Variable frequency drives reduce speed to save
An
IMO Precision Controls product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Aug 8, 2008
IMO is enabling a manufacturer of paper bleaching agents to fight back against rapidly rising energy costs.
The manufacturer, Tielle, is benefiting from savings of Eur 1000 per day in production costs following the installation of eight 280kW IMO Jaguar drives to grinding mixers at its plant in North West Italy.
"This application ably demonstrates the potential for energy saving with AC drives, outside of the normal areas such as pumps, fans and compressors", says Stuart Kemp, IMO Product Manager for Drives.
"The rapid rise in the price of oil is hurting manufacturers all across Europe; but with applications like this we are opening up possibilities for reducing energy costs across a wider area of a company's operations".
The Tielle application was piloted by Claudio Bozza, at IMO's Italian office.
He visited the company following attempts by Tielle personnel to use mechanical means to reduce some of the huge energy costs associated with the mixing application.
These involved modifying the diameter and shape of the paddles in the eight large mixing vessels, which are used sequentially in the manufacture of the bleaching agent.
However, the quality of the finished product could not be guaranteed using this method, and so another solution was sought.
Each of the mixing vessels is equipped with a vertically mounted 250kW 400V four-pole motor, which drives the grinding paddles through reduction gearboxes.
IMO's proposal was to equip these motors with energy-saving IMO Jaguar drives.
Working closely with IMO, a local system builder Delta-I installed the eight IMO Jaguar VXM280K variable frequency drives in a substation adjacent to the mixing hall.
This involved leaving the original motor cables in place, but diverting them from the existing starter panels into the inverter modules.
In addition, local and remote controls were installed for stop, start, frequency control and monitoring.
Finally, each inverter was fitted with a suitable DC reactor to limit the harmonic distortion in the factory power supply.
Once installation was complete, each inverter was tuned to its respective motor and commissioned by IMO engineers.
The result is that the original mixer configuration has been reinstated, but, crucially, operating at a reduced inverter/motor frequency of approximately 42Hz.
This reduction in running speed and motor current is not causing any quality issues, but is saving Tielle in the order of Eur 1000 per day in production costs.
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