WORLD OF INDUSTRIES 02/2018

load range and at low speeds. They therefore pay for their initial cost
within a few years or even only months, and total expenses over the
product lifespan are significantly reduced. The frequency inverters
are configured exactly to Glidepath’s specifications – with plug-in
connectors for power, communications, encoders, and sensors.
They feature an internal EtherNet/IP interface and are designed for
easy feed-through installation.
Intelligent networking and integrated positioning
features: a welcome bonus
The pluggable drives saved Glidepath a lot of time during installation
and commissioning. The coded connectors enable speedy,
error-free networking. Williams appreciates the versatile interfaces,
with Nord’s capability of field I/O, his team was able to connect the
majority of their field devices directly to the frequency inverters.
Featuring industrial Ethernet communications, the drives enable
not only remote monitoring and control of all drive axes, but also
seamless monitoring of connected sensors and actuators. For Williams
and his team, this was a crucial factor: “The real advantage
here is, the drives support high-speed Ethernet, which allows for
reliable bag tracking on our system.”
The drive systems take on various tasks at the conveyor modules.
They move luggage at different speeds from one belt to the next.
They ensure accurate height adjustment when conveying diagonally.
Glidepath only came to realize the full potential of the integrated
positioning function of Nordac Flex inverters once the drives were
commissioned. As they gathered parameters for various applications,
Nord engineers soon found that the positioning function was
the optimal solution for the luggage sorters. “On our four-way sorters,
we took advantage of this Nord positioning system. We are very
happy with the result.”
Great after-sales support makes new product
deployments enjoyable
Glidepath project engineer Williams is more than satisfied with
the professional service. A Nord specialist for their industrial
sector provided significant support to Glidepath through efficient
standardization. “On this project, we have just five different
gear ratios for a job that has 90-odd motors in total and three
different motor sizes”, Williams says. “That is a huge advantage.
As a consequence, we need only one spare drive per gear type
and engine size.”
Glidepath engineers express satisfaction as they did not face
any issues with commissioning the new IE 4 drives. They did precommissioning
on their own, but also had the benefit of getting
a Nord commissioning engineer on-site over the four-day commissioning
phase. The commissioning expert from Nord, also
helped Glidepath engineers in the use of Nord Con software
and also assisted with setting up the new position control. The
valuable after sales service did not end with installation and
commissioning. After several months, Glidepath expanded on
the drive performance in regular operations. Expressing his joy
over Nord’s expertise, Williams said “We are very happy with
Nord products. There is nothing I can say that is negative about
them. Everything is running. We have not had any problems with
drives. We have not had to replace anything. It has been a very
good project, showing proof of a great collaboration between
Glidepath and Nord.”
Photographs: Glidepath
www.nord.com
BONFIGLIOLI: THE RIGHT
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WAREHOUSE PROCESSES
23-27 April 2018
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