Product category:
Industrial Drives/Controls
News Release from: Control Techniques | Subject: M420R Mentor II digital DC drives
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 08 May 2003
Drive retrofit brings digital benefits
The urgent retrofit of a drive system saved the company concerned several months downtime on its key PVC extruder which was crucial to meeting production requirements.
The urgent retrofit of a drives system, by drives and CNC specialist QROTEK, saved the company concerned several months downtime on its key PVC extruder which was crucial to meeting production requirements The drive chosen to replace the obsolete analogue German-made drive was a digital Control Techniques Mentor II DC drive with additional onboard processing to emulate the characteristics of the drive it replaced
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 30 Jan 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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Increased demand for PVC compound meant that Polycol needed to add a further large output extruder at its Stephanie works in Stalybridge.
Polycol used a top of the range Battenfield uniplex extruder, double the capacity of the machine it replaced, was added to their lineup of eight PVC extruders and output was boosted to meet the output requirement - until the drive failed, also damaging the motor beyond repair.
"We contracted the extruder manufacturer and were quoted three to four months for replacement - and a very high cost", explains Polycol Electrical Supervisor Keith Chambers.
"And this would have been analogue - old technology.
Fortunately, we knew of QROTEK who were able to engineer a better solution at half the price - and managed to get the extruder up and running again in under three weeks.
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And, as a bonus, the Mentor drive they selected gives us superior control and data feedback to our Scada management system".
The extruder, a 130mm twin screw type, with a maximum output of 1500kg/h, was fitted with a 150kW M420R Mentor II digital DC drive, with MD29 applications module and an FMX5 field controller.
"Control Techniques drives are well-equipped to deal with retrofit applications", says Andrew Stephens, Technical Director of QROTEK.
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"I've used both their AC and DC drives for many years and find their flexibility ideal for the special needs of retrofitting because of their onboard programming capability", he says.
In this instance, the client had tried to change analogue drives before, but had experienced problems because of the lack of I/O.
Using drives from other manufacturers, it could only be done with the addition of a PLC.
With the Mentor's functionality and MD29 onboard processing power, no PLC was needed.
QROTEK added an I/O box to act as interface and programmed the MD29 to make the drive emulate the analogue drive it replaced.
Being digital, the Mentor II provides additional benefits too - more accurate control, better reliability and new feedback of speed, torque and other control parameters via the RS485 to Polycol's plant control system.
"Without the MD29, we would have had the cost of an additional PLC", confirmed Keith Chambers.
"The system we now have is much easier to set up to our requirements, easily controlled and much better protected.
It is our intention to fully integrate it into our Scada system, which we couldn't do before".
Mentor II provides the platform for a wide range of application requirements.
Through a series of expansion boards, it can take on additional functionality, including many off the shelf application programs, as well as providing network communications.
Programming the Mentor has never been easier.
Designed to save commissioning time, the drive has comprehensive data displays, easily assimilated function menus and a five-key control panel.
With MentorSoft, programming can be carried out on a PC and downloaded to make setup even easier and faster.
At Polycol, the precision of Mentor is significant in maintaining screw speed accuracy to give the required 'work rate' and product quality, this being a complex function of temperature, crammer speed and screw speed combined.
The Polycol plant produces a range of PVC compounds including cable grade, shoe grade and window grade, all these being produced to different 'recipes', different temperature gradients and different work rates.
The plant is quality controlled to ISO9002 and can produce batches from 25kg to 100,000t.
QROTEK, with two UK bases in Wetherby, Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands, provides a comprehensive service for the repair, programming and retrofitting of CNC machine tools and automated systems, drives and servos, robotics and special purpose machines.
With a 24-hour response, on-site diagnostics, free estimates and evaluation, QROTEK covers the UK. Request a free brochure from Control Techniques ...
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