Kone MonoSpace

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The MonoSpace is an elevator model of Finnish elevator manufacturer Kone which does not require a machine room above the shaft, hence earning the "machine room less" term in the elevator industry. It was unveiled in 1996 as the world's first machine room less elevator system and quickly became popular since then.

It is one of the two machine room less elevator models currently offered and sold by Kone in Indonesia. It was introduced to the Indonesian market in the early 2000s, and it is the first machine room less elevator model in Indonesia. It is also one of the longest selling MRL models in Indonesia, having been on sale for more than 20 years.

Overview

A Kone MonoSpace elevator on the top floor of a building, viewed from afar. Notice the lack of machine room on the top of the shaft. A short "protruding" structure above the shaft is sometimes required in case the elevator overruns the top floor.

The Kone MonoSpace is a machine room less elevator designed for low to mid rise buildings. Introduced in 1996, it is an elevator system that does not require a fixed machine room above the shaft. In other words, the machine is installed near the top of the shaft. It uses a very thin and smaller green disc or pancake-shaped gearless motor called "EcoDisc" installed on the top of the hoistway, just above one of the guide rails. The control board is accessed through a locked cabinet located on the top floor just outside the elevator. The Kone MonoSpace is the first machine room less elevator system in the world.

The earliest generation of Kone MonoSpace elevators used Traffic Master System (TMS) control system, which is the same system that was used in many older Kone traction and hydraulic elevators from the 1980s to 1990s. From the early 2000s until 2019, all Kone MonoSpace elevators installed worldwide use LCE control system. Since 2019, the MonoSpace uses KCE controller following the release of the Kone DX Class elevator series.

The most notable characteristic of Kone MonoSpace is that it levels very quickly; it opens its door as soon as the car reaches the floor. In addition, the floor indicator would always changes floor earlier before departing the previous floor - something that has becoming a standard feature of Kone since the 1980s. Some elevators have loud EcoDisc brake sound upon accelerating and decelerating.

Kone EcoDisc

Kone EcoDisc MX10 motor.

The EcoDisc is a slim green-colored disc shaped gearless motor (hence the name), which is attached to the top of the elevator shaft wall, and is thin enough to fit between the wall and the lift car. There is no machine room above the elevator shaft. The cables are attached from the elevator shaft ceiling and go down around wheels on the elevator, then up and around the EcoDisc, then down to the counterweight, and then up and the other end is attached to the shaft ceiling.

EcoDisc was launched in 1996 along with the Kone MonoSpace elevator, which at that time was the world's first machine room less elevator system. Initially called "Greenstar", the creation of EcoDisc was the result of an idea of an elevator with a motorized traction system instead of linear motors that occurred from a Kone engineer when he was jogging in the early 1990s[1].

The EcoDisc series used in Indonesia are mainly the MX 10, MX 18 and MX 20 series. MX 10 is used in MonoSpace, MX 18 is used in MiniSpace and MX 20 is used in TranSys elevators. There is also MX 100 which is far more bigger and powerful than the rest of the EcoDisc series; this is only used for the Kone Alta (now discontinued) and MiniSpace High Rise elevators. An example of MX 100 in Indonesia may be in used at District8 in Jakarta.

In the mid 2010s, Kone introduced the successor of EcoDisc MX 10 motor called "NMX 11", which is a redesigned motor with a smaller size and slimmer form. It also introduced NMX 08 motor which is basically a slimmer version of the original MX 08 motor.

How it work

Kone EcoDisc logo (Source: Trademarkia)

The EcoDisc is a synchronous motor. Conventional induction motors have a core rotates inside a cage of electromagnets. Each set of 3 electromagnets is each connected a phase of a 3-phase AC supply. As the phases are in sync, the electromagnets turn between positive and negative creating rotating magnetic field. This turns the core (by the magnetic field having a rotating pull on the core, slippage, it doesn't directly turn the core).

The EcoDisc works the same way but instead of having the electromagnets around the core, there is a ring of electromagnets with the core rotating linearly next to them. This means the rotating magnetic field directly turns the disc, rather than using slippage. This creates a very thin spinning disc. The EcoDisc works of variable frequency. As it is a linear induction motor, the frequencies put into the motor directly pull the disc. It doesn't work on slippage like a conventional induction motor.

As for its sound, when accelerating and de-accelerating it sounds like any other variable frequency motor, but slightly distinctive. However, when it first starts it makes a rather loud clunk sound as the handbrake releases, and when it fully stops it makes a very loud clunk as the handbrake goes on.

Variants sold in Indonesia

Over the years there have been numerous different variants of Kone MonoSpace elevators sold worldwide. They are usually specific to certain regions and countries. In Indonesia, there are four known variants sold; the European variant, MonoSpace 3000/3000S, E/N/S MonoSpace, and the E/N/S MonoSpace DX currently sold since 2021.

