75% energy savings in extrusion application.

For many manufacturing plants, the opportunities to achieve savings on energy consumption are plentiful.

Businesses consider options ranging from simply adopting best practice in terms of switching off energy sources when not required, to making significant changes to machinery. Maintenance personnel are often the individuals tasked with making the savings. However these teams often come up against the issue of obsolescence, which can make it extremely challenging to find new efficiency opportunities.

When Tech Folien Ltd, based in Liverpool (GB), was faced with this very issue, the company turned to Emerson official partner RJW, who designed and installed a solution which delivered energy savings of over 75%.

Tech Folien is a specialist producer of polycarbonate, polypropylene and other co-extruded blown films, specifically for industries such as packaging, automotive and construction.

“For Tech Folien, energy efficiency plays a vital role in ensuring profitability. This, combined with machine uptime, represents critical operational factors,” stated David Churm, maintenance manager at Tech Folien.

“The new drive and motor combination from Emerson Industrial Automation ensures that we have complete confidence that we can control our energy costs and ensures 24/7 operation for our manufacturing facility.”

The previous motor and drive solutions had been installed on the company’s extruding line for over 15 years. The challenge for maintenance personnel has been the sourcing of spares. Having been out of production for a number of years, parts for the incumbent solution were becoming hard to find. It was also noted that from an energy consumption perspective, the existing solution was highly inefficient. As a result, Tech Folien decided it was time to renew and upgrade.

Once the company had specified its requirements, RJW was able to advise on the best solution. It was decided that the Unidrive M701 variable speed drive from Control Techniques and an energy efficient IE4 LSRPM motor from Leroy-Somer (both Emerson Industrial Automation group companies) would provide the optimum solution.

Installed in a cabinet away from the line, the Unidrive M701 sets the speed control parameters of the motor, which itself is installed close to the line in the space vacated by the obsolete combination. The control parameters can be easily programmed via a set of on-board drive macros.

When it came to the installation of the motor, RJW’S engineering expertise and comprehensive support were vital as the solution had to fit in to the same space occupied by the old product. A custom base plate was machine engineered by RJW for the motor to drop onto. This matched the old footprint, which was critical as installation space was very limited.

Tech Folien had the old solution independently verified by a firm of energy consultants, who in turn also measured the new solution once installation was completed. The difference in energy usage was significant. Measured over a year, the new solution is predicted to deliver savings of over 75% annually in energy costs.

@EmersonIndAuto  @Leroy_Somer #ControiTechniques #PAuto 

Driver & motor cuts energy usage!

The prospect of improved energy efficiency, increased operational reliability and lower maintenance costs appeals to any business.It was these three factors which ensured Emerson was able to help Stål & Plast, a Danish extrusion specialist, improve its production processes by replacing three worn-out DC electric motors with energy-friendly Dyneo PM motors and a Unidrive M variable speed drive at the company´s extruder plant.

The annual energy savings have been calculated at an average of 9% or 90,000 kWh, which is particularly interesting in the long term, keeping in mind that over 10 years, 95% of the total costs of an electric motor is directly related to the energy consumption.

Stål & Plast A/S, which is located right in the heart of Denmark, manufactures bench tray systems which are used in greenhouses and nurseries worldwide. The raw plates are manufactured at a modern co-extrusion plant operated by three extruder motors, one 175 kW motor and two 71 kW motors. The extruder plant´s three worn-out DC motors were due for extensive reconditioning or alternatively an expensive and time-consuming replacement, as new DC motors would have to be made to order.

As the DC technology is expensive and outdated in terms of energy consumption and moreover associated with high operation and maintenance costs, A/S, Jacob Braa Sørensen, managing director of Stål & Plast, in consultation with Emerson Industrial Automation, decided to upgrade the extruder plant by purchasing highly efficient Dyneo PM motors from Leroy Somer, which are controlled by a Control Techniques Unidrive M700 variable speed drive.

One of the aspects that mattered most to Stål & Plast A/S was that Emerson was the only supplier that could offer to replace the motors and the controls as a total project for which they would assume full responsibility.

The replacement took place in collaboration with the service partners Lindpro as the professional installer and automation provider for the project, and Ølgod Elektro, which routinely handled commissioning and running-in.

Stål & Plast A/S manufactures a broad range of top-quality bench tray systems, which are used in greenhouses and nurseries worldwide. The tray systems are manufactured on a fully automated vacuum forming machine. The company manufactures its raw plates on a modern co-extruder that makes it possible to manufacture the plates in three layers.

The main reason for choosing a motor technology with permanent magnets was, first of all, the long-term energy savings on power consumption but also the higher operating torque, the operational reliability of PM technology and the very low maintenance costs compared with DC technology.

Calculations showed that Stål & Plast could reduce the annual energy consumption of the three motors by an average of 9%. The extruder accounts for 75% of the plant´s total energy costs, of which most is consumed by the extruder motors.

Over a period of 10 years, 95% of the total costs of an electric motor are directly attributable to the energy consumption, whereas the purchase price and the maintenance costs represent as little as 5% of the total costs of the investment when choosing the Dyneo PM motor technology from Emerson.

Since 1984, they has manufactured Ebb/Flow products in high impact polystyrene, which is sold by a worldwide network of distributors. The distributors are typically nursery construction companies that install the tray systems as part of a total project purchased by a nursery.

Over the years, the tray systems have been thoroughly tested against common fertilisers, temperature impact, UV radiation and normal daily wear and tear in a modern greenhouse. This know-how is used to improve and optimise the products on an ongoing basis.

The tray systems are produced on modern fully automated vacuum forming machines that are optimised for the production of Ebb/Flow products. The production plants are primarily operated by robots and monitored by trained staff with years of experience.

The company manufactures its raw plates on a modern co-extruder that makes it possible to manufacture the plates in three layers. As a result, the finished trays can be manufactured in accordance with the customer´s exact requirements and with all the desired characteristics.

#PAuto @EmersonIndAuto #Denmark