Drives for logistics and warehouse equipment: conveyors, AS/RS, AGVs, stacker cranes
Intralogistics is non-stop S1 duty with tens of thousands of starts per day on sortation lines, precision positioning of stacker cranes in high-bay AS/RS up to 45 m tall, and quiet, clean drives for AGVs/AMRs operating next to people. Generic general-purpose solutions do not fit here: the application calls for compact gear motors for driven rollers, servos for accurate positioning, fast-engaging brakes to hold lifting carriages, and conductor bars for moving rail-bound machines.
Industry-typical tasks
- Driving belt, roller and chain conveyors in distribution centers with output torque of 50–2,500 N·m and motors of 0.37–7.5 kW
- Horizontal travel and hoist drives for stacker cranes in high-bay AS/RS up to 45 m tall, with hoist power of 5.5–30 kW
- Traction and steering drives for AGVs/AMRs — mobile robots with differential kinematics, 0.4–3 kW per axis, powered from 48 V LiFePO4 batteries
- Mast, wheel and hydraulic drives for reach trucks and electric forklifts — 5–22 kW, frequent reversals, S4 duty with 200+ cycles per hour
- Cross-belt and tilt-tray parcel sorters: dozens of drive modules with servo control and accurate discharge into the target chute
- Airport baggage handling systems (BHS): continuous duty, low noise, jam protection against belts caught in the drive
- Backstops for inclined warehouse and grain elevator conveyors — preventing reverse run of the loaded belt when the drive stops
- Conductor bar systems and cable reels for moving stacker cranes and warehouse overhead cranes with travel length of 50–200 m
Gearboxes and gear motors
In warehouse automation a gearbox is first and foremost a compact gear motor: one is fitted to every driven conveyor roller, to stacker crane carriages, and to the base of reach trucks. The key criteria are mounting layout (hollow shaft, flange, foot), low vibration, and the ability to handle start-stop duty up to 300 cycles per hour. Service factor for conveyors is typically 1.2–1.5; for stacker crane hoist drives it is 1.8–2.0, with verification of short-term overloads during acceleration.
Drive gear motors for warehouse conveyors
Boneng K-series helical-bevel gear motors are mounted on the drive pulley of a belt or chain conveyor. The compact hollow-shaft layout allows side-mounting of the drive on the pulley without an additional coupling. For distribution centers with noise limits, versions with a herringbone output stage are selected — 3–5 dB quieter than spur-cut equivalents.
- — K-series (helical-bevel) or R-series (in-line helical)
- — Power 0.37–7.5 kW, gear ratio 10–200
- — Hollow output shaft with key or shrink disk
- — Service factor of at least 1.3 for distribution centers
Hoist gearboxes for AS/RS stacker cranes
High-bay stacker cranes in automated warehouses 25–45 m tall use helical or planetary hoist gearboxes with a brake and an incremental encoder. Height positioning accuracy is 3–5 mm and cycle rate is up to 200 operations per hour. Typical choices are Guomao GR/GS and Boneng HB with flange mounting and an integrated brake on the high-speed shaft.
- — Gear ratio 25–80, output torque 1,500–8,000 N·m
- — Built-in spring-set brake on the high-speed shaft
- — Low backlash for accurate positioning (≤ 6 arc-min)
- — Compatibility with HTL/TTL encoder on the motor non-drive end
Traction gearboxes for reach trucks and electric forklifts
Planetary wheel gear motors are integrated with the drive wheel of a stacker or reach truck. They run with frequent reversals and sharp accelerations, with peak torque up to 2.5× nominal. Steering drives use worm or planetary gear motors with servo control and steering-angle feedback.
- — Planetary layout with hollow shaft for the wheel half-axle
- — Radial load from the machine plus load up to 5 t
- — IP65 sealing (operation in areas with water and cleaning agents)
- — Compatibility with a PMSM motor and servo drive
Gearboxes for cross-belt and tilt-tray sorters
Parcel sorters use dozens of drive modules with compact 0.75–2.2 kW gear motors to accelerate the carrier up to 2.5–3 m/s and discharge the parcel within 0.3–0.5 s. Boneng and Guomao R/S series with low rotor inertia are typical. Tilt-tray sorters add a servo tilt drive with encoder.
- — Low output-shaft inertia (fast acceleration and braking)
- — Compact flange layout for in-carrier mounting
- — IP54 protection, operation at 5–40 °C
- — Service life of at least 20,000 h in S4 duty
Gear motors for airport baggage conveyors
Tier-1/Tier-3 airport baggage handling systems (BHS) run conveyors with a total length of up to 30 km. Each section is driven by an individual gear motor — F-series (parallel-shaft) or K-series (helical-bevel). Noise limits of ≤ 75 dB(A) at 1 m and reliability targets (MTBF > 50,000 h) are critical.
