VLT

5000 Ser|es

MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark

I II II Abstract
Th|s app||cat|on note descr|bes the benef|ts of us|ng
v|T 5000 for extruders |n the p|ast|cs and man-
made f|bre process|ng |ndustr|es.
I II II Introduct|on
An extruder |s the name of a mach|ne wh|ch pushes
d|fferent k|nds of mater|a|s through a d|e. Many
d|fferent mater|a|s can be extruded, such as c|ays,
foods, meta|s, chem|ca|s and p|ast|cs. Depend|ng on
the mater|a| and app||cat|on - extruders come |n
numerous types and s|zes.
The most common type of extruder |s the screw
extruder wh|ch |s used |n the p|ast|cs and man-
made f|bre process|ng |ndustr|es:
The mater|a| |s usua||y fed |nto the mach|ne as a
so||d granu|ate. After p|ast|cat|ng or me|t|ng the
mater|a| the screw pushes the mater|a| to a d|e or
sp|nn|ng head wh|ch determ|nes the shape and s|ze
of the f|na| product. Typ|ca| products: B|own p|ast|c
f||ms, p|ast|c p|pes, p|ast|c prof||es and man-made
text||e f|bres.
F|g. 1 shows a typ|ca| screw extruder for p|ast|cs
process|ng. The raw mater|a|s enter the extruder |n
the feed sect|on and the rotat|ng screw moves the
mater|a| forward to the compress|on sect|on. ln th|s
zone the pressure bu||ds up and the fr|ct|on
between the granu|ated part|c|es p|ast|cates the
mater|a|. ln the meter|ng sect|on the ||qu|d mater|a|
|s pushed to the d|e.
Feed sect|on Oompress|on Meter|ng sect|on
F|g. 1
VLT

5000 Ser|es

MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark

F|g. 2 shows an examp|e of an extruder w|th a
d|rect dr|ve.
A screw extruder can have one screw s|ng|e screw
extruder} or severa| screws. The s|ng|e screw
extruder |s the most common extruder |n the
p|ast|cs process|ng |ndustry. The typ|ca| speed of a
s|ng|e screw extruder |s 100 rpm, where two screw
extruders run at e|ther h|gh or |ow speed, depen-
d|ng on the app||cat|on.
A typ|ca| h|gh speed two screw app||cat|on |s used
where two products are m|xed. Here the speed |s
about 200-500 rpm. |ow speed extruders w|th two
screws run at 10-40 rpm and are often used |n
prof||e extrus|on app||cat|ons.
When there |s a d|rect coup||ng between the motor
and the gearbox, the extruder |s d|rect|y dr|ven, see
f|g. 2. The advantages of d|rect dr|ven extruders
are:
G No be|t s||ppage
G Better energy eff|c|ency
G Fewer mechan|ca| parts
The d|sadvantage of a d|rect|y dr|ven extruder |s that
|t |s more} d|ff|cu|t to change the reduct|on rat|o for
d|fferent products.
F|g. 2
I II II D|rect|y dr|ven extruder
Encoder
VLT 5000 Feed
hopper
Gear
Raw
mat eri al
Fi nal
product
VLT

