Very little space in the switch cabinet
The liquid cooling of AMKmotion’s KE/KW converters ensures compact dimensions and a long service life for the electronics in ARBURG injection moulding machines.
Very little space was required in the switch cabinet of ARBURG´s injection molding machines, so that the hall space can be used efficiently.
High power density and small installation dimensions thanks to liquid-cooled converters.
As the injection moulding machines from ARBURG were equipped with liquid-cooled connection from the outset, it was logical to also use liquid-cooled versions of the servo drives and converters.
The striking feature of the intelligent KE/KW servo converters is their sophisticated cooling technology, which ensures optimum heat dissipation and therefore a long service life for the electronics.
The liquid cooling of AMKmotion’s KE/KW converters saves a lot of space in the switch cabinet and significantly increases the life of the electronics.
Very little space was required in the switch cabinet and a cooling water connection was available for ARBURG’s injection moulding machines from the outset – so it made sense to use liquid-cooled versions of the servo drives and converters. Thanks to the KE/KW converters by AMKmotion, a sister company of ARBURG, the machine manufacturer benefits from high performance, compact dimensions and durable electronics.
Increased reliability, strength and efficiency. Ideally, every product generation surpasses its predecessor – consuming less energy, delivering more power, offering greater compactness and safety, or having new functions. Evolution is part of everyday life in mechanical engineering. But what about “yesterday’s” technology? Is it outdated? Does it need to be replaced? The very definite answer here is: no, it doesn’t.
The liquid-cooled KE/KW converters by AMKmotion have proved highly effective in the ALLROUNDER switch cabinet by ARBURG for 20 years. The converters combine a compact power supply with one or more compact inverters and are now more up-to-date than ever: They offer an extremely high power density in a confined space and have demonstrated for two decades that they are real endurance runners – and highly energy-efficient, too. The first machines equipped with this technology have now clocked up more than 200,000 operating hours, and they continue to function without problems. This is sustainability par excellence.
AMKmotion developed the KE/KW converters together with ARBURG. The plastics processing specialist has been supplying its international customers with electric, hybrid and hydraulic injection moulding machines and turnkey systems for decades. The portfolio also includes additive manufacturing systems. The company has a workforce of 3,800 worldwide and generated a turnover of 875 million euros in 2022.
“In the injection moulding sector in particular, small dimensions are one of the key selling points,” explains Michael Kaupp, who is responsible for drive technology in Product Development at ARBURG. “That’s because the less space a system requires, the more of them can fit into a hall.” In the case of the ALLROUNDER injection moulding machines therefore, the company has always been keen to develop a system that is as compact, energy-efficient and modular as possible. Another focus area here was the switch cabinet.
“We wanted to fit as much power into as little space as possible in our switch cabinets. That’s why we set out to find a compact converter that would provide our modular system with the necessary power, flexibility and energy efficiency,” says Volker Kethur, who also works in development at ARBURG, specializing in electrical engineering. “And since the systems were already equipped with water cooling, including for the compact, liquid-cooled hollow shaft synchronous servo motors of AMKmotion’s SKT and DT series – of which our experience has been very positive – it made sense to use liquid cooling for the converters as well.”
In the mid-1990s, the design engineers at AMKmotion – the company was still known simply as AMK at the time – and at ARBURG began collaborating on the development of KE/KW converters. “We worked closely together and regularly exchanged ideas,“ says Kaupp looking back. “For example, we went so far as to take AMKmotion’s KU converter as a basis and essentially let the air out,” he says, with a touch of humour. “We’re familiar with sheet metal processing so we moulded the stainless steel housing according to our ideas. We approached the designers at AMKmotion, who completely revised our design and developed an outstanding product – the KE/KW.”
The striking feature of the intelligent KE/KW servo converters is their sophisticated cooling technology, which ensures optimum heat dissipation and therefore a long service life for the electronics. The modules in cold plate design are simply mounted on a liquid-cooled plate. This offers enormous benefits, especially at high outputs, since it dissipates the heat very effectively. The interesting point here is that liquid cooling allows users to save up to 50 per cent of the volume as compared to air-cooled systems. Another advantage of liquid cooling: plastics processors can utilize the waste heat to control the temperature in the production hall or offices, for example.
The servo converters consist of the compact KE power supply, which generates a DC bus and, depending on the version, can also feed energy back into the grid in a sinusoidal form. This makes them particularly energy-efficient. The DC bus supplies the modular KW inverters. This series is available with the right power performance to suit all mechanical engineering applications in a power range from 1 to 200 kilovolt amperes as a single and double-axis module. Thanks to the scalable controller cards, they also offer functional safety (Fail Safe over EtherCAT, FSOE) and safe inputs and outputs if required.
With the latest processor technology, the controller platform in the AMKmotion KE/KW drive system opens up a wide range of options for enhanced performance. Realtime Ethernet (RTE) via EtherCAT or VARAN enables powerful system communication for automating the systems.
The devices offer a maximum safety standard. The KW inverters are available with the integrated EF safety function: TÜV-certified against restarting for systems up to PLe in accordance with ISO 13849-1 (analogue to STO). Functional safety up to PLe in accordance with ISO 13849-1 can also be realized with the safe controller cards.
And while we’re on the subject of safety: is liquid cooling in the switch cabinet a risk? “No, because the water connection is located outside the switch cabinet: everything inside is hermetically sealed and so it’s guaranteed to be leak-proof,” says Kethur. Liquid cooling offers benefits in another area, too, namely cleanliness. With air-cooled systems, fans and grilles have to be cleaned and filter mats replaced regularly – work that is completely unnecessary with liquid cooling.
And there’s one question the engineers get asked time and again: “Are the systems still at the technical standard of the 2000s?” “Of course not,” says Kethur. “What’s special about AMKmotion's converters is that the computer cards can easily be replaced. This allows us to continuously adapt the machines to new requirements and increase their performance, for example when a new generation of chips becomes available.” The power electronics contained in the basic device are also constantly being adapted to the latest components with higher levels of performance and energy efficiency. The modularity of the servo converters makes it easy to keep the technology up to date at all times. “We can also add more axes and increase the precision and efficiency of injection moulding,” explains Kaupp. This enables sustainable further development that ensures continuous improvements – ensuring manageable financial and personnel investment requirements and a high level of availability.