PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2019

COMPRESSORS PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 05/19 www.petpla.net 30 Low pressure from the second stage and high pressure from the third stage Two-in-one compressor ABC Compressors, a family owned company founded in 1943 in Eibar, Spain, is one of the world’s leading PET compressor companies. In the early 1980s it developed the first 40 bar compressor for PET blowing machines. Today’s technologies have moved on from those days – and tomorrow’s machines will be even more advanced. ABC Compressors’ R&D team, consisting of more than 10 engineers and doctors, has made sure that com- pressor development is the daily focus within the company. More than 10% of revenues are reinvested in R&D, every year. ABC’s successful Horizon range, first released at the end of 2015, has helped it grow by more than 20% over the past 3 years. But the market demands new developments and features to reduce cost, energy con- sumption and blowing pressure. During the last Brau Beviale exhibition in Nuremberg, in Novem- ber 2018, ABC released Etherplus in response to market demands for energy savings. The Etherplus system integrates a number of new features to reduce energy consumption, in the compressor and in the VSD (Variable Speed Drive). They seek to eliminate off-load running, improve the speed regulation range beyond current limits and extend component life cycles. The initial capital cost (CapEx) of a compressor represents just 10% of its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through its lifetime. Maintenance and support add up to another 10%. The remainder – fully 80% – is accounted for by the cost of energy. A water plant with several blow- ing lines and several compressors consumes thousands of Euros in electricity per month. Almost 50 % of that consumption is accounted for by the compressor room. Focusing on saving energy in the compressor room offers the opportunity to make sig- nificant savings in electric- ity usage, and the cost of buying it. There are different ways, all valid and none of them exclusive. ABC says that the Etherplus package deliv- ers to users:  E-limitless: A VSD without any extra consumption and full regula- tion capacity  E-ntelligent: Install several VSDs (one per machine) to synchronise all of them and get the perfect energy consumption  E-wide: Reach the longest regula- tion capacity avoiding any off-load- ing situation  E-control: Enlarge spare parts life- cycle over limits and get full control of maintenance. The latest moulds on the market operate at 15-18 bar. ABC’s R&D team is working to develop a com- pressor capable of blowing at this pressure, with its lowest-ever energy consumption. The newest Hori- zon models are the only compressors currently available with the following premium features as standard:  Direct couple motors (7% energy savings over belt-driven motor)  Double-acting cylinders (20% energy savings over single acting)  Horizontal opposed cylinders (no vibrations, longer machine life)  Longest intercoolers to decrease air temperature at maximum ABC is about to release its latest and most advanced solution, which it is calling Horizon Duo. It is described as a ‘two-in-one’ compressor, which will be able to provide 100% high pressure, 100% low pressure - or both at the same time. The Horizon Duo delivers low pressure from the second stage and high pressure from the third stage, at the same time. According to ABC, that new machine offers:  Immediate CapEx savings – operators don’t need to buy two compressors  Time savings on maintenance  Space savings – the footprint is the same as a single high pressure compressor  Simplified spare parts inventory. ABC says that Duo technology is retrofittable, in many cases. ABC Compressors’ R&D team is now work- ing on the development of a com- pletely new range of compressors, which will be focused on even higher energy savings. www.abc-compressors.com COMPRESSORS