FEATURE DRIVES & CONTROLS RACE TO REPLACE
summer shutdown. The motor had to be about the same size as the previous one and came with pre-installed cabling so it was easy to position on the existing motor plate bed. The new motor is 1m long by 0.75m wide and weighs 853 kg. CP Automation worked with its distributor Routeco to supply the equipment in time for the summer shutdown. The close collaboration between the different parties involved meant the project timeline started at the beginning of 2015 and the new drive system was up and running at the end of August. “When the motor, drive and PLC were up and running, the stop and start function wasn’t as fast as we wanted it to be, partly because of the sheer size of the motor. The drive kept tripping, so we needed to find a solution,” says Tony Brown, electronics engineer at Tata Steel “CP Automation suggested
introducing a Revcon regenerative braking unit to make stops and starts more seamless and to increase the speed of the application.”
CP Automation helps Tata Steel replace their legacy motor H
eavy industries often use electrical equipment older than the majority
of their staff. This means when legacy motors, drives or control systems need replacing, finding the right balance between cost, power, energy efficiency and simply doing the job, can be tricky. When Tata Steel wanted to replace a 40- year-old motor used in one of its pipe manufacturing facilities, the company worked with Rockwell Automation and CP Automation to find a solution that boosted overall production and energy efficiency.
THE PROBLEM WITH OLD MOTORS At the very heart of the production process lies a powerful expander used to shape, size and strengthen pipes. This machine is used only in pipe making and is the only one of its kind in the UK. Until recently, a 40-year-old DC motor drove the gripper car which moved the 12.5 m long pipes over the expander head. The motor used an obsolete control system that was not very accurate and, as a result of the low speed, often caused bottlenecks in the production process. Because of its age, the DC motor also
required frequent maintenance and had high-energy consumption rates. As the motor was obsolete, the spares and DC drives it required were hard to come by, so the entire application had a serious reliability issue. To reduce the risk of costly downtime and make the entire production process more efficient, Tata Steel asked Rockwell
30 APRIL 2016 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Automation for advice on a replacement motor and drive for the application. In turn, Rockwell Automation enlisted the help of CP Automation for the high power requirements of the drive project. CP Automation worked alongside Rockwell Automation and Tata Steel to identify, deliver and install a replacement motor and drive for the application.
THE RIGHT FIT Tata Steel shared the mechanical drawings and old drive system drawings of the application with Rockwell and CP Automation and supplied a set of 12 specifications for the new system.
“The sheer size and scale
of the application made it a challenging project, but the additional requirements for better energy efficiency and accuracy meant an off- the-shelf motor and drive system simply wouldn’t suffice,” explains John Mitchell, global business development manager of CP Automation. “To fulfil the requirements, we worked with Spanish motor manufacturer and partner VASCAT to produce a bespoke 150kW motor, at 300Amps and with a speed of 1070 rpm. Rockwell supplied the 250kW Powerflex 755 inverter drive with CIP motion function and associated PLC.” VASCAT designed the motor especially
for the application with customised windings, and delivered it in time for the
Tara Steel was using a 40-year-old DC motor to drive the gripper car that moved 12.5m long pipes over the expander head
CLEAR IMPROVEMENTS “Perhaps one of the most significant improvements in the process came from the accuracy of the new servo drive system,” explains Brown. “The new drive system allows us to position the pipe within 1mm accuracy, whereas the old DC system’s accuracy was closer to 50mm. This increased level of accuracy coupled with a 10 per cent improvement in speed has resulted in productivity improvements throughout the application.
“The success of the project convinced us to replace the auxiliary drive system on the expander,” continues Brown. “We have already discussed the details with CP Automation and Rockwell and are hoping to upgrade the auxiliary drive unit during the 2016 summer shutdown.”
BRINGING LEGACY SYSTEMS UP TO SPEED
VASCAT produced a bespoke 150kW motor, at 300Amps and with a speed of 1070rpm
In an era of Industry 4.0 and smart factories, the temptation to fully replace an obsolete production line is high. However, this isn’t always the most cost- effective or productive approach. Sometimes it’s better just to replace the inefficient or unreliable parts of a system. These are often the parts that work the hardest, like motors, drives or pumps. Each application is different, so the first step has to be performing an audit to identify any sore spots.
CP Automation
www.cpaltd.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64