Airtec Success Story
Customer: Atlas Copco
Region: Belgium
Sector: Vacuum Pump Manufacturing
Benefit: Energy savings, a decreased cycle time and increased productivity
The Atlas Copco headquarters are in Antwerp, Belgium. Over 3,000 employees work there producing industry-leading compressed air and vacuum solutions. It’s a state-of-the-art production facility, and it is where Atlas Copco’s new GHS VSD⁺ vacuum pumps are built.
Challenge:
Atlas Copco’s Airtec division designs and manufactures core components for their machines – and some of these processes require vacuum. Quality is Atlas Copco’s watchword. It runs through everything they do, starting on the drawing board, but it doesn’t end there. When they manufacture the pilot batch of a new vacuum pump, they are subjected to rigorous testing – and one of the prototypes from the new GHS VSD⁺ range needed testing.
Solution:
One of the machines in the production process at Airtec, a washer and dryer, requires vacuum. Three competitor vacuum pumps were used for this process. Those three fixed speed oil-sealed rotary vane pumps were replaced with just one new GHS VSD⁺ vacuum pump. That GHS VSD⁺ proved to be ideal for this application.
Outcome:
The washer and dryer does not work continuously. This means that vacuum demand is not constant. The variable speed drive on the GHS VSD⁺ ramps up and down vacuum production to follow the demand. This results in significant energy savings.
The GHS VSD⁺ comes in many different specifications – the test machine at Airtec is a humid version, designed specifically for wet processes and high levels of humidity. In addition it is a turbo version of the pump, meaning it can get down to the required vacuum level much quicker than a standard pump. This is especially important in cycling applications as it decreases the evacuation time and increases productivity.
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