AirStream benefits become crystal clear

Word of the benefits of the new AirSTREAM wiring system gets around. It has come into its own in initial industrial applications. For example in machines in the beverage industry: A machine construction company in Thuringia has profited from the compact size and installation ease as well as the special thermodynamic benefits.

If polished crates are loaded with impeccably clean bottles into a drinks cash-and-carry, GM Getränketechnik Gera probably has something to do with it. At the world's leading beverage exhibition, Drinktec, the company presented its new bottle cleaning machine ARCADE GEL 3 with a rated output of 13500 bottles an hour.

There is a LÜTZE element in the control cabinets of this solution. The Product Market Manager for cabinets at LÜTZE explains why this company from Thuringia opted for the state-of-the-art control cabinet assembly and wiring system AirSTREAM: "The company has been using our cables and solutions for some time, therefore, we had an existing relationship, giving our sales engineer the opportunity to present the new AirSTREAM system. A prototype quickly proved that it was more than able to cope with the special challenges presented. The LÜTZE solution promised three important benefits: more space, better thermodynamics, shorter installation time.“ Hand in hand, work has now started on the technical implementation. The previous site of the control cabinets was inspected jointly. Concepts and drawings were drafted, until the optimum solution was found.

The benefits of the AirSTREAM, compared to the previous assembly backplates, were immediately apparent. For example, the space savings; GM Gera requires two control cabinets per system. 

Whilst the previous mounting boards needed two cabinets with a width of 1200 mm and 800 mm, the AirSTREAM has reduced this to just two x 800 mm – and there is still an additional 25 percent of spare space left!

How does the AirSTREAM manage to be so compact? By the fact that LÜTZE has integrated the wire guide into the assembly bracket, which means there is more wiring space, even though the bracket is lower and there are a variety of wiring combs available to different cable diameters and no cable trunking is required. This allows more components to be installed in a smaller space and additional edge protection makes wiring easier. Despite the compact size, the aluminium frame guarantees absolute stability. 

As the name AirSTREAM suggests, the air is able to flow more freely along the components thanks to the lack of cable ducts that would slow the air flow or even block it creating thermal nests. Hotspots like these not only stress the components, they are a source of fire risk. Service technicians experienced this when servicing earlier control cabinets - where they found partially deformed plastic cable ducts as a result of the high thermal losses in the active components. The cool AirSTREAM solution reduces the energy requirements of air conditioning units significantly (by more than 20 percent); in some cases, cooling systems are not required at all. This saves on a significant amount of CO2 – the goal of the LÜTZE sustainability initiative SkyBLUE.

How do the machine specialists from Gera win time with the new AirSTREAM system? A statement by the product market manager at LÜTZE: "It is no longer necessary to cut and attach cable trunking and din rails. Likewise, no boreholes for converters need to be drilled that do not snap fit onto the dinrail profiles. Due to GM Getränketechnik producing the control cabinets at its own premises, the time-consuming task of positioning components is now a thing of the past, bringing with it enormous savings protential." 

The great interest shown by the beverage industry at Drinktec reflected the lower operating costs and longer life cycle of the electro components, thanks to thermodynamic benefits, giving a clear competitive advantage.