MOTOR on CARTOP! Special Scenic DIETHELM MRL LIFT

Timestamps:
0:00 intro
0:22 normal ride
3:06 control cabinet
4:53 car top / lift shaft / motor
This lift is situated at a train station. It is part of an overpass over a main road and connects the sidewalk and bus stop to the complex. The train stop is also situated on the upper level. The lift was built together with the station complex in 2008. It is a scenic lift with a glass shaft, glass lift car and glass doors manufactured by Diethelm, a company known for their unique MRL solutions.
The motor of this MRL lift is located on the car top. This is a very unique solution by Diethelm to save space in the shaft head. The ropes wrap twice around the traction- and counter sheave on the lift car, resulting in a 270° wrapping angle for stronger traction. The motor of choice is rather compact and uses a planetary gearbox. The drive is located on the car top as well. The overspeed governor suggests that this lift was originally designed for a speed of 1m/s. It is therefore unclear whether it was always meant to only run at 0.75m/s or has been slowed down at some point later. Nevertheless the levelling is set up really weell and teh advanced door opening makes this lift really efficient.
The concept of this lift later evolved into the Diethelm MRL with the motor and drive installed on the counterweight. A specimen of this successor can be found here: • 2 Very SPECIAL DIETHEL...
A second identical lift on the other side of the road was modernised a few years ago by AS Aufzüge. It now runs on a NewLift FST-2XT controller and has been converted to a normal MRL with the motor located in the shaft head. AS is responsible for the maintenance of both lifts.
Manufacturer: Diethelm Aufzüge, 2008
Capacity: 15 persons / 1125 kg
Type: Traction, 2:1 roping, double wrap
Floors: 2: 0, 1
Fixtures: BS Tableau D33
Speed: 0.75 m/s
Travel height: 7.4m
Logic: Schneider LiSA 10
Drive: SIEIDrive AVy -L
Motor: Wittenstein Alpha planetary geared
WARNING/DISCLAIMER: DO NOT attempt to copy anything shown in the video without having the proper knowledge of how to do so! LIFT SHAFTS and MACHINE ROOMS are very DANGEROUS places and are NOT MEANT to be accessed by inexperienced or untrained personnel!
Dangers in these environments include but are not limited to crushing, electrocution, falling and burns.

[@ElevatorExploration]

You have found a really very special and interesting elevator, having the motor on the cabin is just as well thought out as having it on the counterweight and this allows two things, the first is more space in the cage whether in up or down and the second is that the weight of the engine is not only on the cabin guides. It's a nice elevator that should surely do the job for a public space.

[@TheLiftDragon]

Indeed, I really like this special system and it shows that even 15 years ago, companies invented some new and interesting concepts that were not boring standard like all other lifts. Especially in the 90s many interesting lift concepts came to be, even if they were only produced over a short span of a few years.

[@BenDeSwert666]

I see a couple of issues, though. You've got high voltage, at high current going through your trailing cables, which can be dangerous if they fail. And I've seen them failing plenty before. And, more power usage as you're always lifting the weight of your motor along with your car. It's a neat system, and quite a rare sight, but as with everything it has disadvantages. And I wonder if the possibly dangerous disadvantages weigh up against the advantages of the space savings in the shaft. I mean, why try to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@TheLiftDragon]

@@BenDeSwert666 The main concern I see with the system is: What if the drive fails on the top floor? You're stuck. The brake relays are also in that box, so if you can't energize these the thing is pretty much fully stuck.

[@BenDeSwert666]

@@TheLiftDragon I agree. Isn't there a shaft acces hatch in the car ceiling? That's about the only way I can imagine to initiate such repairs in this situation. Otherwise, there should be an electrical emergency brake release in case of entrapment due to power loss. It can be used to lower the car if you put weight in it, in order to access the car top.

[@TheLiftDragon]

@@BenDeSwert666 There is no hatch, sadly. Electronic brake release is present but that should be the case with all MRLs. Or in the best case it even is mechanical (Eurolift).

[@fw6797]

wat een mooi systeem , nog nooit gezien op deze manier 👍

[@TheLiftDragon]

It indeed is a very special and very rare solution. Thank you!

[@preetham8699]

Thank u lift dragon...❤

[@TheLiftDragon]

You're welcome

[@Avidiy]

You have found a special lift! It has a the motor on top of the car, but why? Does not it increase the rescue time of the lift if it is stuck between floors and the brake does not release? Also, in genral why put it on top of the lift, and why should you put the control pannel of the lift that far, i am perplexed on this, i do like the idea of the motor on top of the lift, also, why do you have to wrap it 270°, for better traction? Or longevity of the lifts cables, and putting the control panel far from the lift makes it much more temper-proof, as peapole would check the top of the lift first, "also if it is away from the lift, it is much easier for pranking" jokes aside, can this be called an MRL as it does not have a motor room?

