Industrial Vehicle Technology - June 2020
ION WILL
2020-07-10 07:42:29
JUNGHEINRICH ISN’T JUST A LIFT-TRUCK MANUFACTURER, A SIGNIFICANT PART OF ITS BUSINESS IS FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF BATTERIES - WITH NEW LITHIUM-ION BREAKTHROUGHS NOW HELPING TO DEFINE MANY INTERRELATED ASPECTS OF VEHICLE DESIGN
► Over the past few years Jungheinrich has been developing some of the most advanced lithium-ion technology available. As as result it now has batteries and charging systems that are not only more compact than ever before, but also deliver higher levels of performance, leading to something of a revolution in its vehicle design.
The precise cell chemistry of the batteries is lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO), which is said to be the safest, being non-toxic and non-hazardous from an ecological perspective. The batteries last three times as long as conventional ones, are fully charged in 80 minutes and can lead to an overall 20% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Meanwhile, Jungheinrich’s high-frequency charging technology for all voltage classes is in line with the highest performance requirements to ensure fast and safe intermediate charging and recharging, which achieves efficiency levels of up to 93%.
As battery, truck and charger are all from a single source, components are 100% compatible to each other, optimising battery performance and extending service life (all batteries are covered by a five year guarantee). Jungheinrich will even retrofit existing fleets with its new technology.
On board charging
A major advantage of lithium-ion technology is the ability to recharge the battery even during short breaks to increase the truck’s availability. And by equipping some of its trucks with an onboard charger mounted directly on the battery, Jungheinrich is now building in even more flexibility.
At the start of 2020 the OEM announced that its existing ETV216i model can now be equipped with its own charger, meaning it can be charged at any standard 400V 16A high-voltage socket. This enables charging at various points in a warehouse without the need to provide a specific charging infrastructure on site, saving unnecessary journeys to dedicated charging stations.
A 2500mm coiled cable allows the vehicle to be parked in any position to the power outlet. When the reach truck is in use, the cable is safely stowed in a storage compartment. Charging is not quite as fast as with a dedicated external charger, nevertheless the maximum charging current of 140A allows the completely empty battery to be fully charged in just four hours. And, even with the on-board charger installed, the truck’s battery can be alternatively charged with an external charger, and the quick charge socket can still be used.
Maximum performance
Elsewhere in the Jungheinrich range, the compact new battery technology is enabling completely new vehicle design. In 2019, the company presented the compact ERC 216zi stacker truck with an integrated lithium-ion battery. Now the range is being expanded with the addition of stacker trucks with capacities of 1.4t and 1.6t, with double or triple mast as well as with or without initial lift for their specific application. Wide-tread vehicles are also part of the range.
Expansion of the range has been facilitated by the fact that, instead of the battery trough being located behind the mast - common in such vehicles to date - the energy storage unit is now positioned centrally in the vehicle. With an L2 dimension of 1239mm, the lithium-ion trucks of the ERCi family are at least 170mm shorter than comparable vehicles, making them by far the most compact electric stacker trucks on the market.
Thanks to the compactness of the battery, the new ERCi family is also more manoeuvrable, and can use space previously taken up by the battery to take advantage of a new type of mast that uses the same profiles as Jungheinrich’s counterbalance trucks. The trucks also have a higher residual capacity of at least 100kg. In addition, the new mast entry damping system ensures smooth mast transitions when lowering.
“THE DIGITAL SCAN USING THE NEW FORK-ARM CAMERA HELPS TO PREVENT STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL ERRORS, AND THE ASSOCIATED SEARCH TIMES AND MISSED TRIPS” Dr Felix Riesenhuber, head of product management assistance systems and modules, Jungheinrich
Automation evolution
Lithium-ion technology is also central to Jungheinrich’s latest AGV – the ERC 213a automated pallet truck. It gives the vehicle a particularly high availability – a 2.8kW three-phase AC motor ensuring constant power, while the electrically controlled lift motor can be finely adjusted while lifting at heights of up to 4400mm.
Thanks to its compact design, the ERC 213a automated pallet truck is perfect for use in confined spaces, but a closed frame structure means it is also particularly robust.
Looking ahead
Last, but not least, it should not be forgotten that Jungheinrich has what is perhaps the most powerful lithium-ion lift-truck ever built in the pipeline. We ran a full report on the P30i hydrostatic counterbalance lift-truck in our February 2020 edition, which you can read in our online back issues (see ‘On the Web’). But to briefly recap, the P30i, which is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2021, delivers its unprecedented power thanks to the new high-voltage lithium-ion technology. Meanwhile, it maintains the cabin comfort of ICE equivalents, due to the compact nature of the lithium-ion batteries, which can be split into two modules and therefore be easily fitted into an IC truck shell.
“This it the first truck in the world where we use the shell of an IC truck and put the high-voltage lithium-ion technology inside,” says Marvin Jentzch, product manager for Jungheinrich. “Previously our lithiumion technology was 80V. Now with 96V for the first time we can replace high-performance IC trucks.”
The challenge of creating an environmentally friendly industry is pressing. Jungheinrich believes lithium-ion technology will be a key part of the solution, but it’s not the only option. Turn the page for the lowdown on the other big contender...
20%
The average reduction in CO2 emissions gained by switching from lead-acid to lithium-ion batteries
96V
The electromotive force in Jungheinrich’s new generation lithium-ion batteries
EYES ON THE FORKS
How can an operator be certain they are picking the right item off a high shelf with their lift-truck? The answer, from Jungheinrich, is that the forks of trucks can now be equipped with a new networked digital fork camera, for intelligent scanning of goods.
The solution, which prevents storage and retrieval errors, is the latest feature of the optical assistance system family called addedVIEW (which also includes 360° camera to give counterbalance forklift trucks a panoramic, bird’s eye view) and works by matching barcodes on the storage compartments with goods.
The code content on the goods and the shelf compartment is compared with the specifications of the merchandise management system and highlighted visually. Using this system, classical insertion errors, where goods are stored in the wrong compartment but are scanned as correctly stored, can no longer occur. During retrieval, the networked digital fork camera prevents the picking of wrong pallets in the rack.
“When barcode lists are scanned manually at the shelf compartments or on order papers, which has been common practice up to now, errors occur time and again because the place of storage is not directly checked,” says Dr Felix Riesenhuber, head of product management assistance systems and modules at Jungheinrich. “The digital scan using the new fork-arm camera now effectively helps to prevent storage and retrieval errors and the associated search times and missed trips”
Even under difficult lighting conditions, the digital fork camera can guarantee high image quality by dynamically adjusting the exposure parameters. By digitally sharpening the contrasts, the high-resolution camera makes it possible to reliably detect the QR codes even on the upper shelf levels.
On the Web
Read the February 2020 edition of iVT at www.iVTinternational.com/online-magazines
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ION WILL
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