Product category:
Motors and Variable speed drives
News Release from: Control Techniques | Subject: Unidrive SP at BSC
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 05 March 2008
Sweet VSD solutions at British Sugar
The latest project for British Sugar Cantley near Norwich has again specified variable speed drives from Control Techniques, because of their reliability and ease of use
A new beet finisher drum, with associated high pressure spraywater pump has been installed to reduce the dirt and sand entering the beet process Unidrive SP drives from Control Techniques, ranging from just 3 kW to up to 250 kW 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
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 25 Nov 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
AC motor drives produce more Pot Noodles
The drive is on to boost production of the UK's most popular hot snack food, and production lines are being improved to reduce downtime and increase throughput.
Drives give great ball control at Soccer Circus
AC servo-drives from Control Techniques play a vital team role in Kevin Keegan's unique 'Soccer Circus' at the Xscape Leisure Park near Glasgow
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.
Control Techniques drives were specified throughout, "because we have found that they give us increased reliability, compared with other drive systems" said Graham Goodrum, Electrical Engineering Team Leader at British Sugar Cantley.
"Control Techniques is now our drive of choice on site for a number of reasons.
Further reading
RFC motor control gives Unidrive SP an advantage
Rotor Flux Control is seen as a major advantage in applications where a combination of dynamic performance, stability and speed accuracy are required without encoder feedback
New frame size D added to Commander SK drives
Control Techniques launched the Commander SK general purpose drive range in 2005 - it has been so well received by the market, it has tripled their market share in the largest drives sector
Lead in drive flexibility extended with LonWorks
The Control Techniques range of AC drives now offer communication with the LonWorks network, a popular choice particularly for heating, ventilating and air conditioning applications
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 gives us positive, accurate feedback of machine speed, so that we can be confident that everything is operating within safety limits".
Previously, a beet shaker, several mini-stone and weed catchers and a 132 kW 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 4-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" explains Graham Goodrum, "which meet EN 954 and 574 safety standards, giving maximum safety to our maintenance staff when they are working on potentially hazardous machinery".
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 new Control Techniques cubicle drive, rated at 160kW has also been fitted to provide control of a high pressure, 15 barg / 220psig main condensate pump nearby.
Control Techniques IP21 cubicle drives, available as standard up to 675kW, are factory built, completely 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.
Unidrive SP is the world's most advanced 'solutions platform' AC drive, configurable into five operating modes - open and closed loop, vector, servo and regenerating modes - connectivity to most industry standard networks and accepting 14 position feedback protocols.
With a range of plug-in module options, its on-board PLC can be supplemented with high-end PLC processors, customer programmable application modules are also offered with a library of software solutions.
"We have around 100 Control Techniques AC drives installed in the plant" adds Graham Goodrum, "on beet slicers, pumps, fans, elevators, mixers and on many other pieces of equipment, so we have considerable experience in their use.
Control Techniques is always our first choice, because of the quality and functionality of the drives.
We have a programme of switching to AC to reduce maintenance and to variable-speed drives rather than fixed speed to save energy and wear and tear on the plant.
The bottom line is, that poor control reduces efficiency and reduces sugar yield.
For example, beet slicers require precise speed control to ensure that beets are cut to exact chevron shapes, to give enough strength for pressing to give maximum yield".
British Sugar, Cantley processes up to 10,000 tonnes of beet per day (producing some 1500 tonnes of sugar and 400 tonnes of animal feed) during the 'campaign', which lasts some five months, finishing in February.
"It's a tough environment," concludes Graham Goodrum, "but breakdowns cannot be tolerated.
That's why we buy what we believe are the most reliable drives on the market". Request a free brochure from Control Techniques ...
• Control Techniques: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
