1.5T 304 SS VRC for High-Purity Battery Materials

The client for this project is an industry-leading new energy battery material manufacturer. Their production facility required the vertical transport of heavy raw material “ton bags” (weighing up to 1,500 kg per pallet) from the 1st-floor indoor receiving zone to the 4th-floor production dosing lines, spanning a vertical travel height of 16.0 meters with a same-direction entry/exit (C-type) configuration.

Battery active raw materials (such as lithium carbonate or ternary precursors) are extremely sensitive to trace metallic impurities (especially iron, copper, and zinc). Any microscopic metal wear particles or carbon steel rust flakes that contaminate the chemicals will lead to micro-short circuits, high self-discharge rates, or thermal runaway in the finished battery cells.

To address this, we customized and delivered a 1.5-ton SJW1.5-16.0 Fully enclosed 304 Stainless Steel Vertical Reciprocating Conveyor (VRC) system . The core highlights of this project include:
1. Full-System 304 Stainless Steel Contamination-Free Design: The VRC cabin , the full-height exterior shaft cladding , and all ground-level and cabin roller conveyors are constructed from premium 304 stainless steel. The structural plates and conveyor rollers underwent precise shot blasting and anti-static treatments , completely eliminating the risk of carbon steel rust or non-ferrous wear particulates contaminating the chemical materials.
2. Highly Sealed Vertical Hermetic Shaft: The exterior of the VRC shaft is clad in high-finish, reflective 304 stainless steel panels (stainless steel outer cladding) , creating a sealed vertical transport channel. The ingress/egress portals are equipped with PVC rapid-roll doors interlocked with the main PLC. This maintains complete isolation during transit to contain chemical dust and prevent the migration of ambient humidity.
3. Elevator-Grade Heavy-Duty Structure & Precise Leveling: Built with $150 \times 5 mm$ high-rigidity square tube masts and professional T90 elevator guide rails , the system is driven by a 5.5kW geared brake motor paired with high-strength 20B chains . Managed by a Siemens PLC and German Schmersal high-precision safety leveling sensors , the cabin consistently achieves a leveling accuracy of within $\pm 5 mm$ , ensuring smooth, vibration-free 1.5-ton transfers across a 16-meter elevation

Challenge & Solution

Challenge

Before deploying our enclosed stainless steel VRC system, the client’s inter-floor material transport lines suffered from severe quality, safety, and capacity bottlenecks:

Corrosion & Trace Metallic Contamination Risks: Conventional cargo lifts and industrial lifters are constructed of carbon steel finished with standard anti-corrosion paints. In dusty, high-humidity chemical environments, these paints easily delaminate, causing the structural steel to oxidize and rust. Furthermore, the standard brass bushings and zinc-galvanized components shed wear particulates of copper, zinc, and iron. These airborne metallic particles migrated throughout the facility, resulting in a 0.8% batch rejection rate of the refined battery materials, costing the facility approximately ¥180,000 monthly in scrap and rework.
Highly Restricted Vertical Throughput: Moving a bulky, 1.5-ton chemical pallet vertically across 16 meters via standard freight elevators and manual forklifts required more than 15 minutes per cycle (including manual gate handling and leveling wait times). Throughput was limited to under 20 pallets/hour, leaving the 4th-floor chemical mixers frequently idling due to delayed raw material delivery.
Leveling Drift and Inaccurate Positioning at Height: Stopping and starting a 1,500 kg payload at a height of 16 meters demands high positioning accuracy . Traditional lifting platforms often suffered from leveling errors exceeding ±15mm. This created vertical lips between the cabin and landing conveyors, leading to pallet runner hangups, severe vibrations, or the risk of ton-bag tearing and powder spills.
Air and Dust Migration Compromising Cleanrooms: Battery active material formulation areas require strict localized dust containment and low-dew-point humidity control. Open vertical hoistways acted as chimneys, allowing humid, unpurified ground-floor air to draft upward into the 4th-floor clean zone, threatening the chemistry of the active powders and triggering sensor faults.

