强大的升级
琳达Laframbois | Waupaca铸造Positioning Waupaca铸造’s Plant 4 for the Future
作为一家以辛勤工作为基础的公司, 创新, 重视员工的价值, Waupaca铸造 stands strong as the most respected iron foundry company in the world. But in an industry where 技术 is ever evolving and the lifespan of electrical equipment is relatively short, keeping up with capital improvements and automation is vital to improving cost structure, 安全生产, 以及铸铁件的质量和交货期.
True to the foundry’s culture of continuous improvement and world-class operating practices, in 2017, Waupaca铸造 began to evaluate operations and complete critical equipment and electrical-system 升级s at its Marinette ductile iron foundry. 电力服务升级, 预计将于2023年完工, will improve equipment operation and employee 安全, 抵消通货膨胀, and lay the foundation for accommodating future business growth and customer needs.
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Pictured above is Andrew Stalheim | Mechanical Projects Engineer
The power-service project involves upgrading feeders for medium-voltage power coming from the substation to the plant, 确保新设备接收电源, and installing state-of-the-art systems that distribute that power across the plant and to the melt center—where raw and scrap materials are melted to create new iron castings.
“This is an exciting multi-year effort involving Wisconsin Public Service, 铸造工程师, 能源顾问,马尔科·冈萨雷斯说, 威尼斯注册送38元的能源经理. “Our objective is to 升级 the plant’s electrical system and incorporate smart 技术 and top-of-the-line power distribution -equipment to create a safe environment for our employees and a reliable system that supports us delivering the products our customers depend on.”
安全第一
Waupaca铸造 Plant 4, located in Marinette, Wis., is the largest single-user facility in Wisconsin Public Service’s (WPS) footprint. The ten 40-ton induction furnaces that melt iron to make parts for light vehicles, 农业设备, 卡车, and trailers use 75 percent of the medium-voltage electricity that feeds into the facility.
在电气系统升级之前, power entering the plant fed into switches made in 1974 or 1992. 旧开关的保险丝很大, 就像房子里的保险丝，只是更大. 当有过流或短路时, the fuse would blow, causing an industrial-sized arc.
To increase the 安全 of the systems and provide a safer 工作环境, 旧的保险丝开关将更换为新的, state-of-the-art circuit breakers installed in dead-front switchgear with arc-flash protection capabilities, providing an extra layer of 安全 for our employees and the equipment nearby. Should an overcurrent or power surge occur with the new hardware, 断路器会开, greatly reducing the likelihood of an electric explosion
更好的工作环境
有了新的断路器, the Marinette ductile iron foundry will move from a National Fire 安全 Protection Association’s personal protective equipment (PPE) rating of PPE Category 4 (requiring an 防弧闪光服，兜帽和橡胶手套)至第0类. That means employees could wear comfortable PPE in the melt and molding departments, such as untreated cotton long-sleeve shirts and pants, 安全帽, 耳塞, 安全眼镜, 和手套.
除了, all the new equipment is in a new climate-controlled building, improving the 工作环境 for the people operating and maintaining the power system.
符合合规标准
根据小罗伯特·杰斯温斯基的说法., 威尼斯注册送38元的工程经理, another project objective was to gain compliance with the National Electric Code. The ductile iron foundry’s original system was built in 1992, and some of the compliance standards have changed over the years.
“We worked with Wisconsin Public Service to understand what areas of the system were no longer in compliance,杰斯温斯基说. “Our goal was to come up with a design that brought the plant and equipment back into compliance with the National Electric Code.”
可靠和响应迅速
An electric melt furnace failure caused by an arc flash translates to upwards of $200,000 in repair costs and approximately one month of equipment downtime due to the complexity of repairs and difficulty of procuring replacement parts. Upgrading circuit breakers translates into significant cost savings and operational 可靠性 for the plant.
此外, smart devices are being added to the new system to allow operation, 维护, and engineering teams to make better decisions in response to a fault and use real-time data to act in a predictive way before the fault happens.
负责任地使用资源
Waupaca铸造’s power-service project will 升级 a normal delivery of power to a highly dependable, highly secure system that considerably improves the Marinette plant’s operations, 工作环境, 生产可靠性. “拥有一个可靠的, 更新, world-class electrical system was mandatory and the right thing to do for the plant,冈萨雷斯说。.
“当我们展望未来30年或40年, we can count on having more 技术 and more automation. This new system has spare capacity that the previous system didn't have to address those future needs,杰斯温斯基补充道. “As we continue to adopt new automation on the production floor in years to come, we will be equipped to provide safe and reliable electrical power energy to supply those operations and meet the evolving needs of our customers.”