European MonoSpace

In-production Early to mid 2000s (?) Status Discontinued
Predecessor Unknown Successor Kone MonoSpace 3000/3000S

This variant of MonoSpace is believed to have been imported from Europe and also believed to be the first MonoSpace variant sold in Indonesia in the early 2000s. It was also available in other countries within Asia Pacific, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. It looks very much similar to the ones found in Europe, with Delta fixtures, fast door movement and loud EcoDisc brake sound. The European variant in Asia Pacific only lasted for a few years before it was replaced by MonoSpace 3000/3000S.

Quick specifications

Type Traction. machine room less
Use Passenger, service
Drive Gearless AC with VVVF
Control system
(Microprocessor)
Kone LCE
Capacity 1020 kg
Max. landings 16 (3000 MonoSpace)
24 (3000S MonoSpace)
Max. travel height 40 m (3000 MonoSpace)
70 m (3000S MonoSpace)
Speed 1 m/sec (3000 MonoSpace)
1, 1.6, 1.75 m/sec (3000S MonoSpace)
Max elevator car 3 (3000 MonoSpace)
4 (3000S MonoSpace)
Doors Single speed center opening
2 speed telescopic opening
Fixtures Delta

Fixtures

The fixture line used in the European MonoSpace is known as Delta. It consists of either square or round stainless steel buttons with a lamp stripe on the top which illuminates red. Floor indicators are LED dot matrix, and on the outside there are small triangular hall lanterns which lights up red. These fixtures also plays high-pitched electronic arrival chimes which sounds very similar to the ones used in Otis 2000 (European) and European GeN2 elevators. Delta fixtures came out in the very late 1990s.

Delta fixtures were used in both new installations and modernizations. It has four variations. The first one is the Delta Flushline which is a flush-mounted variant, the second is the Delta Thinline which is a surface-mounted variant, the third is Delta Evergreen which was only used for modernizations in Europe, and the last one is Delta Luxury Flushline which is equipped with an eletroluminescent display as the floor indicator; it was commonly used in luxurious and high end buildings. The version used for modernizations is called "Revive".

Known installations in Indonesia

European Kone MonoSpace elevators are extremely rare in Indonesia, with only four known installations so far:

  • Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta (one derelict elevator in a certain building)
  • A building along Jalan Halmahera, Bandung (2002)
  • Alta Moda, Bali (2002)
  • Serba Antik Furniture Store, Bali (2002, next to Alta Moda)

Videos

MonoSpace 3000/3000S

Main article: Kone MonoSpace 3000/3000S

The MonoSpace 3000/3000S was one of the first variants of MonoSpace sold in Indonesia. It was sold from the early 2000s until around 2013 when it was succeeded by the E/N/S MonoSpace variants. This variant was produced in Kone's Chinese factory in Kunshan, China.

There are two variants; the first one is the regular MonoSpace 3000 and the second one is the MonoSpace 3000S (extended range). The difference between the two variants is that the latter one has higher speeds, larger capacity, could be a set of up to 4 cars and could serve up to 24 floors.

E/N/S MonoSpace

Main article: Kone E/N/S MonoSpace

Possibly in 2013, Kone introduced the E/N/S MonoSpace variants to replace the previous MonoSpace 3000/3000 S variant. These variants lasted until 2021 when they were replaced by the new Kone DX MonoSpace model, but still retains the E/N/S variants.

E/N/S MonoSpace DX

Main article: Kone MonoSpace DX

The MonoSpace E/N/S DX is the current MonoSpace variant available since 2021, replacing the previous conventional E/N/S MonoSpace variant. It is part of the Kone DX Class elevator series which has been on sale since November 2019 and incorporates cloud connectivity and based on Kone APIs. It uses the Kone KCE control, which is a predecessor of Kone's LCE controller.

Notable Kone MonoSpace installations in Indonesia

There are a large number of Kone MonoSpace installations scattered throughout Indonesia. The following list only covers the well known installations.

  • Ashta - District 8, Jakarta (2018)
  • HubLife, Jakarta
  • The City Plaza - Wisma Mulia 1, Jakarta
  • Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Terminal 1, Cengkareng (2019, replacement from Otis elevators)
  • 23 Paskal, Bandung (2016)
  • Galaxy Mall 3, Surabaya (2017)
  • The Ritz-Carlton Nusa Dua, Bali (2014)

Gallery

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Notes and references

External links and resources

Kone elevator models
Models currently in-production PS: E/N MiniSpace DXE/N/S MonoSpace DX
HS: MiniSpace DX • High-Rise MiniSpace DX
FR: TranSys DX
Discontinued models PS: 3000/3000S MiniSpace • E/N/S MiniSpace3000/3000S MonoSpaceE/N/S MonoSpace
HS: Alta • Highrise MiniSpace
FR: TranSys
Unidentified models
(models have no confirmed names)
Indonesian Kone Elevators (1990s) • European MonoSpace (2000s)
Destination dispatch Kone Destination
Remarks (PS) Passenger model (traction with or without machine room / hydraulic) • (HS) High speed passenger model • (FR) Freight or heavy duty model