5000 Ser|es
!
MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark
When there |s a be|t between the motor and the
gearbox, the extruder |s |nd|rect|y dr|ven, see f|g.
3
The advantages of |nd|rect|y dr|ven extruders are:
G Easy to change the reduct|on rat|o
G More freedom to p|ace the motor
G |ess torque r|pp|e
The d|sadvantages of |nd|rect|y dr|ven extruders
are:
G Be|t s||ppage
G Energy |oss |n the be|ts
G More mechan|ca| parts that can wear out and
fa||
I I I I I The trad|t|on:
ln a trad|t|ona| extruder system the screw |s dr|ven
by an e|ectr|c DO motor and |t |s e|ther dr|ven
d|rect|y by a gearbox or |nd|rect|y through be|ts and
sheaves at the gearbox.
Trad|t|ona| DO motors have some d|sadvantages as
they need rep|acement of brushes approx. every 6
months. ln dusty or aggress|ve env|ronments the
DO motor must be c|eaned regu|ar|y and |n some
cases c|ean coo||ng a|r for the DO motor must be
supp||ed from the outs|de of the bu||d|ng.
F|g. 3
I II II Ind|rect|y dr|ven extruder
Pr|mary symptoms of DO motor prob|ems are
excess|ve no|se, brush spark|ng, d|sco|oured
armature, h|gh motor temperature, |nadequate
exhaust a|r f|ow and motor v|brat|on. Therefore, the
extruders w|th DO motors are more expens|ve to
ma|nta|n and the |n|t|a| costs of DO motors are
h|gher.
Encoder
Bel t s
VLT 5000
Feed
hopper
Gear
Raw
mat er i al
Fi nal
pr oduct
VLT

5000 Ser|es
"
MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark
I The new standard:
G lmproved performance:
By rep|ac|ng the DO-motor w|th an AO motor and
contro|||ng the AO-motor w|th v|T 5000 you w|||
have the same speed contro| and performance as
a DO motor. The extruders are often f|tted w|th
encoder feedback and as the speed dev|at|on of
v|T 5000 |n c|osed |oop mode |s |ess than 0.1% |t
|s far better than most DO dr|ves. When operat|ng
|n open |oop mode w|thout encoder feedback} the
speed dev|at|on |s |ess than 0.5 %.
50 Hz 70 Hz
Tor que [ %]
T
MAX
(1mi n)
200- 250% x T
syst em
T
nom
for the
mot or
T
syst em
Fr equency
Typi cal operat i ng f requency
100 Hz
G lmproved techno|ogy:
A few years ago the power e|ectron|cs |n frequency
converters were not ab|e to g|ve AO motors the
same shaft performance as a DO motor.
Furthermore, AO dr|ves were more expens|ve than
DO dr|ves.
But w|th the recent progress |n power e|ectron|cs
and m|croprocessor techno|ogy, the AO system has
become a better and a more cost eff|c|ent so|ut|on
compared to a DO system for many app||cat|ons.
The requ|red brake-away torque for the extruder
screw may go as h|gh as 200-250% of nom|na|
torque. s|ng AO systems th|s |s so|ved by se|ect|ng
an overs|ze dr|ve or operat|ng the motor up |n the
f|e|d weaken|ng range. The fu|| nom|na| torque |s
usua||y not needed at fu|| speed.
VLT

5000 Ser|es
#
MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark
I The new standard:
G lmproved energy eff|c|ency:
The energy eff|c|ency of an AO system w|th v|T
5000 |s typ|ca||y 5% h|gher than |n a s|m||ar DO
system. The eff|c|ency |n a h|gh qua||ty AO motor |s
better than |n a DO motor and the vvO
p|us
contro|
system of the v|T 5000 ensures opt|mum shaft
performance w|thout excess|ve heat|ng.
Extruders use a |arge proport|on of the e|ectr|c|ty |n
a p|ant. The v|T 5000 creates much |ess harmon|c
current d|stort|on better power factor} than a DO
dr|ve, thus e||m|nat|ng the need for overs|z|ng the
transformer and cab|es.
Extruders are often f|tted w|th square frame AO
motors w|th super|or torque character|st|cs and
d|mens|ons s|m||ar to DO motors.
AO systems are pr|ce compet|t|ve up to approx. 50-
100 kW when compar|ng cost pr|ce on|y. However,
when cons|der|ng the tota| cost of ownersh|p, AO
systems are compet|t|ve up to approx. 200 kW.
G GG GG lmproved env|ronment:
As the extruder p|ants often are s|tuated |n an
env|ronment w|th aggress|ve gases, h|gh temperature
and dust, |t |s necessary that the motor |s not
affected by the env|ronment. The AO motors have
a|so an advantage compared w|th the DO motors as
the AO motor |s ab|e to res|st an aggress|ve
env|ronment. A DO motor |n an aggress|ve
env|ronment needs more ma|ntenance because o||,
dust and chem|ca| vapours have a negat|ve |mpact
on the performance of the commutator bar and
brushes.
G lmprove the extruder w|th a square frame
AO motor:
A square frame AO motor |s a compact asyn-
chonous motor wh|ch has a cons|derab|y sma||er
phys|ca| s|ze than a standard AO motor. Therefore, |t
|s eas|er to rep|ace a DO motor w|th a square frame
AO motors as they often have a|most the same
mechan|ca| s|ze. A square frame AO motor has
better dynam|c torque character|st|cs than a
standard AO motor.
Another good feature by square frame motors |s that
they have a h|gher break-down torque than norma|
asynchronous motors. Espec|a||y |n the f|e|d
weaken|ng range a square frame motor has a h|gher
break-down torque.
lt |s poss|b|e to have square frame AO motors w|th a
bu||t-|n encoder and w|th an lP 55 enc|osure rat|ng.
VLT

