WHEN A RIVER

HELPS

WATER FROM NEARBY LABE

COOLS WELDING CIRCUIT IN

VRCHLABÍ

1

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rchlabí’s EGV/4 department – Prototype Body and Powertrain Carrier Build uses spot welding technology. Overall, 23 resistance welders are

operating here. Owing to high temperature loads, resistance welders need to

be maintained in a stable environment.

To that end, water from the nearby River Labe is used. This system is different

from the one connected to the cooling facility described in the article opposite.

Past and present

In the past, water was rerouted through

a system of pipes to the plant that would

distribute it as needed. When the machines were cooled, water was returned

to the river. Today, the system is complemented by various types of filtration.

The whole process is automated and meticulously monitored by local workers.

They went for it mainly because modern

spot weld pliers with electronic control

had been introduced. The original ones

worked well in damp conditions, which

may cause haywire or damage electronics in the new model. Another reason was

the effort to limit water flow through the

workshop, as it flowed through at a time

when it was not needed.

Unique idea

The measure they came up with did away

with water flow without control and the

spot welding pliers’ dampness. They created an internal circuit, which they connected to machines that needed to be

cooled. For example, when it is heated

to a certain point at the peak of production, intelligent control discharges fresh

river water into the interchanger for as

long as necessary. As soon as the device

temperature has stabilised, it stops discharging water and switches off. Thanks

to that, less water is used, and filtration

is not required as often. In turn, the system is under less load, and technical water treatment is not needed. “It is a simple facility with a long service life, and

its maintenance only involves replacing filters. Apart from spot welding pliers, it also manages to cool the new robotic workstation and, if necessary, can

be used for five more pairs of spot welding pliers”, noted Jindřich Horáček from

EGV/4 – Bodywork Build.

Apart from the unique facility mentioned above, the Vrchlabí plant is also

preparing a wide-scale installation of

bubble filters aimed at saving water when

washing hands. EVA JAROŠOVÁ

14

ŠKODA MOBIL OCTOBER 2018

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3

STATIONS THAT

SAVE ENERGY

1 Circuit pumps for Body Shop

M14

2 Cooling towers located on

the roof and equipped with a

noise barrier

3 ŠKO-ENERGO employees

checking parameters of the

cooling tower

ANNUAL ELECTRICITY SAVINGS OF COOLING FACILITIES

AT ŠKODA AUTO EXCEED 4 MILLION CROWNS

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n inconspicuous door in Body Shop M14 four of them operate as per technological requirements.

hides an ingenious system that the ro- Similarly, at M6 aggregates in cutting emulsions have

botised welding lines could not do without. successfully been reduced. Another solution was proWater is discharged from the station to every robot in posed at Press Shop M15 and the cooling station in

order to cool down the spot welding

Body Shop M14. All measures brought

pliers. This is how massive pumps

electricity savings of about a quarter

By carefully treating

supply water to over 1,000 robots.

of a million crowns per year.

water, ŠKODA AUTO

The station is regularly checked by

constantly reduces the

ŠKO-ENERGO employees who monHow the facility works

volume necessary to

itor the whole cooling process and

The heart of the station is cooling

produce one car. Now it

search for possibilities of reducing

towers and circuit pumps with freis a mere 1.76 m3 in the

energy consumption. By introducquency changers whose automatCzech Republic.

ing the new monitoring system, they

ic system prevents unwanted flow of

can see in real time the opportuniwater at a moment when production

ty for savings directly in crowns per

closes the valves. The chemical treatyear. “People often don’t have an idea how much cir- ment and filtration facilities are located here to ensure

culation costs. They think if the water inlet is restrict- the water has the required quality. The stations opered, they save nothing and the machine will be cooled ate year-round, 24 hours a day, and work without havin the wrong way. However, each of them is designed ing to be attended to. The water that evaporates in the

to heat water in a specific manner. For example, if it cooling stations is supplied by ŠKO-ENERGO with inis supposed be heated by 5°C but in reality reaches dustrial water from the Bradlec water works – for in1°C, we can reduce the flow to one-fifth”, explained stance, in Mladá Boleslav alone, it is 200,000 m3. (To

Ladislav Dlask from ŠKO-ENERGO.

give you a better idea, this amount would fill about

That is why they focus on the most significant sav- 400 25-metre swimming pools.) The Mladá Boleslav

ings and propose possible measures to individual de- plant has six cooling stations, each of which is intendpartments. For example, at Paint Shop M17, water ed for a different department. The Press Shop, Body

flowed through five compressors, although only two to Shop and M6 each have their own. EVA JAROŠOVÁ

Overview in figures

ŠKO-ENERGO services six

stations in the main production

plant and two in Kvasiny, for

the Body Shop and Paint Shop,

and one in Vrchlabí for the

transmission production

During standard operation,

around 3,300 m3/h of

water, 810 m3/h and 400

m3/h circulate in Mladá

Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí,

respectively

Annual electric energy savings

in all cooling facilities exceeds

4 million CZK