ABB improves power utilization at Indian car factory

An ABB power quality solution has boosted the power factor at a state-of-the-art Fiat car factory in India to 99.5 percent. It also brought significant productivity benefits in terms of better welding quality and improved network stability.

The solution comprises two ABB power technologies – STATCON and DYNACOMP – that provide fast and smooth dynamic reactive power compensation and solve a variety of industrial network power quality problems associated with fast and variable loads such as low power factor, voltage sags, flicker and high harmonic levels.

The Fiat factory at Pune has been in operation since 2007 and is among the most modern automotive production facilities in India, although the reactive and rapidly fluctuating loads in its various manufacturing shops had been seriously affecting power quality.

Spot welding in particular causes short, sudden bursts of current that create disturbances in the power network. The disturbances in turn reduce welding quality and lead to higher levels of rejects and electrode wastage.

“We are happy to inform you that with ABB’s STATCON and DYNACOMP, we are able to maintain an average monthly power factor above 0.995. This has undoubtedly improved performance of our plant loads by improving the total power quality.” -- Rakesh Baweja, associate vice president, Fiat India

The ABB solution has successfully helped to achieve an impressive power factor of almost 100 percent even in the spot welding shop, which is a classic example of an application continuously subjected to fast dynamic reactive loads.

Besides network stability and energy savings, the improved power factor has also reduced maintenance in the welding shop and lowered the wastage of costly electrodes. In addition, the solution’s innovative power save mode restarts automatically when loads are sensed, thereby saving on auxiliary power and eliminating manual starts.

The result of the ABB solution has been the stabilization of the site’s power network, a significant decrease in power consumption, the avoidance of penalties from the grid operator for consuming excessive amounts of reactive power, improvements in welding consistency and productivity, and less maintenance in the welding shop.