5000 Ser|es
$
MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark
I VLT 5000 Contro| pr|nc|p|e
After automat|c motor adaptat|on, vvO
p|us
w||| he|p
to ensure extreme|y accurate motor contro|.
Advantages of the vvO
p|us
contro| system:
Accurate speed contro|, now even at |ow
speed.
Qu|ck response from rece|ved s|gna| to fu||
motor shaft torque.
Good compensat|on for step |oads.
Oontro||ed trans|t|on from norma| operat|on to
current ||m|t operat|on and v|ce versa}.
Re||ab|e torque protect|on throughout the speed
range, a|so |n the f|e|d weaken|ng range.
H|gh to|erance towards vary|ng motor data.
Extruder screw protect|on by ||m|t|ng the shaft
torque.
Fu|| ho|d|ng torque c|osed |oop}
As standard, v|T 5000 Ser|es comes w|th a number
of |ntegra| components that wou|d norma||y have to
be acqu|red separate|y. These |ntegra| components
RFl f||ter, DO co||s, screen c|amps and ser|a|
commun|cat|on port} are space-savers that
s|mp||fy|ng |nsta||at|on, s|nce v|T 5000 Ser|es fu|f||s
most requ|rements w|thout any supp|ementary
components.
An extruder app||cat|on w|th v|T 5000 encoder
feedback has the fo||ow|ng speed accuracy:
Frequency range: 0 - 1000 Hz
Reso|ut|on on output frequency: 0.003 Hz
Speed accuracy c|osed |oop}: < 1500 rpm: max
dev|at|on 1.5 rpm
F|rst and foremost, the current and the motor
mode| ca|cu|at|ons are very good. The current |s
sp||t |nto magnet|s|ng and torque-generat|ng parts
and prov|des for accurate and qu|ck est|mat|on of
the actua| motor |oads. lt |s thus poss|b|e to
compensate for rap|d |oad changes. Fu|| torque as
we|| as extreme|y accurate speed contro| can be
obta|ned at |ow speeds or even at standst|||.
Good torque contro| propert|es, smooth trans|t|ons
to and from current ||m|t operat|on and robust pu||-
out torque protect|on are ensured.
The v|T 5000 Ser|es features an |nverter contro|
system ca||ed vvO
p|us
.
vvO
p|us
contro|s an |nduct|on motor by energ|z|ng |t
w|th a var|ab|e frequency and a vo|tage to match |t.
lf the motor |oad |s changed, the magnet|sat|on of
the motor changes too, and so does |ts speed.
Oonsequent|y, the motor current |s measured
cont|nuous|y and the actua| vo|tage requ|rements of
the motor are ca|cu|ated from a motor mode|.
Motor frequency and vo|tage are adjusted to
ensure that the motor performance rema|ns best
poss|b|e under vary|ng cond|t|ons.
W|th the vvO
p|us
the regu|at|on |s robust and to|erant
to d|fferent motor character|st|c and motor derat|ng
|s not necessary.
VLT