Solution

In response to these operational, material, and environmental challenges, we engineered and delivered a fully enclosed, high-purity 304 Stainless Steel Vertical Reciprocating Conveyor (VRC) turnkey system:

1. Hermetic 304 Stainless Steel Outer Cladding & Cabin to Eradicate Metallic Contamination:
  - Stainless Steel Shaft Cladding: The exterior of the VRC structure is fully clad in national-standard 304 stainless steel sheets . The surfaces underwent precision brushed finishing and anti-static processing, which prevents chemical dust accumulation and allows for easy washing and sanitary wipe-downs .
  - All-304 Cabin and Conveyors: The cabin structural frame, cabin floor plates , and all infeed/outfeed powered roller conveyors are fabricated from premium 304 stainless steel. All rotary joints, couplers, and bearing blocks feature dustproof seals to prevent grease leaks, and no copper- or zinc-plated components are used . This material integrity successfully reduced active material metallic contamination rates to 0%.
2. C-Type Layout and Landing Rapid PVC Door Air Barrier:
  - The system uses a highly compact C-type same-direction entry/exit layout, operating within a tight $2, 400 \times 3, 000 mm$ shaft footprint . Each landing entrance is fitted with an automated, sealed yellow PVC rapid-roll door . The door’s PLC (Siemens) is electrically interlocked with the hoist controls . The door only rolls open when the cabin achieves precise level alignment , cutting off the inter-floor air drafts during travel to protect the cleanroom.
3. High-Torque Powertrain & High-Rigidity T90 Guidance:
  - Hoisting is driven by a 5.5kW heavy-duty geared brake motor (Ningbo Dongli) coupled with 20B high-strength lifting chains . The mast columns are constructed from ultra-thick $150 \times 5 mm$ square profiles, combined with professional elevator-grade T90 steel guide rails to secure extreme lateral rigidity .
4. Siemens PLC, ABB VFD & Schmersal Precision Leveling:
  - The control panel integrates a Siemens S7-200 series PLC with an ABB variable frequency drive (VFD) . This VFD configuration executes smooth S-curve velocity profiling to eliminate acceleration jerks of the 1.5-ton load. Paired with German Schmersal safety leveling sensors and Omron/Panasonic photoelectric sensors , the platform achieves a leveling accuracy of within $\pm 5 mm$ . This guarantees smooth, shock-free transitions across the 304 stainless steel rollers [62], preventing ton-bag tearing.
5. Overspeed Safety Gear Linkage & Integrated Voice Indicators:
  - For fail-safe mechanical protection, the VRC includes an overspeed governor, a mechanical safety gear, and bottom rubber buffers . When the cabin is in motion or achieves level alignment, the system plays high-decibel clear voice broadcasts and distinct floor-level chimes . Paired with a three-color stack light, this provides a highly intuitive and safe operating interface for the floor workers.

Technical Specifications

Parameter	Specification / Engineering Detail
Model Designation	SJW1.5-16.0 Heavy-Duty VRC
Rated Load Capacity	1,500 kg (1.5 Metric Tons)
Lifting Stroke Height	16,000 mm (16 Meters)
Vertical Lifting Speed	15 m/min (Variable Frequency Adjustable)
Horizontal Conveyor Speed	15 m/min
Main Hoist Geared Motor	5.5 kW / AC 380V / 50Hz (Ningbo Dongli)
Conveyor Roller Diameter	$Φ50$ mm
Platform Inner Size	L1,800 mm x W1,800 mm x H2,200 mm
Lifting Shaft Size	2,400 mm (Depth) x 3,000 mm (Width)
Ingress/Egress Orientation	C-Type Same-Side Configuration (Pass-Through available)
Stations & Stops	2 Stops, 2 Stations (1st Floor to 4th Floor)
Leveling Positioning Accuracy	$\pm 5$ mm
Main Structural Mast Columns	$150 \times 150 \times 5 mm$ Square Steel Tubing (Laiwu Steel)
Lifting Guide Rails	Elevator-Grade Special T-Type Guide Rails (T90)
Driving Chain Specification	20B High-Strength Roller Chain (Donghua)
VRC Cabin Fabrication	Fully Fabricated from 304 Stainless Steel
Outer Shaft Cladding	Fully Enclosed 304 Stainless Steel Paneling
Conveyor Frames & Rollers	Fully Fabricated from 304 Stainless Steel
Landing Doors	Yellow PVC Rapid-Roll Doors (Boda)
Automation Controller	Siemens SIMATIC PLC (with digital I/O expansion modules)
Variable Frequency Drive (VFD)	ABB (China) VFD
Leveling Inductors	German Schmersal High-Performance Proximity Sensors
Safety Sensor Barriers	Epsi Safety Light Curtains
Fail-Safe Mechanism	Safety Gear + Xinjiang Overspeed Governor Linkage; Rubber Buffers
Operator Interface	Pedestal IP66 Console + Kunlun Tongtai 12″ HMI
Designed System Lifespan	$\geq 15$ Years

Need a Technical Advice?

1.5T 304 SS VRC for High-Purity Battery Materials

Project Overview

Challenge & Solution

Challenge

Solution

Technical Specifications

Project Gallery

Have a question or need technical advice? Our team is available 24/7 to assist you

Get a Bespoke Engineering Proposal

Home

Search

Products

Get Quote

Support & Service

Hot Products

Get In Touch