VACON® drives maximum uptime at the Czech Republic’s largest steelworks

Thursday, August 15, 2019

CZECH REPUBLIC: Rarely is reliable uptime so critical, as during continuous casting at a steelworks. To ensure reliable 24/7 operation of continuous casting, system integrator Ingeteam chose VACON® NXP drives to regulate the electromagnetic stirring (EMS) process at the renowned Třinecké železárny a.s., the largest steelworks in the Czech Republic.

The Třinecké železárny steelworks has relied upon VACON® drives to regulate pumps, conveyors and hoists for many years.

The Třinecké železárny steelworks has relied upon VACON® drives to regulate pumps, conveyors and hoists for many years. The plant operators have built up long experience and appreciate the good programmability and ease of maintenance of these drives. They are well-suited to the harsh environment in this heavy industry, and have

demonstrated robust performance and long lifetime, many times over.

In 2018 the steelworks renovated its electromagnetic stirring (EMS) process in the continuous casting plant.  In this retrofit project, VACON® NXP Standalone Drives were installed to replace a series of twenty-year-old drives from New Zealand.

The electromagenetic stirring process (EMS) involves a rotating magnetic field in huge coils. Liquid steel passes

through the coil, which acts like a stator to give the liquid steel a rotational movement. This process ensures better quality of the casted product.

With the retrofit, nine VACON® NXP Standalone Drives equipped with PROFIBUS communication were installed to control the rotating magnetic field, to maintain a frequency range of 3-5 Hz and nominal 300 A current.

Figure 1 Application engineer Adam Blažek, who was responsible for smooth implementation and commissioning of VACON® NXP drives, is highly satisfied with the performance of the VACON® NXP Standalone drives.

Dedicated EMS control solution for the metal industry

The electromagenetic stirring process (EMS) involves a rotating magnetic field in huge coils. Liquid steel passes

through the coil, which acts like a stator to give the liquid steel a rotational movement. This process ensures better quality of the casted product.

With the retrofit, nine VACON® NXP Standalone Drives equipped with PROFIBUS communication were installed to control the rotating magnetic field, to maintain a frequency range of 3-5 Hz and nominal 300 A current. This dedicated solution has been developed specifically for optimal control of the EMS application.

100% reliability, easy serviceability and local presence

“We chose Ingeteam with Danfoss VACON® drives because they offered us the most robust solution, with 100% reliable 24/7 performance. Serviceability of the standalone drives is easy, which is vital for our steelworks in scheduled maintenance situations.

Best of all, Danfoss Drives offers us the presence of a local service and application team who participated actively throughout the planning, installation and commissioning, and who can support us with the regular service to keep the EMS process performing optimally.”

– Michal Podermanski, Project Manager, Třinecké železárny a.s.

Třinecké železárny a.s.

Třinecké železárny a.s.

Established in 1839, Třinecké železárny

a.s. is the largest steel producer in the Czech Republic, exporting to more than 60 countries globally. Since its establishment, Třinecké železárny has produced approximately 180 million tons of steel. The steelworks is an important element of the region and the town of Třinec, which has changed from a small agricultural village to a considerable town, especially thanks

to Třinecké železárny. Known locally as Werk, the company supports the Czech Extra-league Ice-hockey team HC Oceláři Třinec and numerous other cultural, sport, and educational actitivities.

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