Case Study
VFD increases precision and speed of food packaging sealer for food equipment manufacturer
Problem
A product seals food into vacuum packs at 60 units per minute. However, an existing VFD suppliers drives were not precise enough at the stop/start part of the process, leading to wastage.
Solution
The introduction of Optidrive E3 VFDs resulted in a start/stop ramp of almost zero, ensuring only the correct amount of film was fed through and product packaged. Less packaging was used in the process resulting in even further savings.
JCV Maq
A manufacturer of food packaging and sealing solutions is helping its customers increase productivity, while reducing packaging costs and wastage, with the introduction of Optidrive variable frequency drive (VFD) technology.
Brazil-based JCV Maq manufactures a range of packing, sealer, weighing and feeder machines used by food producers and manufacturers. It was keen to increase the precision of one of its packaging sealing machines to improve speed and motor accuracy, resulting in reduced film packaging wastage.
Working with Altus, a sales partner of Invertek Drives in Brazil, Optidrive E3 VFDs were introduced to one of its packaging sealer product ranges. This resulted in immediate improvements and efficiencies.
“One of the company’s products seals food into film vacuum packs at 60 units a minute. However, using its existing VFD supplier’s products, it found it was difficult to control the precision of the machine at start/stop. This resulted in excess packaging being fed through for each product sealed,” said Marcus Silva, Invertek Drives Country Manager for Latin America.
“They required a start/stop ramp of almost zero. Working with Altus, they found the Optidrive E3 immediately improved the precision of the motor feeding the film through the machine. Less packaging was then used even with increased speed.”
Three Optidrive E3 IP20 VFDs in Frame Size 1 enclosures were introduced. One was installed to control the movement of the film, another to control the unwinder, and the third controlled the packaging mat. They were 240v input, 0.73kW, 0.5HP and 240v input, 0.75kW, 1HP.
Daniel Andrade of Altus said: “The client has been impressed at the instant results. The precision means they can offer their customers a more efficient and productive product that helps them reduce costs through package wastage while increasing productivity.
“The Optidrive E3 in frame size one means the drives are compact enough to be installed and commissioned easily on the machines without taking up much space. It’s a perfect solution.”
The Optidrive E3 is a compact, robust and reliable general-purpose drive. It is available in IP20 enclosures up to 22kW and IP66 up to 7.5KW.
It includes application macros for industrial, pump and fan modes, making it ideal for a wide range of applications.
More details are at www.invertekdrives.com.
