Control System Renewal: Meeting Diverse Needs

MEBS launches a new menu with eye toward North America and Europe. 

submitted by MEBS

Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Mitsubishi Electric Building Solutions (MEBS) launched a new control renewal menu in March for elevators manufactured by other companies and installed in existing buildings. By developing a new control panel with an auto-tuning function, MEBS is responding to the diverse needs of its overseas customers for the renewal of elevator control systems while spurring expansion of its maintenance and modernization business. The renewal menu:

• Achieves control that maximizes ride comfort, even with other companies’ traction machines, through auto-tuning. It is possible to upgrade to the latest control system by utilizing an MEBS control panel together with a traction machine made by another company. The newly developed control panel equipped with an auto-tuning function estimates the characteristics of the other company’s traction machine and automatically derives the control parameters for the combination of the other company’s traction machine and the MEBS control panel. This eliminates the need to develop a dedicated control panel for the traction machine and improves ride comfort.
• Promotes the modernization of existing elevators to improve safety and convenience and contributes to sustainability by reducing power consumption and waste emissions through the re-use of some of the equipment.
• Reduces downtime by eliminating the need to replace all equipment. 
• Achieves improved convenience in response to diversifying building solution needs. By adopting the renewal menu, it is possible to introduce integrated building solutions utilizing MEBS’s unique technologies such as its global remote-maintenance service M’s Bridge, DOAS (Destination-Oriented Allocation System), elevator coordination with mobile robots, elevator call system with smartphone and BMS (Building Management System). 

Available in the Americas, Europe, Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries and more, the solution is for roped passenger elevators with traction machine rooms.

Major renewal equipment includes, from MEBS, the control panel with auto-tuning function, the car operation panel and hall button; and from suppliers, the traction machine and car door, etc. Available in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries and more, the solution is for roped passenger elevators with traction machine rooms. 

Background

In the overseas elevator market, many elevator parts manufacturers and specialized elevator maintenance companies respond to diverse customer needs. With such a wide variety of choices, MEBS receives numerous requests from customers with existing elevators made by other companies about providing them with higher-quality services that involve renewing their control systems using MEBS control panels. 

Normally, when combining a control panel with a traction machine from a different manufacturer, it is necessary to develop an individual control panel that matches the characteristics of the traction machine. However, by adopting MEBS’s newly developed control panel equipped with an autotuning function, there is no need to develop a dedicated control panel for each traction machine. The latest control technology can be introduced while utilizing other companies’ traction machines. As a result, performance can be improved while reducing costs and ensuring long-term operation.

Until now, MEBS’s control renewal menu has been limited to ELEMOTION for existing MEBS elevators. But, with this new autotuning function-equipped control panel, MEBS can now offer control renewal for existing elevators made by other companies, allowing MEBS to meet an even wider variety of customer needs. 

Outlook

MEBS, deeply involved in the buildings system business, regards Mitsubishi Electric as a key growth area. Thus, MEBS plans to expand and accelerate its global elevator modernization business as a priority strategy. Through this new menu, MEBS aims to renew 1,000 units annually by 2030, mainly in North America and Europe.