- — Low noise level of ≤ 75 dB(A)
- — Thermal margin for continuous S1 24/7 operation
- — Jam protection (shear pin or slip sensor)
- — Model standardization to simplify service (3–5 sizes across the entire BHS)
Electric motors and servo drives
Three motor classes coexist in logistics: general-purpose asynchronous YE3/YE4 motors for conveyors and warehouse ventilation (continuous duty, mains-powered), PMSM servo motors for AGVs/AMRs, reach trucks and sorters (precise speed and torque control, fed from a traction inverter), and compact asynchronous motors for integrated gear motors. Energy efficiency is a total-cost-of-ownership factor: in a large distribution center, moving from IE2 to IE4 pays back in 2–3 years.
Asynchronous motors for conveyor drives
Wolong YE3/YE4 (IE3/IE4) and Huali YBK3/YE4 series are fitted to conveyor drive pulleys and inside gear motors. IP55 protection, class F insulation. In 24/7 distribution centers IE4 motors are preferred — saving 4–6 % over IE3 at equal torque. Soft-start can be used for long conveyors.
- — Power 0.37–7.5 kW, 4 or 6 poles
- — Efficiency class IE3 or IE4
- — IP55, class F insulation with class B thermal margin
- — Inverter-rated (for variable-speed conveyors)
Servo motors for AGVs and AMRs
Traction drives for mobile robots use permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) with 17–23-bit encoders and an integrated holding brake. They are fed from a 48 V traction inverter. Inovance MS1H4 and Wolong ZW series for AGV chassis provide 2–10 N·m of torque with a compact 80–110 mm flange. The same series in short-frame versions are used for steering drives.
- — PMSM, 48 V DC supply from a LiFePO4 battery
- — Absolute encoder with resolution ≥ 17 bit
- — Built-in holding brake engaged on power loss
- — IP65 for operation in floor-cleaning and washdown areas
Servo motors for sorters and pick stations
Cross-belt and tilt-tray sorters use dozens of 200 V AC servo motors rated 400–1,500 W. Control runs over an EtherCAT/Profinet fieldbus with a 1 ms cycle, which lets the parcel discharge be synchronized with the receiving chute at 3 m/s. Inovance SV660N series provide 3× peak overload torque.
- — Peak overload torque of 3× for 1–2 s
- — EtherCAT or Profinet/Profidrive fieldbus interface
- — Low rotor inertia (fast acceleration)
- — Fed from a common DC bus with regeneration
Lift motors for reach trucks and electric forklifts
Wheel traction motors and the hydraulic pump motor in modern reach trucks are also PMSMs at 48 or 80 V. Wolong ZW and Inovance deliver 50–150 N·m at the wheel and 80–200 N·m at the lift pump. Regeneration during load lowering and braking returns 15–25 % of energy to the battery, extending shift time without recharging.
- — Power 5–22 kW, 48–80 V DC supply
- — Regenerative braking support
- — Liquid or forced-air cooling
- — CAN bus compatibility (CANopen/J1939)
Brakes and holding systems
Warehouse safety is defined by the brakes on stacker crane lifting carriages and the backstops on inclined conveyors. A 1,500 kg AS/RS stacker crane must hold its load indefinitely on power loss, so a spring-set fail-safe brake is fitted on the hoist gearbox. On inclined conveyors a backstop prevents the loaded belt from running backwards when the motor stops — without it the belt can travel back 50–100 m under the weight of the material and damage the equipment.
Brakes for AS/RS stacker crane lifting carriages
Huawu YPZ2 electromagnetic disc or shoe brakes are fitted on the high-speed shaft of the hoist gearbox. They are fail-safe (normally closed): on power loss the spring engages the brake within 80–150 ms. This is an EN 528 safety requirement for AS/RS systems. Heavy-duty stacker cranes carrying up to 3 t use a dual setup (two brakes on the same shaft).
- — Spring-set fail-safe brake (normally closed)
- — Braking torque with a 1.75 safety factor over rated hoist torque
- — Engagement time on power loss of ≤ 0.15 s
- — IP54 protection, at least 10 million cycles
Backstops for inclined warehouse conveyors
Tianiu NJ/NF backstop one-way clutches are fitted on the high-speed or low-speed shaft of the gearbox on an inclined conveyor. They transmit torque in one direction (drive) and lock the reverse direction at standstill. For long conveyors (1 km+), a low-speed-disengagement backstop is selected to reduce roller wear inside the cage during operation.
- — Reverse-direction holding torque up to 80 kN·m
- — Low disengagement speed (for long conveyors)
- — Mounting on either high-speed or low-speed shaft
- — Roller service life of at least 30,000 h
Travel brakes for stacker cranes
Besides hoisting, a stacker crane has a horizontal travel drive running along the rack aisle. The brake here serves both as a service brake (positional stop) and as an emergency brake (holding on power loss). Jingu YWZ series (electrohydraulic thruster) are used for heavy machines or Huawu DZE (electromagnetic) for light ones. Stop accuracy is 5 mm.
