Flat cable pays dividends

When Nacco Materials Handling Group decided to replace a gearbox production line for a new conveyor line at its Craigavon facility, the company carried out an in-depth evaluation of the cabling options available.

Wieland Electric's podis flat cable system was selected as offering a cost-effective solution. The evaluation also identified the gesis MCU motor starter as the most compact motor starter solution available.

Designed by Lisburn-based conveyor system specialist Texam, the system at Craigavon has an assembly line and a return line. The variable speed assembly line flows in one direction using a pallet frame on which trucks are assembled. Once complete, the trucks are driven off the end of the assembly line and the pallet is transferred to the single-speed return line and conveyed back to the start. The return line is hidden under metal plates that form gangways and the work surface of one side of the assembly line.

A major factor in the choice of cabling was the severe space restriction due to the very low height of the whole line. By using the podis flat cable system, it was possible to simply roll it out into the channel that runs the length of the line.

The incomer box and motor tap off points were then quickly screwed onto the cable and terminated by insulation displacement connection (IDC). The gesis MCU motor starters and the motor feed cable - both supplied as pre-manufactured cable assemblies with ‘plug and play' functionality - were then plugged into the motor tap off boxes.

The result was a low maintenance design with faster installation that would have been possible with traditional round cable, providing significant cost savings on the installation phase of the project, more than compensating for the slightly higher price of flat cable compared to round cable.

Commissioning was rapid and straightforward as the gesis MCUs are controlled via AS-I. It was also very easy to interface this into the Profibus system that is used to control the assembly line. Should any problems occur in the future, the system can be diagnosed via an HMI panel, so that fault finding is quick and any problems are resolved in the minimum time.