Magnetic, Sideways-Moving Elevators are Coming in 2016 | |
Magnetic, Sideways-Moving Elevators are Coming in 2016 ![]() No more cables for this moving box! After 160 years of service, ThyssenKrupp wants to ditch the rope-powered elevator for something a little more modern. And there's nothing that screams "the future is here!" quite like sideways-moving elevators with maglev-inspired linear motors, right? The new lift system, which will enter testing in 2016, ditches the traditional rope/cable system for linear motors -- one for vertical movement, and one for horizontal movement. Linear motors can come in several designs, but typically the electric motor uses opposing magnetic forces to create movement. The new system, dubbed MULTI, would free up a sizable amount of space around the elevator cabin, too, giving architects an additional 25 percent of floorspace to work with. There would also be a multi-level brake system, and an energy return/inductive power transfer system. These new people movers would work in a loop, with five cabins continually moving throughout the elevator circuit. This means a smaller footprint would also be able to move more people, and faster -- a typical skyscraper system would reduce elevator wait times to between 15 and 30 seconds. The testing will take place in Rottweil, Germany in 2016. If all goes well, you should be seeing Star Wars-style turbolifts in new skyscrapers and urban projects in the 2020's. | |
So, if the power goes out...wouldn't you be even MORE screwed? | |
Sounds cool. But why does one need horizontal moving boxes? Wouldn't a treadmill-like band (maybe also magnetically powered) be better to move cargo around, without the volume limitations of a box? I'm thinking of cargo here, because what we don't need more of is excuses for people to not walk. | |
Maybe you missed this part...: "There would also be a multi-level brake system, and an energy return/inductive power transfer system." | |
I'd heard about this from a colleague just yesterday, but it's still great to see it making the news. Here's hoping their test runs quickly prove successful. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I assume you meant, "...able to move more people".
I also assume you meant Star Trek-style turbo-lifts. ;) | |
Unless there was a ratcheting system of sort or a braking mechanism similar to what many elevators have now. Issue is theough the current suystem is quite energy efficient since many use a counterweight system so more or less the elevator 's own weight is nullified so the motor really only has to accomodate the weight of the passengers.. With this however it will probably be the mottors themselves. I honnestly don't thing horizontal elevators will be a thing. A carpeted conveyor belt system would likely be able to accomplish the same thing and not require giving up a a lot of square-footage. See that's real important in buildings, getting every possible squarefoot to work. Now a vertical shaft more or less takes up the space of an office on each floore... a horizontal one however would basically waste a good deal of surface area. Me thinks this is not unlike the 'Solar Roadways' thing we heard about. It sounds cool but when you start crunching math numbers...it holds no real benefit | |
If it is of any use for mankind is for the architects to decide. But it sure as hell looks cool. Here a Picture of the elevator system: It is from this article: And a small thing: The test will be in Rottweil. Not in Rottwell. | |
With the power going out there might be a more harsh bounce but with standard breaking systems it wouldn't be too bad I think. The lack of a counterbalance is what I'm thinking would make it more severe as if the line had snapped but I'm sure that's just an engineering problem rather than something major. I really don't see this as being energy efficient though. | |
Those... are Star Trek turbolifts.
I'd imagine that this elevator would have electromagnetically sealed break system, designed to go off the moment the power goes out, similar to what current elevators have today. | |
Just being able to move a few feet to the side - allowing each box to move from one shaft to another - makes an enormous difference. Now, the same box that was moving up in one shaft can be moving down in another shaft. A box stopping in the middle can move out of the way so that boxes continuing to the top or bottom can move past it. And so on. Right now elevators are extremely limited in that you can only have one box per shaft, no matter what it's doing. | |
If you have the treadmill going across the floor plate you are eating up valuable space. Every sqft is big money in a high rise building. So if you are able to have a system that takes up less space for circulation, both vertical and horizontal, you know have more lease-able space and more lease-able space equals more money for the owners/investors of the building. If this works and isn't significantly more costly to build it's a win win. | |
There, Fixed that for you. I for one am actually looking forward to see if this works. | |
But it's worse with a box. You still need a shaft for the elevator to go through, only now it's horizontal. It's volumetric space you're wasting, not only a flat moving, conveyor belt. | |
*Checks off another part required to build the Enterprise* Getting warmer... Of course, there IS one thing that potentially XYZ-axis elevators make me worry about. Does anybody happen to recall those Cube movies where they wipe your memory and put you through a giant shifting torture puzzle-box? | |
The issue is though, by having the X & Y movement separated, they must exist at two separate planes (depths) in the building, by combining them into the same depth you gain probably a solid 12ft in one direction plus whatever the width is. You can put desks or walls in the circulation area, so putting the two types of circulation together is more cost beneficial. The flatness is a mute point since people need open spaces in the height to be able to move. | |
The article here omits the fact that those boxes are supposed to be way smaller. More 10 people than 30, like it is now. | |
The magnet better not be too strong to messed up our electronic stuff when we're inside it! | |
It's not an elevator. Elevators only go up and down. It's a wonka-vator, which can go up-ways and down-ways and long ways and short ways and you get the point | |
Magnets, how do they work? | |
Does no-one remember Roald Dahl any more? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory did this before Star Trek. Although having checked the dates, not as much before as I thought. | |
While I don't see this being used like in some sci-fi movies that show the elevator moving rather long distances sideways (a regular conveyor belt is way more space efficient), this opens a lot more possibilities for regular elevators. It would also open up the option of several elevator per one shaft with spaces for the elevators t move to the side so that they can past by each other. Another interesting thing would be the elevator moving one elevator size to the side when they stop so that the whole system doesn't need to wait if they want to move one. Yup, lots of possibilities for faster elevator systems and them moving purely sideway isn't really the big thing.
I remember. The movies were so ridiculously bad that they ended up being one of my favorite unintentional horror comedies. | |
Unless they are using something with a high frequency, the car itself will be enough. I doubt this thing will ever need the speed or tonnage of a Mag-lev train using superconductors, So additional shielding will not be needed. | |