ENGINEER TO ENGINEER
1.5Ml Framptons’ annual
drinks production
Drive quenches Framptons’ thirst for data
Contract packing company Framptons
processes around 1.5 million litres of
fruit juices and milk-based drinks each
week at its facility in Shepton Mallett,
Somerset. A VSD (variable speed drive)
controls the speed of a pump which is
used to feed soft water to four fruit juice
blending areas.
The company was concerned about
�� nding a drive to replace an obsolete
unit. The new drive needed to �� t into an
existing cabinet to avoid the cost and
time of building a replacement.
ABB value provider APDS
recommended installing an ABB
general -purpose drive – the ACS480 –
which is said to have a compact physical
size and low power rating range
(0.75 to 22 kW), making it reportedly
an ideal �� t for fans, pumps, mixers,
conveyors and compressors most
commonly found in the food and
beverage industry.
The ABB drive is also said to
be facilitating more consistent
end-product quality by applying
closed loop control to the blending
process. As the soft water pump
feeds four blending cells, it is
critical that the water pressure
remains constant.
The closed loop control is
provided by a PID (Proportional-
Integral-Derivative) controller.
This is included in the VSD
software, which is inserted
within the control loop so that
the loop can be tuned to ensure
stable and accurate control.
PID control is a mathematical
algorithm that is used to
control a range of parameters,
such as �� ow and pressure,
according to ABB.
A pressure transducer in the water
tank also feeds a signal to the VSD. As
the pressure of the water varies, the
pump’s speed is adjusted accordingly.
This provides a constant �� ow of water
into the system, ensuring the fruit juices
are mixed to the right consistency every
time. The VSD’s control keypad, also
known as an assistance control panel,
also o�� ers Framptons more intelligence
about the process.
Tom Dowson, site services manager
at the Shepton Mallet facility, comments:
“Since the drive was installed, we haven’t
had to do anything with it – it has simply
done exactly what it is supposed to. An
added bene�� t, however, is how much
process information we are now able
get from the drive, using the keypad. As
a result, fault-�� nding is now faster and
more e�� cient.
“Previously, if the pump wasn’t
running as expected, or if the water �� ow
rate wasn’t as high as required, we would
have to put an amp meter inline and
measure the current from it. With the
ABB drive, that information is displayed
on the screen.”
Dowson adds: “Around 80-90% of the
site’s electrical consumption is used to
power pumps or move product, so it’s
critical that these applications are as
e�� cient as possible. We �� t drives on all
equipment rated over 75 kW and are also
in the process of upgrading our existing
IE2 motors to ABB IE4 high e�� ciency
motors.”
Proportionalthe
86 www.operationsengineer.org.uk Autumn 2020
/www.operationsengineer.org.uk
