Tunnel, touchless and brush rollover systems compared

In the tunnel the vehicle moves and the machinery stays put. Modules run from 9 to 30 m and longer to order, and capacity is 30, 45 or 60 cars an hour by model and speed, up to 130 on long tunnels.

It takes cars up to 220 cm wide and 250 cm high. A centralized industrial PLC runs the line, and the arch sequence, optional equipment and conveyor length are configured per site.

In a rollover the vehicle stands still and the machine travels over it. The EPHESUS uses two vertical brushes and one horizontal brush, takes 2 to 2.5 minutes per vehicle and washes passenger cars, vans, jeeps and minibuses up to 3.00 m high.

The CIRRUS 5N adds a fourth and fifth brush: four upright brushes that move independently and one horizontal brush, in 250, DR250, 300 and DR300 variants that differ in washing height. It washes 24 to 32 vehicles an hour without drying, and about 14 with drying.

The ACROBAT 2X has no brushes. Two arms on a supporting bridge move on six axes, read the vehicle profile and wash with water from a 100 or 200 bar pump and chemical foam.

All four car systems run under PLC control. The EPHESUS offers 10 program forms with counters per program, and the CIRRUS 5N display counts vehicles per program. The tunnel's operator screen projects consecutive vehicle pickup times.

The ACROBAT 2X can wash and dry, and lays chemical foam at 20 to 30 gr per vehicle and wax at 20 gr. Active shampoo, foam and a varnish (wax) coat all come from one dosing pump in the tunnel.