When Yamazaki Mazak Danmark A/S, part of the Yamazaki Mazak Corporation, a global machine tool manufacturer, needed to find a control solution for their customers’ special application areas, they turned to Grundfos. The solution was a Soft PLC installed directly in the pump motor, offering a time-saving programmable control solution for their customers at less cost than external control solutions.
The situation
Mazak uses the MTRE pump when their customer requires a higher pressure than standard. Their primary goal was to find a way to lower installation time on site and deliver a high-quality solution for their customers who use Grundfos MTRE immersible pumps to meet higher pressure requirements.
Often, the company customises CNC machine centers to specific customer needs, to meet requirements for higher flow for the liquid cooling section or for finer filtration. Where the need is to distribute the cooling liquid in different circuits through electronically operated valves, they use Grundfos MTRE 1-19 immersible pumps and two electronically controlled valves.
The functions available as standard in the Grundfos MGE motor running the MTRE pump do not meet the customers functional requirements. To get around this, the valves are controlled by an extra PLC which as well as extra relays are added into the control cabinet of the CNC machine.
Although the CNC machines are normally built in the MAZAK factory in Japan or the UK, in many cases the valves and other components are built into the CNC machine at the MAZAK site in Middelfart, Denmark prior to delivery.
However, this results in extra costs for components, more time spent updating documentation and extra labour costs for the electrician to build the controller and relays into the control cabinet.
Therefore they contacted Grundfos for a smarter solution. MAZAK would like to avoid adding components into the main control cabinet, and this is achieved by having the valves controlled by the Soft PLC integrated into the MGE motor running the MTRE pump.
The solution
The Grundfos solution was to install directly into the MGE motor a Soft PLC solution built around the Grundfos CIM 550 P communication interface module. They then helped the customer program the required functionality in the same way as programming a traditional PLC.
The Grundfos Soft PLC is based on proprietary and patented Grundfos technology and provides the opportunity to:
- Create own logic functions
- Utilise all available MGE inputs and outputs as required, for example to operate the valves
The customer found that they could reduce the installation time by having the PLC integrated in the MTRE pump motor. The Soft PLC uses data from the pressure transmitter, which controls the frequency of the pump, to use less energy, and thereby limit the heating of the cooling water as much as possible.
The Grundfos MTRE is a vertical centrifugal pump that offers high energy efficiency and durability for factory processes. Designed for tank-top mounting with the pump unit immersed in the liquid to be pumped, the MTRE is an E-pump, meaning it uses the intelligent IE5-rated permanent magnet MGE motor designed especially for frequency converter operations. As the frequency drive constantly adapts pump speed according to demand, it is possible to achieve significant pump energy savings.
The outcome
Grundfos delivered the MTRE immersible pumps with the Soft PLC integrated in the MGE motor, ready to be installed and connected with the valves. The Soft PLC solution developed by Grundfos was tested at Mazak’s technology center in Middelfart, Denmark.
Using the Grundfos Soft PLC control solution offers many benefits for Mazak’s customers:
- No rebuilding necessary of the existing control cabinet
- Less work for the electrician and therefore savings on cost and installation time
- No changes required in documentation
- CAPEX savings as with the external PLC, and relays and extra wiring are made redundant
- Installation time on-site generally reduced
Established partnership
That this solution was possible is testimony to the collaboration between Yamazaki Mazak and Grundfos that goes back more than 20 years. Mazak is a global machine tool maker with 83 technology and engineering centers worldwide and 11 factories in six different countries. Founded in Japan, Mazak builds relationships with strong business partners such as Grundfos, who can provide reliable products and service as it builds its advanced machine tools.
Grundfos can provide technical and commercial assistance to Mazak on both a regional and global level, as the collaboration between Mazak Denmark and Grundfos to supply a programmable control solution shows; matching Mazak’s corporate philosophy of delivering high quality, advanced machine tools internationally.
Grundfos products used:
- MTRE 1-19 immersible pump
- Soft PLC Communication Interface Module