Case specialist machine manufacturer in Germany
How a machine manufacturer became more flexible and reliable while reducing compressed air energy costs by 10%
Summary
The customer
A company providing metal processing and surface treatment services.
The challenge
While the company has been using the energy-efficient variable speed drive (VSD) technology for many years, its current compressor is due for replacement. In addition, with its business expanding, the company also has to meet a higher compressed air demand.
The solution & results
Replacing the aging compressor with a late-generation GA 75 VSD+ FF unit that consumes less energy and produces more air.
The customer & their challenge
The company supplies a wide range of metal processing and surface treatment services to customers across the globe. Some of its processes, such as applying powder coating, require a lot of compressed air. This has to be supplied in a reliable and efficient manner.
The company was an early adopter of the efficient variable speed drive technology and has been using a GA 90 VSD for two decades. While it was still working reliably, a general overhaul was gradually becoming advisable.
In addition, an energy audit had shown that the latest generation of VSD compressors would be able to achieve significant energy savings.
Solution & results
Atlas Copco suggested replacing the aging compressor with a new model. The GA 90 VSD had a very good run. But, after two decades of reliable operation, it was time for a change, especially because Atlas Copco has significantly advanced its VSD technology since the original compressor was purchased.
The new compressor not only uses less power, and therefore consumes less energy, it produces more air.
Specifically, the old model with a rated power of 90 kW produced up to 15 m3 of air per minute. The new 75 kW-unit, on the other hand, can produce up to 16 m3.
The result: 11,88% energy savings per year, which equals 13.517 €/year (assuming an electricity price of 0,21 €/kWh).
The VSD technology is especially valuable for this company, because the air consumption at its site greatly fluctuates between 100 and 260 liters per second. That makes a compressor whose motor adjusts to the air demand the ideal solution.
The company also uses a GA 37+ during peak times. However, even though the compressors feed into the grid from different points, the coordination functions perfectly. The new VSD+ technology allowed the company to reduce the pressure to about 7.1 bar, and the pressure band only fluctuates by about 0.1 bar.
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Real-life examples of how you can save
Switching from a fixed-speed compressor to small VSD models
Sometimes, switching from a large compressor to several small VSD units can yield significant savings. This German company shows how it’s done.
Next-generation VSD delivers more air at a 12% lower cost
When it comes to compressing air, less can be more. In the case of this manufacturer, replacing an old 90 kW compressor with a state-of-the-art 75 kW unit produced more air while increasing efficiency by 28%.