Remanufacturing requires compressed air

When building its new remanufacturing facility in Adelaide, Liebherr-Australia chose Kaeser equipment to deliver an energy-efficient supply of compressed air on demand.

Since 2004, Liebherr has remanufactured used components from its own construction, handling, maritime and mining equipment. In 2012, Liebherr-Australia began building a remanufacturing and warehousing facility at its Adelaide head office complex. The site required large quantities of compressed air at varying locations across the extensive factory floor.

From the dismantling area to the reassembly area, compressed air would be required to power large torque and rattle guns, grit blasting as well as the painting booth. It was anticipated that the demand for compressed air would vary significantly throughout the working day; Liebherr-Australia therefore required a system that could rapidly scale up or down to match demand in the most energy-efficient manner.

With a number of Liebherr sites worldwide already using Kaeser compressors, Stefan Stübiger, industrial engineering project manager at Liebherr-Australia, called on Kaeser distributor Mobile Compressed Air to design and supply the compressed air system for the new warehouse. The company recommended installing a CSD 125 series rotary screw compressor, a CSD 105 SFC series frequency controlled rotary screw compressor, a BSD 83 series rotary screw compressor and a Kaeser Sigma Air Manager Master Controller.

Every CSD rotary screw compressor incorporates a screw compressor block equipped with Kaeser flow-optimised Sigma Profile rotors. The Kaeser Sigma Profile is said to deliver power savings of up to 15% compared with conventional screw compressor block rotor profiles. All Kaeser rotary screw compressor blocks feature this energy-saving rotor profile and are designed to ensure maximum energy efficiency.

In addition, the CSD 105 SFC rotary screw compressor includes sigma frequency control. Kaeser SFC compressors are able to directly match the required air demand by continuously adjusting the compressor block speed within the given control range. The result is significant reductions in energy consumption.

The inclusion of a Sigma Air Manager (SAM) station controller would further allow Liebherr-Australia to enjoy considerable savings. Able to control up to 16 compressors, the SAM controller precisely adjusts the loading and operation of all compressors within the system to achieve optimum station energy efficiency, while its 3D control enables a reduction in air network system pressure.

The Kaeser equipment was installed along with large compressed air distribution manifolds. Designed and manufactured by Mobile Compressed Air, these manifolds provided Liebherr-Australia with the compressed air equivalent of a power board. With seven outlets installed at different points throughout the facility, compressed air would be highly accessible when and where required.

Since the project’s completion in December 2014, Liebherr-Australia continues to rely on Mobile Compressed Air for its ongoing compressor and maintenance requirements. Stübiger noted, “The compressed air system is providing us with a reliable source of energy-efficient compressed air and we have since chosen to install Kaeser compressors in four further nationwide warehouses.”