Label printing company reduces costs and downtime with Optidrive VFD

Reduced downtime and increased motor control have helped a commercial printing company improve the efficiency of its die-cutting machine with reduced costs and improved control, thanks to Invertek Drive’s Optidrive E3 variable frequency drive (VFD).

MCC Labels (Kuala Lumpur) SDN BHD uses Iwasaki die-cutting machines for cutting printed labels. The labels are used on a range of products by its customers, from drinks bottles to packaged food products.

It has global operations working with customers in sectors ranging from food and beverage, automotive and chemicals, to home care and healthcare.

Existing VFD was unreliable and taking up space

An existing non-Invertek VFD used in the machine was proving unreliable, causing costly downtime and maintenance. The company turned to Shen Shiang Electrical, a customer of Invertek Drives Far East, for a solution.

“The existing variable frequency drive was large, taking up space within the machine, and difficult to control or to change the parameter settings. This was causing problems for the MCC maintenance team when it came to resolving issues quickly or changing the machine’s control settings,” said Tony Gan of Shen Shiang Electrical.

The Optidrive E3 IP20 with three-phase input/output was chosen to replace the existing VFD because of its compact size, easy set-up, installation and ongoing control of the die-cutting machine. The precise digital control on the VFDs keypad made ongoing control much easier.

The existing VFD was replaced with the Optidrive E3 11kW 15HP, three-phase, 380v-480v.

Ability to set the parameters of the customer's application

“The ability to set parameters that suited the customer’s application, especially in discovering digital or analogue input, was another key benefit of the drive. Also, having the ability to integrate it directly with the machine’s keypad was another bonus,” added Mr Gan.

The Optidrive E3 includes 14 default parameter settings that make it suitable for easy installation into most applications. It also has a total of 50 parameters available for bespoke settings. It can also be switched between industrial, pump and fan modes depending on the application.

The drive can also be commissioned rapidly using the Optistick Smart Bluetooth and NFC software on smartphones and PC. The E3 also comes with Modbus RTU and Can as standard.

The E3 is available in IP20, IP66/Nema4X outdoor and indoor enclosures, in single and three-phase.

More technical details about the Optidrive E3 can be found here.