[@TheLiftDragon]

Indeed, this lift is very special. The company Diethelm tried out some new concepts, you may also have seen my video on the lifts with the motor and VFD on the counterweight. They still produce these to this day and the design is much more refined than the one you see here. I think the idea behind this whole thing is to create something new that is more space-saving. I kinda like the idea as it is something different. But If the VFD brakes you might have serious trouble getting the lift to run again. 270° wrapping is needed for enough traction, exactly. Most lifts wrap something between 135° and 180°. Single wrap here would mean there is only 90° and this is clearly not enough. So double wrap is used, resulting in 270° in this case here (90 + 180). The position of the control cabinet is just the best possible position in close proximity to the lift. there is not enough space in the concrete wall of the lift itself, so the pillar/wall of the stairs is used. Having the control cabinet a bit hidden surely also adds to the aesthetic and it hides it from vandals. Tampering as in the way certain individuals from the UK do it surely was not a concern in 2008. For that protection the cabinet is locked - and it is locked with a specific lift key which normal people can not obtain!

[@Avidiy]

Ok, thanks, that info is quite detailed!

[@Biasca1]

Interessantes Video! Ganz spezieller Antrieb!

[@TheLiftDragon]

Dankesehr!

[@SeanBZA]

Interesting in how remote the controller is, but the inverter and drives are right by the lift in the shaft. Nice neat wiring in the controller, just a little messier by the shaft side though. But compared to where I just was working, very tidy, no mess, no masses of old redundant cables left in trays, no metres of excess cable draped all over, and literally no tons of oil and dirt making all the cables slippery and sticky as well. Even junction boxes needed a litre or three of oil mopped out first when opened, before you started working, just to get to the base of them. Then also the millions of metal stampings all over, in every place, such that the magnetic broom needed to be emptied every stroke. Inverter drives there start at 10kW, and only go up in size, with lots of them slaved together to get to the right power, and all of the parts Made in Japan.

[@TheLiftDragon]

The cabinet location in the concrete wall supporting the stairs is probably the easiest choice. It's hidden from plain sight and it would look pretty ugly having it right next to the lift in the concrete wall. The cabinet of the lift on the other side of the road is mounted in the same position, the setup is basically mirrored. The wiring here is more or less standard in Switzerland, most cabinets are similar (except for the ones of the big lift brands which are usually worse). It's not extra nice, it just works. Also the timer is not properly mounted on a DIN rail, or the rail itself is loose, that's not so nice. What you describe to me sounds like a miracle that the things even do work. Especially in the industry where things get dirty or wet, cabinets here have to be IP67 or higher in order for the insides to stay clean.

[@SeanBZA]

@@TheLiftDragon Well, it is 5 floors tall, and has stairs inside it as well, plus at around 3000 tons it is heavy. 16 years plus of running 24/7 as a steel press plant, so yes there is wear all over, and lots of quick fixes. But left the parts I worked on in better condition, semi tidy, with looms tied up again, oil out and more than 1 screw holding parts together, plus fixed up a few broken wires and such. But still works well, despite being submerged recently in a massive flood, and being repaired and running again, after 6 weeks of work. there is tape all over showing the flood high level mark, and that all the equipment that got flooded was cleaned and dried, before being assembled and put back in service. Replacing would have been a 2 year wait.

[@b43xoit]

From end to end, where do the ropes go?

[@TheLiftDragon]

Starting from the CW side: shaft ceiling -> counter weight sheave -> deflecting sheave in shaft head -> 2x (traction sheave car top -> deflecting sheave car top) -> shaft ceiling. It is normal like any other 2:1 MRL except for the traction sheave being one on the cartop instead of the one on the ceiling. Also the sheaves on the cartop are double wrapped for traction. This is necessary because in single wrap the angle would only be 90°, which is not enough.

[@SVENY]

hmm....

[@TheLiftDragon]

sus

[@BenDeSwert666]

ugh.. schneider lisa 10. absolute garbage controller...

[@TheLiftDragon]

Hahaha, I hate LiSA 10 too. LiSA 20 and 21 however are fine.

[@BenDeSwert666]

@@TheLiftDragon they're.. Ok... A huge improvement over the 10, but certainly not the greatest. I'd take a kollmorgen over any Lisa for generic controller. But, since I'm a KONE tech, KCE is where it's at 😁