How do you eliminate choke points in food and beverage canning plants? Applying good engineering design and using a variable frequency drive solution. Canning or bottling beverages has always been a complex process, requiring close control over a number of operational parameters. Accuracy of line speed, liquid flow rate, pressure, temperature and timing are key factors in maximizing production and reducing or eliminating discarded products.
Jams cause a loss of production
A beverage packaging plant encountered a problem and approached Parker. Production at the plant was slowing down due to jams and inconstant temperature control of a container heating line, resulting in product rejection. Discarded products not only resulted in waste, but also in considerable expense for disposal. Even taking into account the time lost in production, a jam can cost up to $6,000 per case.
Faced with a 9-month waiting period for capital approval to replace the line, the maintenance department was instead tasked with upgrading the existing control system. The existing system was over 20 years old and used fixed-speed “through-the-line” starting devices to control the pump.
The customer was willing to replace them with variable frequency drives (VFDs) for better control and consequent energy savings, however, the physical mounting space did not allow for the approximately 2-meter cabinet required for the eight conventional drives and peripheral devices required by each separate unit. Generally, each drive requires additional components such as line fuses, circuit breaker or disconnector, and an input line reactor. With a limited budget, material and installation costs had to be minimized.
Technical advantages of a VFD solution
Parker proposed an 8-axis variable speed motion control system on the canning line. The solution offered numerous advantages:
– The compact AC890 series, by virtue of its “bookcase” design, required much less mounting space than conventional drives.
– The common bus design eliminated the need for eight individual line reactors and circuit breakers, requiring only one for the common power supply of the line of DC input drive modules.
– The architecture of the common bus offered energy efficiency. During operation, if one or more of the eight motors are subject to an overhaul load, the resulting regenerated energy is shared on the DC bus with other drives in the system.
– The space savings were possible because the AC890 drive is equipped with numerous I/O and process capabilities, eliminating the need for additional PLC equipment. The drive itself takes on the function of a high-speed analog counter.
To communicate with the outside world, one of several available protocols can be selected and installed in the AC890 drive in the form of an optional board. In this case, an Ethernet/IP communication card provided compatibility with the existing network. The complete system was a perfect fit for a 91.44 x 152.4-cm panel installed in an existing stainless steel enclosure, eliminating the cost of any new purchase.
Efficient cooling
To effectively cool the drives, an air-liquid heat exchanger was used. The water formed from the can heating circuit was used to feed the heat exchanger, using much less energy than an air conditioner and offering the advantage of preheating the stored water. This results in less energy being used to heat the containers by capturing waste heat from the drives. In addition, the AC890’s advanced features allow it to coordinate conveyors and hot water pumps for better can temperature control. Line jams, caused by overheating and deformation of containers, were eliminated once a more efficient and better coordinated control system was installed.
Production problem eliminated
In summary, this system upgrade eliminated a major production problem that led to product rejection and, in doing so, offered significant energy savings. Due to the compact size and common bus architecture of the AC890, a cost-effective installation was realized, requiring no additional plant space and connecting easily to the existing communication network. For more information on AC drives in the AC890 modular system, download the brochure.
For more information on Parker’s complete food & beverage solutions, visit our marketplace page and follow our Food and Beverage Showcase page on the Internet.
Lou Lambruschi, marketing services manager, Parker Electromechanical & Drives Division, contributed to this article.
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How do you eliminate choke points in food and beverage canning plants? Applying good engineering design and using a variable frequency drive solution. Canning or bottling beverages has always been a complex process, requiring close control over a number of operational parameters. Accuracy of line speed, liquid flow rate, pressure, temperature and timing are key factors in maximizing production and reducing or eliminating discarded products.
Jams cause a loss of production
A beverage packaging plant encountered a problem and approached Parker. Production at the plant was slowing down due to jams and inconstant temperature control of a container heating line, resulting in product rejection. Discarded products not only resulted in waste, but also in considerable expense for disposal. Even taking into account the time lost in production, a jam can cost up to $6,000 per case.
Faced with a 9-month waiting period for capital approval to replace the line, the maintenance department was instead tasked with upgrading the existing control system. The existing system was over 20 years old and used fixed-speed “through-the-line” starting devices to control the pump.
The customer was willing to replace them with variable frequency drives (VFDs) for better control and consequent energy savings, however, the physical mounting space did not allow for the approximately 2-meter cabinet required for the eight conventional drives and peripheral devices required by each separate unit. Generally, each drive requires additional components such as line fuses, circuit breaker or disconnector, and an input line reactor. With a limited budget, material and installation costs had to be minimized.
Technical advantages of a VFD solution
Parker proposed an 8-axis variable speed motion control system on the canning line. The solution offered numerous advantages:
– The compact AC890 series, by virtue of its “bookcase” design, required much less mounting space than conventional drives.
– The common bus design eliminated the need for eight individual line reactors and circuit breakers, requiring only one for the common power supply of the line of DC input drive modules.
– The architecture of the common bus offered energy efficiency. During operation, if one or more of the eight motors are subject to an overhaul load, the resulting regenerated energy is shared on the DC bus with other drives in the system.
– The space savings were possible because the AC890 drive is equipped with numerous I/O and process capabilities, eliminating the need for additional PLC equipment. The drive itself takes on the function of a high-speed analog counter.
To communicate with the outside world, one of several available protocols can be selected and installed in the AC890 drive in the form of an optional board. In this case, an Ethernet/IP communication card provided compatibility with the existing network. The complete system was a perfect fit for a 91.44 x 152.4-cm panel installed in an existing stainless steel enclosure, eliminating the cost of any new purchase.
Efficient cooling
To effectively cool the drives, an air-liquid heat exchanger was used. The water formed from the can heating circuit was used to feed the heat exchanger, using much less energy than an air conditioner and offering the advantage of preheating the stored water. This results in less energy being used to heat the containers by capturing waste heat from the drives. In addition, the AC890’s advanced features allow it to coordinate conveyors and hot water pumps for better can temperature control. Line jams, caused by overheating and deformation of containers, were eliminated once a more efficient and better coordinated control system was installed.
Production problem eliminated
In summary, this system upgrade eliminated a major production problem that led to product rejection and, in doing so, offered significant energy savings. Due to the compact size and common bus architecture of the AC890, a cost-effective installation was realized, requiring no additional plant space and connecting easily to the existing communication network. For more information on AC drives in the AC890 modular system, download the brochure.
For more information on Parker’s complete food & beverage solutions, visit our marketplace page and follow our Food and Beverage Showcase page on the Internet.
Lou Lambruschi, marketing services manager, Parker Electromechanical & Drives Division, contributed to this article.
Related content:
High-power AC Drives for Offshore Oil & Gas Applications
VFD Slashes Airline Energy Use on Flight Simulators
How VFD Technology on Hydraulic Power Units Helps Improve Performance
VFD Provides Energy Saving on Hydraulic Power Unit
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