Product category:
Monitoring and sensor equipment and systems
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Instrumentation + Automation) | Subject: Electromagnetic flow meters
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 03 April 2007
Electromagnetic flow meters last over 20
years
UPM Shotton, North Wales and British Sugar, Shropshire rely on compatible technology from ABB to maintain decades-old Fischer and Porter electromagnetic flow meters.
Fischer and Porter flow meters installed over 20 years ago are still going strong thanks to continued support and expertise from ABB One example is UPM Shotton which continues to enjoy reliable performance from Fischer and Porter meters originally installed 21 years ago
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 21 May 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Videographic recorder has batch functionality
Manufacturer of laminated windscreens has replaced a twin-trace paper recorder with a videographic recorder having batch functionality covering every production process stage.
Factory and business systems integrated by ABB
ABB has released its latest version of IndustrialIT ECS Enterprise Connectivity Solutions Enhancements for faster, simplified integration of enterprise systems.
UPM Shotton, located in North Wales, is the largest manufacturer of recycled newsprint in the UK.
It produces newsprint for national and regional press and has a capacity of more than 500,000 tonnes a year, providing more than 20% of UK demand.
The site uses electromagnetic flow meters to measure water and low-consistency paper pulp.
Further reading
Guide makes temperature instrument selection easy
ABB has released a new free guide explaining the key steps involved in selecting temperature measurement equipment for industrial applications
Brochure details instrumentation services
An instrumentation service brochure provides information to help equipment to continue to deliver optimum efficiency with minimal disruption throughout its lifecycle.
Improve plant performance with ABB's instant guide
Design and operate lifecycle management programme with instant plant maintenance guide from ABB
For the paper mill, using established technology is the best way to ensure successful metering in difficult applications.
"ABB has a good familiarity with applications in pulp and paper and provides excellent support for the Fischer and Porter meters.
They know what works," says Ray von der Fecht, UPM Shotton.
Changes in the consistency of the pulp or the mixture of chemical additives for example, can often have a major impact on flow equipment, with some manufacturer's meters failing to work at all.
There's a lot to be said for experience in this field," he adds.
The situation is slightly different at British Sugar in Allscott, Shropshire, which has been using Fischer and Porter meters dating back to before 1981.
Here, maintaining continuous operation and minimising downtime are the key considerations, according to systems engineer, Len Tunnell.
"Downtime is the critical issue," he says.
"It costs us GBP1,200 an hour, but it also has a knock-on effect.
For example, if we're down for two hours and we process 250 tonnes of beet an hour, that means 20 lorries of beet are suddenly stuck outside unable to come in.
It affects the logistics of the whole operation for days afterwards." The other consideration is the rapid delivery and fitting of replacements, to ensure that things can get back on track as quickly as possible if a problem does arise.
"When a meter fails we always try to buy in what we had before.
That way we don't have to carry out any pipe modifications.
ABB's ability to continue to provide Fischer and Porter technology is therefore invaluable," says Tunnell.
UPM Shotton and British Sugar are just two among many major industrial sites that rely not just on electromagnetic flow meters, but also on vortex, swirl and coriolis meters from ABB that are compatible with the Fischer and Porter units they were using up to 25 years ago.
ABB's new generation of electromagnetic flow meters are the direct descendants of the Fischer and Porter range.
They include: The FSM4000, which measures the flowrate of liquids, slurries, pastes and sludges with a minimum conductivity of 20 uS/cm and standard, and 0.5 uS/cm as an option The FXE4000 (COPA-XE/ MAG-XE) caters for liquids with an electrical conductivity greater than 5 uS/cm.
The COPA-XE is the compact electronics version, whilst the MAG-XE employs a remotely mounted signal converter The FXM2000 (COPA-/MAG-XM) suits liquids, slurries, pastes and sludges, and has the advantage of a high power coil drive, resulting in unparalleled signal to noise performance.
For applications in difficult to access areas, the remote version can have it's signal converter mounted up to 200 metres away from the flow tube.
• ABB Automation Tech (Instrumentation + Automation): contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
