Rondo is a highly focused business involved in the manufacture and supply of a wide range of light gauge rolled formed steel products and systems, primarily for the construction industry in Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
As the company has progressively automated its manufacturing processes, more and more electrical components such as power supplies for extra control devices, transformers and the variable speed drives required to control new equipment such as additional conveyers were being added into existing electrical enclosures. The enclosures became more densely populated, with increased electrical loads that contributed to increasing cabinet temperatures.
As the market leader in enclosure cooling, Rittal’s system was exactly what we wanted.
This was of great concern to the Rondo Electrical team, as It only takes one week of the Australian summer with an average temp of 37 – 40 degrees to cause the sensitive electrical and electronic components to fail. Inside the enclosures, equipment surface temperatures could potentially reach 50 degrees on components such as transformers and power supplies. “Because of the nature of the manufacturing business we wanted to minimise down time” said Vilesh Chand, Electrical Team Leader, Rondo.
Searching for an efficient retro-fitting system to keep the enclosures cool, Vilesh tried a variety of solutions including a “Venturi” system which was very noisy and inefficient due to its compressors. Conventional convection air flow, as well as forced ventilation with fans and filters were also trialled, however if the filters weren’t cleaned regularly, or if they were damaged significant amounts dust would find its way inside the cabinets.
Following extensive research to find a compact intelligent system that had its own thermal cut-out after a pre-determined high temperature is reached, Rondo selected Rittal “Blue e” cooling systems. “As the market leader in enclosure cooling, Rittal’s system was exactly what we wanted”. “As Rittal specialises in high efficiency cooling systems, we chose their systems to avoid wasting energy in the cooler seasons” Vilesh added.
Rondo initially purchased three Rittal 750W door mounted cooling units, which were trialled over a period. After the trial proved a success an additional 20 units were purchased. The purchase proved to be timely, as two machines imported from overseas which were fitted with old 500W competitor cooling units failed within 3 hours of each other. “They were our high volume ‘bread and butter’ line machines. If we didn’t have the Rittal units in stock, production would have been down for 3 days and that would have cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Instead, the machines were only down for an hour!”. “The old units had a lot of dust build up inside, which is not an issue with the Rittal units because of their Nano coating technology”, Vilesh added. Nano coating technology prevents water and dust build up on the surface of the cooling system condensors, protecting the systems against aggressive environmental influences.
“I would recommend that an end user engages Rexel Industrial Automation to look at your use of your electrical system in the early stages of a project. The staff at Rexel provide us with a high level of customer support, their knowledge on Rittal products such as cooling units, enclosures and accessories is second to none. I often contact Rexel to discuss ideas and they provide better solutions for me”.
Choosing a cooling system should take into account correct sizing to suit present and future loads, operating environments and appropriate mounting (such as door, side or roof mounting) to ensure long term reliability and efficiency. Rittal provides extensive sizing and selection tools, including an easy to use thermal calculation app. Rittal also provides maintenance services that keep the cooling systems operating at peak efficiency throughout their life.
Vilesh summed up: “Overall Rittal products are very reliable and a good investment”. Rittal enclosures and cooling units are stipulated in all Rondo specifications.