Cemex USA in Florida has been buying Sprecher + Schuh custom softstarter panels through Advanced Technical Sales (ATS). Sprecher + Schuh was chosen as the standard for the Cemex motor controls because S+S softstarters help their conveyors start and stop smoothly in their rock quarries located throughout Florida. Eddie Yi, Aggregate Division Project Manager at Cemex, designs the logic of the controllers and works with Sprecher + Schuh Control Designers for layout and construction of the control panels. Bob Darby, S+S manufacturing representative, recently paid Mr. Yi a visit to see how the control panels were operating for them.
Heavy materials transported over long distances present a weighty problem for standard full voltage motor controls, creating large inrush motor currents on a power system. Cemex searched for an industrial soft start solution which would survive the harsh conditions, minimize mechanical stresses on their conveyor belts, and reduce the inrush on the power system. Cemex found the advanced PF Soft Starter family to meet their rugged application demands. The PF Soft Starter allows up to 132 parameters to set unique start/stop profiles, monitoring protection features, and early warning alarm diagnostics. There is also a three line LED display on the PF soft start showing real-time Volts, Amps, MTU, KW & Motor Usage data.
Eddie Yi, Aggregate Division Project Manager at Cemex standing in front of multi-softstarter motor control panel.
Their most recent project includes a 200 HP motor controller on a conveyor load out system. Some material handling runs can be quite long, up to 300 feet in length. Cemex custom softstarters range from 250 to 400 HP. Even though the Cemex soft start panels are located inside machine control rooms, the environment in and around a limestone rock quarry is very dusty. The stainless steel and dust tight custom enclosures are used to keep the electronics dust and debris free. Some nice features of the custom panels are a door in door for easy access to the control switches and diagnostics screens.
Cemex first started purchasing Sprecher + Schuh softstarters in 2008 to replace other control products that were originally installed in the plant, or as new projects are built. The relationship between Cemex, Advanced Technical Sales and Sprecher + Schuh remains strong, and Mr. Yi says he finds them very easy to do business with.
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