Overhead Monorail Automation
Move Loads Through Finishing Without the Chain
Battery-powered tow tractors that carry suspended loads through wash, booth, and cure. Retrofit onto your existing 3″, 4″, or 6″ monorail — no chain to maintain, no floor conveyor, no operators pushing trolleys.
The Problem
Manual Transport Is the Bottleneck in Finishing
In most finishing lines the process equipment isn’t the constraint — moving product between process steps is. And the limit isn’t how fast someone can walk. It’s whether anyone is paying attention.
Attention, Not Speed
Line rate depends on an operator noticing that a booth freed up. Late in a shift, during a changeover, or when someone gets pulled to another job, output quietly drops.
Staffing Risk
Transport is hard to staff and harder to keep staffed. Every turnover resets the tribal knowledge of how this particular line is supposed to run.
Inconsistent Efficiency
Two shifts running identical product get different numbers, and nobody can say exactly why — because the variable is people, not process.
No Data
Manual transport produces no record. You can’t see where loads wait, which station starves, or what your real cycle time is — so you can’t improve it.
The KHK Solution
Battery-Powered Monorail Tractors
A battery-operated monorail tractor tows idler trolleys with suspended loads through finishing process equipment — multiple vehicles on a single rail, under one control system.
Because each tractor is independent, the line runs batch or continuous without re-plumbing anything. Queue-and-release logic fills downstream space on its own, and every move is logged — so you finally have cycle-time data instead of an opinion.
4,000 lb
Tow capacity through process equipment (4K)
30 FPM
Max speed, dynamic multi-speed control
48 VDC
Li-Ion battery — 30 / 60 / 90 Ah options
450 °F
Load-side temperature rating
3″–6″
Retrofits existing monorail rail sizes
1 System
Multi-vehicle fleet, batch or continuous
System Architecture
One rail through the whole finishing process
- Load
- Wash
- Dry-Off
- Booth
- Cure
- Cool
- Unload
Retrofit
You Probably Already Have the Rail
Most batch finishing lines already run overhead monorail. If yours does, you don’t need a new conveyor — you need the loads on it to move without a person. We add tractors, positioning, and controls to the rail that’s already hanging in your plant.
3″, 4″ & 6″ Rail
We retrofit onto existing monorail in all three common beam sizes. No rail replacement. (6,000 lb capacity requires 6″ rail.)
Designed in 3D
Your line is modeled before anything is fabricated, so clearances and interferences get found on screen, not on the floor.
Bolt-Together, PE-Stamped
New structure ships bolt-together with welded drops and stamped drawings for your plant records.
Installation Included
We install, start up, and train. You are not left coordinating a rigger and a controls contractor.
For Finishing System Integrators
The Conveyance Subsystem You Can Actually Buy
Your competitors who own chainless conveyance won’t sell it to you — it’s how they win the whole job. We will. Spec KHK tractors, controls, and door automation into your finishing package and keep the customer relationship.
You Keep the Customer
We supply the transport subsystem. You own the line, the process equipment, and the relationship. In writing.
Spec-Ready Support
3D models for your layouts, cut sheets, budget pricing, and firm lead times you can put in your own proposal.
Standard Components
Allen-Bradley controls and standard I-beam — nothing proprietary for your service team to learn or source.
Install Support
We can install and commission, or hand it to your crew with training. Your call, project by project.
The Platform
One Architecture, Three Capacities
The same controls, safety architecture, and rail standard scale across the range — so a plant running light hooks and a plant running heavy weldments get the same maintenance procedures.
KHK 1K Tractor
1,000 lb tow capacity. Light hook and rack lines — small parts, high part counts, and the tightest curve radii in the range. Retrofits 3″, 4″, or 6″ rail.
KHK 4K Tractor
4,000 lb tow capacity. General finishing with mixed load bars — the most commonly specified capacity. Retrofits 3″, 4″, or 6″ rail.
KHK 6K Tractor
6,000 lb tow capacity. Heavy weldments and structural fabrication through large-envelope finishing. 6″ rail only, larger curve radii.
How We Engage
From Site Walk to Running System
01 — Site Assessment
We walk your line, loads, and layout.
02 — Concept & Estimate
System concept with budgetary pricing and a throughput model.
03 — Design & Build
Detailed engineering, fabrication, and factory testing before it ships.
04 — Commission & Support
Installation, startup, operator training, and secure remote support.
What Could This Do in Your Line?
Tell us what moves through your finishing process and how it travels today. We’ll walk the line and come back with a concept and a throughput model.