fuji Frenic-Lift & Ziehl – Abegg Zetadyn inverter options
- 4 Lifts group operation
- 2 door controls for cabins with double entrances
- Door pre-opening and re-leveling
- 7 segment & grey cod & binary cod display options
- Speed: up to 1,6 m/sn, Number of stops: Up to 24
- Panel illumination and cooling fan
- Emergency rescue with UPS
- Easy installation with serial communication with the cabin
- Compatible with all kinds of auto doors and manual doors
Hydraulic Elevator Control Panel
Although they are not power-efficient and fast compared to modern ones, hydraulic lifts are preferred in some cases. Hydraulic elevator control panels are manufactured by a technique in which they can drive 3 different motors in an optimum way. Hydraulic controllers work directly, star triangle and soft start and they can work work with up to 4 pieces of lifts.
- Compete with EN81-1+A3 standards
- ARL 300 controller card
- Direct drive & Star Delta drive & Driving with soft starter options
- Door pre-opening and re-leveling
- Compete with all kinds of auto and manual doors
- 2 door controls for cabins with double entrances
- Speed: up to 1,2 m/sn, Number of stops: Up to 24
- 7 segment & grey cod & binary cod display options
- 4 Lifts group operation
- Panel illumination and cooling fan
- Emergency rescue with UPS
- Easy installation with serial communication with the cabin
Arcode Elevator Control Panel
The Arcode is a well-known control panel that the ISF Elevator company confidently presents. ARKEL Arcode controller can combine up to 8 pieces of elevators. There are an integrated controller card and an inverter on the panel.
- Cabin position information with incremental or absolute value motor encoders
- Independent door controls for each stop with 2 door supports
- Excellent travel comfort thanks to direct landing.
- Motor recognition / Pit Recognition / Automatic settings with the capability of learning control gains
- Energy-saving mode
- Internal EMI filter
- DC shock (Internal)
- Internal relays for transferring between the system and emergency feeding
- 48 -230VAC safety circuit voltage
- Pre-opening of doors and fast take-off (with optional door bridging module)
- Programmable entrances and exits
- Digital pit learning / short floor trips without any additional settings and hardware
- Lift test menu
- High stopping accuracy
These are the definitions and some of the most common types of elevator control cabins in Turkey. ISF Elevator Company can supply and give assistance to any kind of need. The elevator controllers are provided with a simple wire connection because of the advantage of CAN bus serial communication. Our products are easily serviceable and maintainable all around the world. All of our products have European standards (EN81-1, EN81-1A3, and EN81-20/50) and Russian standards (GOST-R). We supply not only elevator control panels, but also elevator control panels, speed control units, integrated elevator control units, regenerative units, door controllers, and auxiliary units with the same quality. As ISF Elevator Company, we are ready to help you in all the ways you need.
ISF Elevator – Content Producer
Can you give me some prices on what costs are involved with a VVVF controller. What does Thyssenkrupp charge for their controllers?