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Maximizing the production - Reduce energy consumption
We have managed to combine the right engineering with the right products and solutions, and that we were able to reflect the Eaton vision with this project.
Due to growing demand, the company decided to install a fourth production line, TM4, that would make it the second-largest manufacturer in Europe, bringing the plant’s total capacity to 280,000 tons of tissue paper annually.
Given the size of the project and the limited area at its disposal, Lila Paper was looking for a compact solution that had to be user-friendly, reliable and economical.
Based on these considerations, the company opted for Eaton products to manage the control and power supply of its new machine, which would be provided by Valmet, a Finnish developer of process technologies for the pulp and paper industries.
After the start of TM3, Lila Paper had faced various problems related to the reliability of communications, which were exacerbated by the centralized nature of the main automation system, making it both time-consuming and difficult to locate and rectify faults.
Moreover, the paper manufacturer also sought to achieve further energy savings and increase the efficiency and quality of production. The aim was to realize the full potential of the state-of-the-art IE4 motors in TM4 by using equally efficient variable frequency drives, rather than the conventional drives installed in TM3.
An additional challenge was the small size of the low voltage switchgear room, as well as difficulties with assembly and maintenance caused by the limited space inside each panel section. Finally, the new system also had to be able to control around 200 motors, to handle an enormous volume of data and to incorporate different communication protocols, from Modbus TCP and RTU to Ethernet IP, Profibus DP and CANOPEN, brought together in one software.
To avoid the frequent communication interruptions on the modules and drives that plagued TM3, Lila Paper wanted a solution that would simplify troubleshooting. Due to the sheer size of the machine, Eaton delivered xEnergy motor control centers (MCCs) consisting of 48 standalone cabinets and 98 withdrawable units, plus 19 power distribution cabinets featuring various motor starter combinations and control panels with variable frequency drives.
The plug-in units offer enhanced operator safety and are removable, so that individual components can be quickly replaced or added without having to isolate the entire system. This keeps downtime to a minimum and enables modifications while the equipment is energized. And rather than opting for a single PLC, Eaton proposed a modular control system consisting of one master and several local HMI-PLCs with monitoring tools for managing the hardware configuration.
Thanks to the use of a wide range of digital devices, TM4 offers a number of advantages over TM3, including automatic email notifications in case of malfunctions, remote monitoring and diagnostics, and predictive maintenance. Apart from requiring less cabling, the new Eaton solutionis also fully ready for Industry 4.0 and can be easily expanded.
In addition, TM4 stands out for its communication capabilities, made possible by the combination of XV-303 HMI-PLCs and XC-152 PLCs with SmartWire-DT, Eaton’s intelligent wiring system, which can handle vast amounts of data from different fieldbuses. Since all diagnostic information is available at the level of the local PLCs, it is no longer necessary to shut down all four machines in the event of a fault. Standard components such as motor starters and pushbuttons were connected via the intelligent wiring system. SmartWire-DT makes all their data centrally available and reduces the wiring cost. The provided information simplifies troubleshooting.
This new solution is not only more reliable, maintainable and sustainable but also more user-friendly, given that it can be monitored and serviced by local staff.
“With the switch to PLCs in the local cabinets, the technicians on shift can now easily monitor the soft starters and drives for faults and exchange them if needed, so that the presence of an engineer is no longer required for troubleshooting”, says Taner Özgür, senior electrical-electronic engineer at Lila Paper.
Whereas with TM3, Lila Paper had to spend more time and effort on correctly mapping the solution, this could be handled by the system integrator in the case of TM4. In the words of Erkan Demir, automation project manager at Eaton, “using an HMI/PLC makes the customer’s job easier, and Lila Paper now has greater flexibility due to the improved communication with the master”.
Apart from making the production line more reliable, the use of Eaton technology also enables additional energy savings. “Overall, the Eaton products have improved Lila Paper’s energy efficiency by 9%. And compared to the standard drives in the previous machine, the internal algorithm of the new DG1 drives will provide additional energy efficiency, between 2% and 10%”, says Erkan Demir.
To overcome the issue of limited space issue, Eaton provided double-sided xEnergy switchboards, which are also easy to install and maintain thanks to their large cable compartments.
Even after only a few months of operation, TM4 is already performing better than TM3, as a result of the modular technology, the improved communications and fewer technical issues. In fact, “there has been a 90% reduction in the number of disruptions over the same period of operation, from 20 down to 2”, says Gökben Kaya, director of the Lila Paper factory.
Similarly, the new machine is also more efficient, as measured by the power required to produce one ton of paper. According to Gökben Kaya, “for TM3, this was 1100 kWh per ton during first start-up, and it took seven months to go below 900 kWh; with TM4, we were able to reduce this figure to 800 kWh already after three months”.
In the words of Yılmaz Özcan, Eaton country manager, “This positive feedback shows us that we have managed to combine the right engineering with the right products and solutions, and that we were able to reflect the Eaton vision with this project.”
While the new machine is still in the optimization phase, meaning the full benefits are yet to materialize, everything is on schedule – and the new power management, control and drive solution from Eaton has already been a clear success.
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