Noise levels down to 51dB(A) are claimed to be about half those of existing oil-sealed and dry-vane vacuum pumps, allowing the new machines to be used on factory floors without disturbing personnel.
In one of the pilot installations, a French baker called Valentin Traiteure has replaced two conventional vacuum pumps, each rated at 5.5kW, by a single VSD-controlled pump with a 7.5kW motor. It is using the pump to package products such as croissants and calculates that it has cut its energy use by around 35%. It has also reduced packaging cycle times by 0.5s – equating to tens of thousands of additional packs over the course of a year.
Atlas Copco's new VSD-controlled vacuum pump shares many components with its VSD-controlled compressors
According to Dirk Villé, general manager of Atlas Copco Compressors in the UK, the new pump will have a similar capital costs to earlier machines. This, combined with the energy savings, will result in payback periods of a few months in many applications, he adds: “It’s almost a no-brainer.”
Initially, Atlas Copco is targeting the end-user market for the new vacuum pumps, but is also talking to potential OEM customers.
