Variable speed drives help cut wear on beet plant
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Control Techniques product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Mar 4, 2008
The Control Techniques drives give more than 180% start-up current to get the beet finisher drum started.
British Sugar Cantley has specified variable speed drives from Control Techniques for a new beet finisher drum with an associated high-pressure spraywater pump.
The system has been installed to reduce the dirt and sand entering the beet process.
Unidrive SP drives from Control Techniques, ranging from just 3 to up to 250kW were specified for all of the key motor control operations in this project, an investment by British Sugar that was in excess of GBP1 million.
The new plant provides thorough cleaning of the beet at the start of the process, reducing the amount of sand, dirt and stones entering the processing line, cutting damage from abrasion and reducing general wear and tear further down the line.
Graham Goodrum, Electrical Engineering Team Leader at British Sugar Cantley said "We find the drives easy to use - we particularly like the SmartCards that cut parameter set-up times".
"They are ultra-reliable, reducing our maintenance costs and, very important for such a safety-conscious site, they include a secure-enable function".
The drives have special modules that allow direct communications with the rest of the plant and, on some applications, such as the beet finisher, there is a huge start-up torque.
The Control Techniques drives give more than 180% start-up current to get it moving.
The closed loop vector mode provides positive, accurate feedback of machine speed, so that the company can be confident that everything is operating within safety limits.
Previously, a beet shaker, several mini-stone and weed catchers and a 132kW spray water pump provided the initial cleaning.
Now, the upgraded Maguin beet washing plant comprises a rotary drum driven by two variable speed electric motors, a high-pressure spray water pump, a new stone catcher and a sand screen.
The beet finisher drum is driven by two 40kW AC motors and controlled by two 30kW Unidrive SP AC drives, configured to share the load equally.
A 45kW Unidrive SP is also fitted to provide back-up.
The high-pressure 150 PCH Warman water spray pump, powered by a four-pole 250kW motor is controlled by a Unidrive SP.
The mini stone catcher is controlled by a 3kW Unidrive SP and the sand screen has a fixed-speed 0.75kW motor.
"There are a number of electrical safety features on the plant which are designated as 'safety critical' and have been engineered to comply with required safety standards".
"In this context, all of the Unidrive SP drives feature a secure disable feature which meet EN 954 and 574 safety standards, giving maximum safety to our maintenance staff when they are working on potentially hazardous machinery" Graham Goodrum said.
The Maguin beet washing drum is custom made to meet the particular requirements of the sugar plant, taking into account local soil types and needs for weed and beet tail separation and stone and sand removal.
A Control Techniques 160kW cubicle drive has also been fitted to provide control of a high-pressure main condensate pump nearby.
Control Techniques IP21 cubicle drives, available as standard up to 675kW, are pre-engineered to provide a compact, fast installation with minimal disruption.
The Unidrive SP AC variable speed drive range spans 0.75kW right up to 1.5MW.
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