What do you do when your motors reach the end of their service life and are no longer available? Call ATS, of course. With its IE5 permanent magnet motors, ATS found a solution that fits within the available dimensions while delivering a 10% energy savings. Thanks to an extensive retrofit, the entire fiber production line at Beaulieu Fibres International has now been brought up to the latest state of the art.

Anyone who thinks of Beaulieu solely in terms of carpets is mistaken. The company is also applying the expertise it has built up in the textile industry to create the fibers of tomorrow.
And these are not made from traditional cotton, but from synthetic materials. “What we do here has little to do with textiles; it’s closer to chemistry,” explains Danny Valcke, maintenance supervisor at Beaulieu Fibres International. “We start with polypropylene, add additives for color or specific properties (fire retardancy, UV stabilization, pest resistance, etc.), and then use an extrusion process to turn it into synthetic fibers. These end up in applications such as car carpets, hygiene products like sanitary pads, elastic concrete, geotextiles, and more.”

Needs an overhaul

The Wielsbeke facility produces 100 tons of fiber daily. This consists of
MONO and BICO staple fiber, a semi-finished product. The five fiber lines in production run continuously. Valcke and his team of eight are responsible for both the electrical and mechanical operation of the lines. No easy task. One of the lines, dating back to ’94, kept causing problems. “The ten motors driving an equal number of spinning pumps on that line had already been through a lot. Downtime was becoming more and more frequent: either the brake would lock up, the motor would overheat, or there would be a complete failure. Replacement was no longer an option: we had used up our spare parts, and they were no longer available. As a solution, we had already rewound the motors up to fifteen times, but you can’t keep doing that. We therefore approached management to secure a budget for a revamp.”

No obvious solution is available

Out with the old motor, in with the new? “Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple. A sustainable solution was slow in coming because there simply wasn’t an alternative available. Conventional asynchronous motors turned out to be too large to fit within the line’s limited dimensions. The operating range had grown steadily over the years, forcing us to completely rethink the configuration. Moreover, we wanted to keep the external brake and the gearbox,” says Valcke.
Not an easy task, but he had put the request with ATS, and they were happy to sink their teeth into a challenge. Simon Vandermersch, BU Manager Automation, kept searching until he found a solution in a new series from Innomotics. “A true partner for us when it comes to motors. Thanks to the comprehensive configurator, we can easily get to work providing the right advice to customers, including all drawings and documentation.”

Permanent magnet motors from Innomotics

This led ATS and Beaulieu Fibres to consider IE5 permanent magnet motors. “The downside is that you have to use a drive, and they cost a bit more. But in return, you get higher energy efficiency and more power. Ultimately, it was the only motor that could deliver higher torque per unit volume for a small footprint,” explains Matthias Deraet, account manager at Innomotics.
The original configuration of a single controller for ten motors was overhauled. From then on, the configuration consisted of dual-motor modules connected to the PLC via Profinet through an S120 CU. Each module controls two motors. “This allows us to adjust the speed per motor, unlike before when there was only one drive and all motors ran at the same speed,” Deraet adds.

Well supported

Valcke was absolutely convinced that such a conversion was in good hands with ATS. “A tremendous level of trust has developed through our previous collaborations. From the proposal to the delivery schedule and the implementation, everything always goes very smoothly. We know that when we work with ATS, we’re always well supported.”Because this project was a true example of teamwork. Beaulieu Fibres International handled the electrical modifications and Eplan schematics, the ATS Distribution department supplied the motors and drives, and the Automation BU took care of all the software implementation. Automation BU Application Engineer Tom Vandenberghe: “We primarily looked at how the programming used to work and then converted it to drive control, fully configured within TIA Portal. There was also a great deal of testing. When switching from contactor control to drive control, you have to release the brake correctly and get the speed just right. The external brakes don’t respond with millisecond precision, so some adjustments were necessary.”

“We know that when we work with ATS at
, we’re always well supported at
.”
Danny Valcke,
Beaulieu Fibres International

Went perfectly

The line also received a software upgrade (from TIA13 to TIA19) and an update to the visualization system as part of the process. The custom software objects were converted to ATS’s standard motion control system. “The retrofit went perfectly during the summer shutdown,” Valcke notes. “A conversion is always about finding a compromise. Advice is extremely important to us to ensure the big picture adds up and brings the system up to the latest state of the art. Together with ATS, we did our homework by taking precise measurements and determining the torque we needed. But controlling new modules always remains a question mark beforehand. We also see that heat generation inside the cabinet is different, but we anticipated that by allowing more space for airflow. Despite all the challenges, we succeeded in our mission and hopefully we’re set for another thirty years. Moreover, with these 1.1 kW motors, we’re achieving a 10% energy savings compared to the previous ones. That’s great, isn’t it?”