Oil-free compressed air –
without oil-free compressors
tallation took just two days and was completed during the
istmas break with no interruption to production. The old duty
planning to upscale the machinery
mpressor has been retained as a standby, while the When
old standby
Project
Report
at
its
plant
in Wicklow, Ireland, switching
also be available for use.
This includes everything from the
injection moulding machine to raw
to oil-free compressors seemed the only material transport and feed systems,
option that would satisfy ILS Engineering sults in brief
air quality demands. Instead,
packaging 0.0006 mg/m 3 customers’
– well within
High-quality Wicklow
air – oil based
concentration
the
existing
air system has now been
3
manufacturer
requiring
full turnkey
required limit
of 0.009 mg/m
by adding a new oil-flooded
for –
their
compressed
air saving upgraded
Improved air solutions
efficiency
estimated
annual
of €13,000 to
compressor,
along with integrated
preventative maintenance
€14,000 on systems,
energy input
equipment including a BOGE BC oil
sales and servicing for its state of the
Lower heating
bills – estimated annual saving of €30,000
on
converter.
art facility in County Wicklow, Ireland.
water heating bills thanks to heat recovery
Lower downtime
and higher productivity – with increase
in testing shows a reduction
Independent
PROJECT
in airborne oil concentration to 0.0006
compressor power from 55 to 90 kW
Offer
consultancy,
supply
and
install
mg/ across
m3. This all
is much cleaner than
Lower purchase cost – estimated saving of €500,000
an oil- to flooded
compressor,
integrated
the industry-specified limit of 0.009
sites, compared
switching
to oil-free
compressors valves and product assembly lines.
upgrade the existing air system.
results achieved by many systems with
stomer satisfaction
oil-free compressors. The new set-up
e ultimate decision
to go ahead IN
was
made by the Plant
Director,
BOGE PRODUCTS
USE
also generates compressed air more
o enthused: “We considered the BOGE and ILS solution
carefully
efficiently
and reduces energy bills further
• box.
BC oil
converter
d it ticked every
When
we saw the independent test results,
through effective heat recovery.
90 kW SLF
oil-flooded
were all very • surprised
and 125
impressed
by what it could achieve.” current and future needs. We had one
CUSTOMER
equipment and oil converter to
mg/m3 and is far better than the test
screw compressor • DS180
Air challenges
Wicklow-based industrial equipment
supplier and maintenance specialist
ILS Engineering services this site’s
compressed air system.
The Maintenance Manager overseeing the
operation explains: “Continued expansion
of production meant we needed to
upscale our compressed air supply for
duty and one standby compressor, and
found we were having to bring in the
standby more and more frequently. The
system was struggling and occasionally
we had to turn off some of our machines
Packaging perfection
drier sold us oil-free compressors, which
adds: “They could refrigerant
have simply
This
has been producingfor
uld have made
money
for them, but they chose
to manufacturer,
find a
• more
Duotherm
exchanger
over
80
years,
offering
a wide range of
ution that worked
better for
us. I think
this says a lot about how
• Airstatus
external
monitoring
standard and bespoke packaging designs.
portant long-term system
customer relationships are to them.” to reduce the air demand.”
packaged products they must be free
concludes: Are
“Many
companies
in this
market
oil-free
compressors
the only
way are
to being told they
from contamination.
ed oil-free compressors,
but compressed
we’ve shown
guarantee oil-free
air? that
With this isn’t always
e. If customers
tell us
their Compressors
air requirements,
the
help from
BOGE
and their we’ll explore
Compressed air is essential to powering
distributor
for Ireland,
ILS Engineering,
ions and give
them the
best solution
at the best price.”
the company’s operation and is fed it emerged that the demand for oil-free
To maintain the quality and safety of the
one packaging manufacturer has found
an alternative requiring substantially less
investment
– and
has made
impressive
Project report:
Bottle
Cap Manufacturer
efficiency savings as well.
10 FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk
After analysing air consumption, ILS
identified the size and type of compressor
– and related components – that
would be needed. During this process,
air had become the main consideration.
To switch to oil-free compressors would
require major investment – and even
more so to replace the existing oil-
into almost all equipment used for flooded systems across the company’s
manufacturing plastics. other sites.
For more information see www.boge.co