- — Horizontal stop accuracy of ± 5 mm
- — Electromagnetic or electrohydraulic actuation
- — Manual release for emergency evacuation
- — Lining wear monitoring (limit switch)
Holding brakes for AGVs/AMRs and reach trucks
Traction servo motors for mobile robots and reach trucks come with a built-in holding brake on the motor non-drive end. It is a spring-set electromagnetic brake that engages on power loss and holds the machine on grades up to 5 %. The same brake is used to park the machine during charging. Lining wear sets in after 5 million engage/release cycles.
- — Motor-integrated electromagnetic brake
- — Holds the loaded machine on grades up to 5 %
- — 24 V DC supply from the on-board bus
- — At least 5 million engagement cycles
Conductor bars and power electronics
Moving warehouse machines — stacker cranes, overhead cranes, sorter carriers — need reliable power and signal feeds along the travel path. This is provided by open conductor bars (exposed copper rails with brush collectors) or enclosed conductor bars (contact tracks in a protective housing) from Anneng. For short travels and AGV charging stations, cable reels with spring or motor-driven retraction are used. Speed and torque control runs through Invt and Inovance VFDs with DTC support for crane duty.
Enclosed conductor bars for AS/RS stacker cranes
Anneng HFP-series enclosed conductor bars with 4–8 poles (three phases + neutral + signal lines) are installed along each rack aisle 50–150 m long. They are protected against dust and accidental contact (IP23), which is critical for automated warehouses without on-site operators. The signal poles support Profinet/Ethernet POWERLINK for real-time commands to the stacker crane.
- — Load current 60–200 A, voltage 400 V AC
- — 4–8 poles (power + signal/Ethernet)
- — IP23 protection minimum
- — Flexible section assembly (section length 4–6 m)
Cable reels for conveyors and moving platforms
Anneng JTA/JTD spring-driven and motor-driven cable reels feed power and signals to short moving sections (up to 30 m of travel). Typical uses include telescopic truck-unloading conveyors, short-aisle stacker cranes, and lifting platforms. The motor-driven version maintains constant cable tension and prevents loops.
- — Wound cable length of 10–50 m
- — Spring-driven or motor-driven (three-phase)
- — Support for hybrid cables (power + Ethernet)
- — IP44 protection minimum
VFDs for warehouse crane drives
Warehouse overhead and gantry cranes and beam cranes require VFDs with a Crane mode (DTC control, S-ramp, anti-sway protection). Invt GD350-Crane and Inovance MD500-T series support an integrated encoder interface, anti-sway, and automatic load take-up on start. A built-in braking chopper with resistor handles the braking energy.
- — Crane control mode (DTC + S-ramp + anti-sway)
- — HTL/TTL/SinCos encoder channel
- — Built-in braking chopper rated 100–150 % of drive power
- — Profinet/EtherCAT for WMS integration
Servo drives for sorters and AGVs
Inovance SV660 / IS820N multi-axis servo drives on a common DC bus are housed in the sorter cabinet and feed dozens of servo motors at once. Regenerated braking energy from one motor powers the acceleration of the others — saving 15–20 % of electricity. For AGVs, compact 48 V DC traction controllers with a CAN bus are used.
- — Common DC bus across a group of drives
- — Regeneration into the DC bus (no braking resistor required)
- — EtherCAT fieldbus interface with 1 ms cycle
- — Support for standard CiA 402 / SoE profiles
Applications gallery
Our solutions for this industry
SDS portfolio brands that cover typical applications in this industry.
- BONENGcompact K, R, F-series gear motors for conveyor drive pulleys and sorter carriers; HB series for AS/RS stacker crane hoists
- ANNENGHFP enclosed conductor bars for stacker cranes and warehouse overhead cranes; JTA/JTD cable reels for moving platforms
- WOLONGgeneral-purpose YE3/YE4 motors for conveyors; ZW PMSM servo motors for AGV and reach truck traction drives
- INOVANCEMS1H4 servo motors and SV660/IS820 servo drives for AGVs, AMRs and sorters; MD500-T crane VFDs for warehouse overhead cranes
- HUAWUYPZ2/DZE electromagnetic brakes for stacker crane lifting carriages and horizontal travel brakes
- TIANIUNJ/NF backstop one-way clutches for inclined warehouse conveyors and grain elevators
- HUALIgeneral-purpose YBK3/YE4 motors for warehouse conveyors, ventilation and auxiliary drives
- INVTGD350-Crane VFDs with DTC control, anti-sway and braking chopper for warehouse cranes and beam cranes
- JINGUYWZ electrohydraulic brakes for horizontal travel of heavy stacker cranes and lifting platforms
- GUOMAOGR/GS gearboxes for AS/RS stacker crane hoists and horizontal travel drives
Image credits: QmcBeQ3G7DZCmY84uPgT (CC BY 4.0) · falco (CC0) · Gilgen Logistics AG (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Carmenter (CC BY-SA 4.0) · U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public domain)