Electrified monorail system | John Deere

Safety is paramount

John Deere brings its cab conveyors up to date in no time with new EMS safety electrified monorail systems.

State-of-the-art safety technology ensures safety of John Deere employees when working under suspended loads

The conveying system for driver's cabs in the Mannheim-based tractor plant belonging to agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere had definitely seen better days so there was only one thing for it: The old system needed to be replaced as quickly as possible. Following a retrofit with the electrified monorail system from the MAXOLUTION^® EMS safety solution, the cab conveyor at John Deere is now equipped with the latest technology that the market has to offer, including the drives, electronics and safety technology.

John Deere GmbH & Co. KG

Location: Mannheim (Germany)
Industry: Manufacture of agricultural machinery
Application: Conveying system for driver's cabs in the tractor assembly plant

More information about John Deere:

Green tractors in rank and file in front of the factory workshop

Founded in 1838 in Grand Detour, Illinois (USA)
Company founder, John Deere, begins manufacturing plows from highly polished steel
In 1948, the company relocates to Moline, Illinois (USA)
In 1959, John Deere acquires the German agricultural machinery maker Heinrich Lanz GmbH and opens the Mannheim site
Mannheim is the second largest John Deere plant in the world and the largest manufacturing facility outside the US
Over 60 000 employees worldwide (2017)

Safety first

Completed green John Deere tractors in the factory building — All set: John Deere tractors ready for the field

Retrofit in tractor production plant with new conveying system for driver's cabs
Upkeep of three-minute production cycle at John Deere
Simple plant engineering
Preservation of the existing rail system
Full conversion of the tractor assembly within two weeks
Complete replacement of the electronics
Safe transportation of the driver's cabs from the point of delivery to the assembly yard
Safe working under the suspended cab
Reliable and safe lifting and lowering
The security technology in the assembly plant needed updating
High quality technology and service
Rapid availability of spare parts
Permanent system monitoring and diagnostics

Everything from a single source

Yellow structure of the electrified monorail system with drive technology — Electrified monorail system with drive and safety technology

Virtually the entire portfolio of the MAXOLUTION^® program was used to update the cab conveying system at John Deere: From the gearmotors and near-field inverter and control technology, right though to the safety technology, everything was supplied by SEW‑EURODRIVE:

Seven electrified monorail systems using the MAXOLUTION® system solution EMS safety
Near-field drive technology that takes up little space and is vibration-resistant
Helical-bevel gearmotors with special coupling in the gear unit output stage, tailored to the conveying speed and bearing load of the cabs
Multi-redundant safety systems to protect people working under the suspended loads
High-performance MOVISAFE^® type PFF-HM31 safety control enables position-dependent speed and communication
One decentralized MOVIPRO^® drive, positioning and vehicle controller each to control two 5.5 kW gearmotors (lifting drives) as a group drive with 11 kW
MOVIFIT^® controller to supply the 0.55 kW drive motor
MOVIVISION^® plant software for simple engineering, virtual startup, permanent monitoring and diagnostics including condition monitoring during production

Full retrofit to guarantee safety completed in just two weeks

Tractor assembly at John Deere: hard at work beneath the suspended driver's cab — Safe tractor assembly under a suspended load

Complete conversion of the system in just two weeks (vacation close-down at John Deere over Christmas/New Year 2016/2017)
Virtual startup simulated in advance considerably reduces the time needed for actual startup
Retrofit of the cab conveyor: now absolute state of the art thanks to new MAXOLUTION^® EMS safety electrified monorail system
Comprehensive drive solution for John Deere from a single source
Electrified monorail system complies with all technical safety aspects:
- Safe transportation of the driver's cabs from the point of delivery to the assembly site
- Secure lifting and lowering of the driver's cabs
- Safe working under the suspended load
High degree of satisfaction with service and consulting
With its dense network of service locations, SEW‑EURODRIVE is always close at hand for the agricultural manufacturer
Reliable condition monitoring during the assembly process
High degree of flexibility: The system can be easily retrofitted or upgraded
Quick flow of materials
Increased capacity: Instead of the previous 25 000 tractors, over 45 000 vehicles can now be manufactured in times of heavy demand

John Deere cab conveyor ensures maximum safety

Today, the automation of storage/retrieval systems is an integral part of efficient intralogistics. — Video: Application at John Deere in Mannheim

How do you transport, lift and lower driver's cabs that weigh up to 850 kg when assembling tractors? How do you ensure the safety of people who have to work beneath such suspended loads? How do you bring a cab conveyor – a challenging piece of equipment in terms of its safety technology – up to date in the minimum time frame?

Watch our video to find out the answers to all these questions and many more. See for yourself how a powerful tractor is produced at the agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere in Mannheim using drive technology from SEW‑EURODRIVE. And gain interesting insights into the benefits of our MAXOLUTION^® system solution EMS safety, an electrified monorail system equipped with state-of-the-art safety technology.

Quote from Hans Ziegler, project manager at John Deere

Our cooperation with SEW‑EURODRIVE is excellent, as is the service we receive.

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Today's requirements in terms of safety technology were one of the main reasons for replacing the electronics in full. Of course, it was important to maintain productivity at John Deere even during the retrofit. We work on a three-minute cycle here in the tractor factory. The previous cab conveyor system was designed in 1996 for the production of up to 25 000 tractors per year. Now as many as 45 000 tractors can be produced to meet high demand.

John Deere already has some systems featuring drive technology from SEW‑EURODRIVE. Our maintenance department is very happy with the technology from Bruchsal. Spare parts are readily available if and when needed. The service and cooperation are excellent. Our many years of good experience therefore persuaded us to opt for this drive supplier.

The new cab conveyor is now state of the art and is running smoothly. It leaves nothing to be desired in terms of occupational safety, control technology, maintenance and fitness for the future, and even exceeds the requirements that were defined in advance.

We have gained a lot of flexibility at John Deere thanks to this innovative system, which will enable us to respond to future requirements without any difficulty.

Quote from Bernhard Pehlegrim, project manager at SEW‑EURODRIVE

"Our MAXOLUTION® EMS safety solution provides the drive technology, control technology and the components of the safety system, including sensor technology."

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We drew on almost our entire portfolio for the retrofit of the electrified monorail system at John Deere. The gearmotors are supplied by near-field inverter and control technology, which takes up little space and is vibration-proof.

The high-performance MOVISAFE^® safety controller now enables the employees at John Deere to set the cabs down on the drive train themselves via remote control. Our electrified monorail system solution complies with all technical safety aspects, from the position-dependent, safe speed right through to communication. This is very important because this process step is particularly precarious. For assembly reasons, the workers' upper body is positioned between the cab and the drive train.