19 May 2022
Digital Present and Future
Dmitry Zakharov, Chief Power Engineer of Volga JSC, spoke about how the installation of a digital drive and an additional drive unit in the lower grid onto papermaking machine No. 5 will help ensure stable operation of the equipment in the production of high-grammage paper.
– In recent years, on the fifth paper machine, there has been a problem of slipping of the shaft of the forming lower grid when working with higher paper grammage,– says Dmitry Zakharov. – Specialists of KonSis conducted an audit of the grid part of the papermaking machine. It turned out that the drives of the grid group did not have enough torque distribution and as a result, the shaft was slipping in the lower grid. The solution was to install an additional drive unit onto the existing shaft in the lower grid of the machine by installing a 110 kW motor with a converter and connect it to a single drive control system, replacing the analog control system with a digital one.
– Last autumn, we formed an investment budget and collected commercial proposals. To date, a complete set of controllers has been purchased for the drive of the machine, it is necessary to install them. Then we will put the reversible excitation blocks on the drying part of the machine and, accordingly, we will also transfer the remaining drives from the analog control system to the digital one," – adds the Chief Power Engineer.
Delivery of the main equipment for the upgrade of the papermaking machine No. 5 is expected from July to October this year. Additionally, it is planned to install modern touch panels onto the paper machine. The control will take place not as it is now: with buttons and keys, but with the help of tablet-like touch devices. A control station for the operator and an engineering station with the possibility of archiving and parameterizing digital drives for electrical maintenance personnel will be added.
It is worth noting that the installation of equipment is scheduled to be carried out without stopping the machine, so as not to interfere with the implementation of the production plan, and the transfer from an analog system to a digital one will take place in eight stages through scheduled stops for 14–16 hours of repair time monthly.
The grid group will be the first to be converted to digital in November 2022: the analog converter of the drive of the lower grid, upper grid, gauche shaft will be replaced and an additional drive in the lower grid will be installed. Digital drive data converters will be connected to the new digital controller. Next, it is planned to transfer the drying group in stages, followed by the calender and rolling ones.
The completion of this investment project, investments in which amounted to about RUB 35 million, is scheduled for May 2023.
Press Center of Volga JSC
