Sweet result as British Sugar goes for Sprint
A
Sprint Electric product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Mar 14, 2000
When British Sugar in Kidderminster needed to replace variable speed drives on their five beet slicers they found the solution in Sprint Electric drives supplied through BSL.
When British Sugar in Kidderminster needed to replace variable speed drives on their five beet slicers they required quality, reliability and excellent support.
They found the perfect solution in Sprint Electric drives supplied through BSL.
After cleaning sugar beet, the next stage of the process is to slice it into 'V' shaped pieces via a large rotary slicer.
Sugar is then diffused into water at 70C to leave a juice from which the granulated sugar is subsequently produced.
The 'V' shape ensures the maximum surface area in contact with the water.
Although sugar is dispatched from the factory all year, the manufacturing process only runs during harvest time, from September to February.
Five slicers feed the beet onto a single conveyor feeding the giant diffuser, so clearly the slicer drives play a vital role in keeping the plant running.
The speed and number of units in operation regulate the total output of the process.
A 44.8KW DC motor fed by a variable speed drive provides power to each slicer.
DC is the chosen technology, as the blades have to be changed frequently, necessitating the rotary slicers to be 'inched' backwards.
Considerable torque is also required at starting, another speciality of the DC drive.
Each slicer can produce approximately 50 Tonnes per hour and runs at 50 to 60% of full speed.
The existing drives were 17 years old and obtaining spares was becoming a problem.
So it was decided to look for replacements.
Systems engineer Steve Hill says "we have a good relationship with BSL in Wolverhampton who provide us with a large variety of equipment and excellent service support.
Sprint Electric has built a superb reputation for the quality of its products and so the combination was too powerful to ignore.
These drives are important to the running of the plant and we could not afford to take risks." The Sprint SLX50 drives are each 50KW, 3 phase, 4 quadrant units that are compact, simple to install and available ex stock.
They are significantly smaller than the drives they replace, leaving much better accessibility in the control panel.
The 4-quadrant drive is very efficient in repetitive braking, reversing or overhauling applications.
The Sprint SLX series offers built in field weakening for extended speed range and an extra 50% peak torque for rapid acceleration or shock loads.
There are numerous alarms for enhanced drive and motor protection.
The high accuracy, voltage feedback mode eliminates the need for a tacho in most applications.
Sprint Electric is pleased to be able to offer such a prestigious company a British designed and built product that is the best available.
A sweet result for all concerned.
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