Buffer modules pay for themselves by preventing downtime

Erdrich produces pistons used in the disc brakes of cars. To make a piston, a 3mm thick sheet of metal is uncoiled from a drum and deep drawn through 13 stages. It is then turned to length, the beading is rolled and then the surface is processed. The components are ground and the surfaces chemically treated. The parts receive a final cleaning, they are measured and a leak test is performed. This is a complex process that has to be co-ordinated correctly.

The power grid at the manufacturing facility often has voltage fluctuations. In the past, this caused the control system on a process-critical CNC lathe to fail. As a result, the PLC lost its data and production stopped. It would take almost an hour and a half to get the lathe running again, and it took as much as 10 hours to restart the complete production line. Clearly the mains voltage's fluctuations and the resultant system outages increased costs dramatically.

Erdrich's engineers therefore decided to integrate Murrelektronik's MB Cap Ultra 24/40 buffer module into their power supply. This module reliably buffers outages of up to 3.6 seconds with a current of 40A. External power grid fluctuations no longer effect the lathe's operation and the risk of a control failure, with all of its negative effects, is eliminated. Incorporating the buffer module into the existing power supply system was very easy. The MB Cap Ultra, with its high buffer capacity, does not require the buffered and unbuffered areas of a machine to be defined. Instead the complete installation is buffered with very little planning and engineering effort. Another benefit are the ultracapacitors, in which the MB Cap Ultra stores the energy, that are designed to be maintenance-free for life.

After successfully completing the first machine's testing phase, the maintenance engineers at Erdrich made the decision to install buffer modules in more machines. This is a small investment that makes a huge difference given the very high cost of a system outage. The cost of an MB Cap Ultra is recouped when the first production interruption is prevented.

For more information about Murrelektronik's MB Cap Ultra 24/40 buffer module go to www.murrelektronik.co.uk, call +44 (0)161 728 3133 or email [email protected].