Transformer manufacturer cuts testing in half

A leading supplier of power and distribution transformers has halved the time taken to test the transformers it builds each year, providing significant savings.

Wilson Power Solutions manufactures industrial transformers up to 60 MVA (Mega Volt Ampere) for the UK and international utility market, producing upwards of 60 units per year.

These include amorphous metal core variants, package substations, battery chargers, switchgear and associated electrical equipment.

The company replaced a single channel tester with a Cropico D08000 ohmmeter to test for high resistance in the windings of its dual channel transformers during production at its Leeds factory.

This has halved the time previously taken to test the transformers it designs and builds each year, providing significant savings in time, cost and resources.

Simon Wilson, director at Wilson Power Solutions said the D08000 was chosen to replace the previous tester because it offered improved flexibility.

He said: "The D08000 enables dual channel testing, making it not only a cost effective solution for us but also the most functional.

"It's fulfilled all expectations and has impressed with its performance in the production environment."

The versatile D08000 digital ohmmeter can measure and save more than 10,000 high resolution test results, along with transformer nameplate data.

With its expansive memory, bright LCD screen, and concise reports from its built in printer, the D08000 is one of the most advanced test instruments of its type.

It is capable of storing hundreds of files, each containing a virtually unlimited number of resistance measurements, with tap and winding details, and several fields of information about the transformer, its location, and the operator.

The file manager makes this information easy to locate, open, view, and print past results.

The instrument has a 4.5 digit resolution and 0.25% accuracy for precise measurement of winding resistance. Input channels have sophisticated sigma-delta D/A converters and notch filters to eliminate the effects of substation noise.

The D08000 forms part of a comprehensive range of precision measurement instruments available from Cropico, part of the Seaward Group.

For further information, view website: www.cropico.com   Refer to page 67

Foundry crane lifted by CC Link open communications

CC-Link open communications has played a vital role in the refurbishment of a massive overhead crane at the giant EMZ foundry in Enakievo, Donetsk in the Ukraine, improving productivity and making such significant energy savings that payback on the control system investment will be only months.

EMZ, one of the largest foundries in a region known for its heavy industry, runs a policy of constantly modernising and upgrading its capital plant. Much of the mechanical and electrical equipment, such as gearboxes and motors are designed to run for decades with regular maintenance and overhauls. However the electronics and control systems benefit from complete replacement in order to realise the benefits of current generation technology.

When it came time to rebuild one of the company's critical overhead cranes, specialist control systems engineers from Kiev-based CSC Automation were asked to review the existing installation. They advised that a complete strip out and replacement with a new state of the art system would cost much the same as a piecemeal refurbishment. Significant performance benefits would be immediately apparent, energy savings would recoup much of the cost within a year, and the new system would provide a platform for future developments and enhancements.

Critical to the system design, CSC were keen to use an open comms architecture to reduce wiring and ensure that future work, such as replacing time-expired field devices would be as simple as possible.

CC-Link is the preferred open network in the Ukraine, as it is throughout East and Central Europe. CSC is well acquainted with the technology, having designed and installed many CC-Link systems over the last five years, and EMZ thought it best to go with such a proven and established solution.

CC-Link is an open field device level network that provides high speed deterministic communications, linking a wide range of automation technologies over a single cable. It is ideal for machine, cell or process control in manufacturing and production industries, and is a widely recognised as being rugged and reliable in demanding heavy industrial environments, such as foundries, steel plants and quarries. 

Essentially, the EMZ project was a six axis drive system and CSC identified Mitsubishi drives as having dedicated crane drive software and a considerable track record in similar applications. This lead to the decision to fulfil all the processing requirements through a single Mitsubishi Q-series PLC, and to provide operator information through one main and two secondary HMIs.

The final part of the system was a regenerative power converter. This would enable the crane to 'harvest and store' electrical energy that would normally be part of the system losses. This reduces overall electrical consumption so much that the savings become a significant consideration in costing the project.

All these field devices are connected individually onto the CC-Link link network, with no need for complicated interfacing. Not only does this mean that system build time is significantly reduced, but the devices can be swapped out at will for maintenance, upgrade, replacement or repair.

The new control system has been in place and running for some months. CSC and EMZ have just completed a post installation review and noted that the crane operators have adapted to the new regime and are reporting better operation with errors and accidents down by over 80 percent; movements are smoother, reducing wear and tear of the mechanical components; and the regenerative energy savings have won plaudits from senior management.
The CC-Link network has performed faultlessly, with the speed of installation impressing so much that EMZ is likely to standardise on it for all future control engineering projects.

For further information, view website: CC Link open communications.

Denca and Endress+Hauser prove
that where there's muck there's energy

Endress+Hauser, the global leader in the provision of measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering, has appointed automation and control specialists Denca Controls Ltd. to install and commission the control system for a new sludge incinerator at United Utilities' sludge and sewage incineration site at Shell Green, Widnes.

A number of factors and trends have increased sludge volumes in the UK and Europe over the past ten years, most notably implementation of the EU's Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. As a result, United Utilities has formulated a waste water strategy to reduce reliance on land application from 80 to 50% by increasing capacity at its existing digested sludge incineration facility at Shell Green.

The £91 million investment involves increasing capacity and improving efficiency and flexibility at the site and is being delivered as a joint venture between Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies and Costain Limited: collectively known as S3JV.

Piling on the calories
Sludge has a very high calorific value and the purpose of the Shell Green plant is to burn the sludge to capture this latent energy source. The incinerators employed at the site, manufactured by Bamag in Germany, measure 10 metres high by 6.5 metres in diameter at their widest point fabricated with vertical external steel ribs.

An energetic approach
As a trusted partner of Endress+Hauser, Denca was entrusted with the £500,000 installation and commissioning of the new incinerator's control system. Denca's team of electricians and technicians soon got to work installing a system featuring a PROFIBUS DP and PA, dealing with all cabling and connections and the switching on of level and pressure instruments.

Denca Sales and Marketing Director John Talbot remarked: 'It's always a good experience working with our long term partners at Endress+Hauser but this project is doubly satisfying as we are engaged in helping to do something positive for the long term future of the planet too'.

A controlloing interest in a wide range of businesses
Having been established in 1995, Denca Controls Ltd. has become synonymous with high quality, value for money control solutions that harness leading edge instrumentation, electrical design and software engineering technologies to improve efficiencies, enhance its customers' business performance and impact positively on their bottom line.

The company has established a proud reputation as the 'integrators of choice' across a wide spectrum of industry sectors including automotive, chemical, food and beverage, healthcare and utilities. Denca works with businesses of all kinds and sizes, providing process control solutions based on custom-designed, fully integrated PLC and HMI software for both mechanical and electrical operations as well as UKAS-traceable calibration and certification services. Denca is committed to the delivery of imaginative, cost-efficient control and process automation systems that deliver tangible and quantifiable improvements to production performance.

For further press information, please contact: e-mail: sales@denca.com