DC Velocity - January 2017

NEW LOGISTICS PRODUCTS & SERVICES

EDITED BY DIANE RAND rollouts

SPOTLIGHT ON ….

BATTERIES AND CHARGERS

Modular battery chargers: Advanced Charging Technologies Inc. (ACT) has launched its Quantum battery charger product line.

The new Quantum chargers feature modular technology, built-in redundancy, plug-and-play operation, and scalability through field expansion. Serviceability is simplified and service time is greatly decreased by the reduced number of serviceable parts, the company says. Quantum chargers are energy-efficient, resulting in reduced power consumption and energy costs, with peak efficiencies greater than 94

percent and full-cycle efficiencies greater than

93 percent.

Quantum chargers are equipped with wireless communications, allowing for wireless cloud integration as well as remote monitoring and control. The chargers are also equipped with power line communication, enabling direct communication with BATTView battery monitors via the charging cables, eliminating the need for auxiliary cables and more expensive connectors with auxiliary contacts.

One unique capability of the new Quantum chargers is the remote firmware/software update, where the company can push updates from its network control center to all chargers in the field. This allows ACT to add new functionalities to the Quantum chargers with minimal effort.

The Quantum chargers are UL/cUL certified and CEC compliant, and are backed with a five-year warranty by ACT. (Advanced Charging Technologies, www.act-chargers.com)

Lead-acid and lithium-ion battery chargers: Delta-Q Technologies has introduced its RC series battery chargers, which includes two new battery charging solutions for use in battery-powered floor care machines. The new RC900 and RC1200

chargers provide 900 and 1200 watts of DC output power, respectively, and are available in 36- and 48-volt models.

Capable of charging both lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, RC series chargers use controller area network (CAN) communications. The chargers are designed for use in battery-powered scrubbers, sweepers, and burnishers and feature IP66-rated ingress protection that seals out dirt and fluids. (Delta-Q, www.

delta-q.com)

Industrial charger: Crown Equipment has announced a new addition to its line of modular V-Force industrial battery chargers. Featuring a compact design, the new V-Force High-Frequency Economy (V-HFE) series is engineered to maximize forklift battery life and increase energy efficiency, helping managers reduce overall energy costs associated with forklift battery charging.

The V-HFE charger, which is compliant with California Energy Commission regulations, is designed to provide lighter-duty applications and smaller operations with a more cost-effective high-frequency charging solution to suit almost any flooded battery.

The V-HFE Series charger offers up to 38 percent power savings when compared with traditional Ferro and silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) chargers, the company says. The charger’s ability to achieve 93 percent efficiency rates over an entire charge cycle allows managers to reduce their costs while being environmentally sound. (Crown Equipment, www.crown.com/en-us)

Premium charger line: AeroVironment Inc. has introduced the PosiCharge ProCore series, a family of charging units that support and charge any material handling battery. Ranging in power from 5kW for lower-duty vehicles to 30k W for the hard-est-working electric forklifts, the new PosiCharge ProCore Series is designed for electric forklift fleets of all sizes.

The latest addition to AeroVironment’s family of PosiCharge fast and opportunity charge systems, the ProCore Series includes an array of features that make it easy to use, flexible, customizable, and cost-effective.

A lightweight, powerful, efficient charger that consumes minimal floor space, ProCore requires no specific training to mount, install, and update. Its colorful digital display and mobile app are designed for ease of use by enabling fleet managers or forklift operators to configure ProCore chargers on the go. Setting up, programming, and troubleshooting ProCore chargers is now quick and easy with an iOS or Android smartphone, the company says.

ProCore’s modular powerstage offers flexibility to accommodate any forklift fleet, from the smallest to the largest operations.

This modular design makes ProCore easy to maintain, upgrade, and repurpose, and its single-port architecture makes it customizable. In addition, PosiCharge standard multivoltage capabilities allow different forklifts with different batteries to charge on the same ProCore charger, independent of type, brand, voltage, or size. (AeroVironment Inc., www.posichargeprocore.com)