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Magazine3 Min

Testing high-efficiency drive technology for Aluminum Dynamics' can coating line

Stress tests on X-Pact® Torque Drive and X-Pact® Drive

For the edge scrap balers in the new can coating line for Aluminum Dynamics flat rolling complex in the US, the energy-efficient, low-noise and extremely low-maintenance X-Pact® Torque Drive will ensure maximum process-oriented drive performance with a minimal need for maintenance. By the end of May 2024, the stress tests of the torque drives have been completed in our workshop in Mönchengladbach.

Compact, highly efficient mechatronic solution

The design of the direct drive developed by SMS group is based on the customer’s plant performance requirements and enables the machine to achieve a total efficiency of up to 98 percent. In addition to the ecological benefits, this drive concept is particularly effective because there are no conversion stages and the drive system requires less ancillary equipment. The physical/electro-technical principle of a permanently excited synchronous motor means it operates significantly more efficiently than an asynchronous motor. The production simulation performed during the stress test demonstrated the highly dynamic control behavior of the direct drive.

X-Pact® Torque Drive in SMS group’s test field in Mönchengladbach: Checking the control behavior and thermal properties for the Aluminum Dynamics edge scrap balers.
X-Pact® Torque Drive in SMS group’s test field in Mönchengladbach: Checking the control behavior and thermal properties for the Aluminum Dynamics edge scrap balers.

Components combined into one integrated system

We integrate all “electrically active parts” into the mechanical structure. The X-Pact® Torque Drive is a groundbreaking solution for many applications and offers customers a host of benefits including reduced maintenance as well as greater energy efficiency and environmental protection in their plants.

The compactness of the system ensures greater flexibility in terms of lower-cost stand design. Without a gear unit, its mechanical efficiency is much higher. This means less energy is consumed, including only half of the usual power input. There are fewer moving masses, which in turn reduces mass inertia while simultaneously improving the dynamics and control performance.

X-Pact® Drive, the modular and extremely energy-efficient drive solution for low-voltage frequency converters, is part our scope of supply and is designed to meet the high process-oriented drive requirements of the new flat rolling complex. By intelligently networking the drive controls, centralized access to every single drive is possible. The uniform application software connects the drive-related functions with the X-Pact® automation system.

Together with the direct drive solution, X-Pact® Drive constitutes a perfectly harmonized drive concept born out of in-house expertise, which SMS group now plans to implement for Aluminum Dynamics LLC. This stress test of the X-Pact® Torque Drive and X-Pact® Drive systems marks the successful completion of the next milestone in the flat rolling complex project at Aluminum Dynamics.

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