Problem: Fox’s Biscuits was interested in investigating the potential for energy saving on its ten Baker Perkins dough mixers at the Batley plant in West Yorkshire. Each mixer is driven by an 18.5kW slip-ring motor.
Solution: ABB Drives Alliance member Halcyon Drives looked at the benefits to the application and any energy savings that could be achieved using an ABB induction motor driven by an ABB?standard drive. This was then compared against one of the slip-ring motor driven mixers.
Paul Mayman, area engineering manager for Fox’s Biscuits, said: “Although the initial reason for the project was energy saving, it soon became clear that the drive gives us a lot of other advantages that were more important to us. One of the major ones is the flexibility to run at different speeds than previously. We have a lot of other ingredients in our biscuits, such as fruit. Previously, the mixers might overmix, leading to staining where the fruit becomes a mush rather than remaining whole. This helps us maintain a high quality product and avoids the situation where a whole 400 kg batch of dough could be wasted.”
The ABB drive has also cut energy use by 30%, producing further savings on running costs.
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