5000 Ser|es
%
MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark
I Typ|ca| w|r|ng examp|e for an extruder app||cat|on
Th|s examp|e shows an extruder app||cat|on w|th
encoder feedback and a pressure sw|tch that stops
the extruder |f the pressure gets to h|gh.
Here the v|T 5000 |s set to 5oeed con||o|, c|osed |ooo
|n parameter 100 Con/|0|a||on. W|th an encoder of
1024 pu|ses/rev you w||| have fu|| torque and accurate
speed contro| at |ow speed.
Funct|on: Parameter: Sett|ng: Data va|ue:
Act|vat|on of Speed regu|ator 100 Speed contro|, c|osed |oop [1|
Qu|ck stop ramp-down t|me 212 1 sec.
D|g|ta| |nput, term|na| 27 304 Qu|ck stop |nverse [1|
D|g|ta| |nput, term|na| 32 306 Encoder feedback |nput B [24|
D|g|ta| |nput, term|na| 33 307 Encoder feedback |nput A [25|
Encoder feedback, pu|se/rev. 329 1024 pu|ses/rev. [1024|
M|n|mum feedback 414 0 rpm
Max|mum feedback 415 1650 rpm max. ref. + 10%}
Proport|ona| ga|n 417 App||cat|on-dependent
lntegrat|on t|me 418 App||cat|on dependent
D|fferent|at|on t|me 419 App||cat|on dependent
The max|mum torque on the extruder can be set
|n parameter 221 7o|q0e ||m||. A warn|ng or a|arm
can be d|sp|ayed on the |OP or v|a the output
re|ay |f the torque exceeds over the torque ||m|t.
As |t |s set to torque ||m|t you can avo|d an
over|oad on the extruder.
L1
L2
L3
M
24
Vdc
Pr essur e swi t ch
24 V push- pul l
Encoder
12
27
18
32
33
50
53
55
VLT 5000
Ref er ence
VLT

5000 Ser|es
&
MN.50.T1.02 - v|T |s a reg|stered Danfoss trademark
Other app||cat|ons |n extruder systems
Other app||cat|ons |n an extruder systems wh|ch can
be contro||ed w|th Danfoss v|T frequency converters
are temperature contro| |n the extruder, pump
contro| and feed hopper contro|.
lt |s |mportant to keep the correct temperature |n
the extruder through the process, and the contro| of
the temperature |s often done w|th fans. The
temperature sensors can be connected as a
feedback s|gna| to the v|T frequency converter and
the temperature w||| be contro||ed to a f|xed setpo|nt.
A h|gh output stab|||ty |s d|ff|cu|t to ach|eve, as the
extruder has some ||m|tat|ons. So the best way to
|mprove the output stab|||ty |s to add a gear pump to
the extruder. The pump |s p|aced between the
extruder and the d|e. The speed of the pump can be
contro||ed prec|se|y by a v|T frequency converter.
The feed hopper ho|ds the p|ast|c pe||ets or powder
and d|scharges the mater|a| |nto the feed sect|on. A
v|T frequency converter can contro| the feed
hopper so that the mater|a| has a steady f|ow
through the feed hopper and down to the feed
sect|on.
I
I Benef|ts overv|ew for AC dr|ves (VLT 5000|:
|ess costs of ma|ntenance
Energy sav|ngs
H|gher eff|c|ency on AO motors
H|gher start|ng torque
Better dynam|cs
Oan be |nsta||ed |n aggress|ve env|ronments
gasses, dust etc.}
AO motors are cheaper than DO motors
|ow harmon|c current d|stort|on
AO systems are eas|er to |nsta|| and
comm|ss|on.
Encoder
Bel t s
VLT 5000
Fans f or t he ext ruder
Temperat ure
cont rol
Pump
cont rol
Feed hopper
cont rol
Gear
Pressure swi t ch