LÜTZE Wiring for rack-mounted units

With more than 50 years of company history and a presence in more than 70 countries, Mecalux's range of services comprises the development, production and sale of metal shelves, automatic storage systems as well as other storage solutions and associated services.

Mecalux is one of the worldwide leading companies in the field of storage systems. The leadership position of the company is based on the application of state-of-the-art technologies and a comprehensive sales network across several continents. The Mecalux Group has eleven production centres in Europe, North and South America, all strategically placed to provide faster and more flexible services to current and potential markets.

One of the outstanding solutions from Mecalux is the automation of stores, e.g. with the powerful shelf operating units for pallets (RBG). These vehicles can reach a height of up to 45 metres.  They move along aisles just 1.5 metres wide and perform goods receipt, arrangement and goods outwards functions. Control of the shelf operating units occurs via control software, which receives all commands from the storage management program Easy WMS® developed by Mecalux.

Together with Mecalux the internal control cabinet design of the RBGs was improved which, depending on the capacity of the motors, had three different widths: 800, 1,000 and 1,200 mm. A common problem for all versions was the lack of space on the assembly board, resulting in the mains filters of the frequency converters assembled externally or laterally inside the control cabinet. The latter made access to the components assembled below very difficult. Furthermore, cooling of the devices was not sufficient, as the free space required by the component manufacturers for ventilation could not be provided and was taken up by cable ducts.

The first LSC-B frame was designed for the vehicle with smaller capacity. Through optimum usage of the space all components, including mains filter, could be set up on one level. In addition, free space was created above and below the frequency converters, which significantly improved their ventilation and cooling.

The gain of space was even large enough to be able to assemble performance components for larger RBGs on the same LSC frame. This way a single frame design could be created for all performance classes, in a control cabinet which is only 800 mm in width. Naturally the solution resulted in significant simplification of the mechanical assembly. Independent of the size of the vehicle, the same platform could now be used for the control cabinet in all models. Also worth mentioning is the fact that the response time for completing the electrical installation could be significantly reduced.
An additional LÜTZE frame was integrated on the lifting carriage of the same device. However, this is the LSC compact version for smaller control cabinets. This assembly also provides the option to install frequency converters of different sizes.

The project management thus became product processing. Previously it was not possible to start on the structure of the control cabinet before clearly defining the size and capacity of the new device in the project. Here preparatory work can be carried out. Control cabinets are now prewired with all control elements except for the performance components. These are added in the remaining free space once the model is confirmed.

Over time, additional solutions were integrated from the LÜTZE range. For example switching power supplies, relays and the overload control for DC 24 V electrical circuit LOCC-Box. This is particularly important for the Mecalux technicians, as apart from the current 1-10 A to be fused, the tripping characteristic can also be set.

Martin Brinkmann - CEO LÜTZE Spain