The Leeds based Microdat Company are an innovative supplier of keg and cask handling machinery in the brewing industry. Their entry level filler is based around a peristaltic pump that is speed controlled by a Lenze SMV inverter. With IP65 enclosure, the SMV inverter is mounted directly onto the machine without the need for a panel. This minimises costs and is convenient for the operators of the fillers who gain easy access to the control keypad of the inverter.

The entry level filler can have one or two filling heads. Usually when filling beer barrels one operator will use two heads, filling one barrel whilst he prepares the second. Barrels are filled to 95% by means of a timer, and then the operator uses a hand control to top up the barrel to 100%. The SMV inverter drives the peristaltic pump according to a preset time/speed profile which is set to avoid frothing. It is mounted to the front of the filler without a panel and the IP65 enclosure makes it resistant to normal cleaning operations with low pressure jets. When the pump tube needs to be changed, the convenient location makes the task easy for the operator. The new tube is inched through the pump using the integrated keypad on the inverter.

Microdat design and manufacture their own peristaltic pumps which are optimised for hygienic handling of both foods and liquids. The peristaltic pumping concept replicates the swallowing action in humans and does not cause damage to the materials being pumped. Microdat have successfully applied their pumps beyond beer to creams, jam, chocolate and even curry! Rollers track around and compress a reinforced rubber tube with food grade lining. This produces pump pressures of 5 to 6 bar. Compared to the alternative of sliding shoes, the rolling design can save up to 50% of energy and performs better at low speeds.

Driven by the SMV inverter is a Lenze aluminium worm geared motor sized according to the application but typically 0.75 kW and 46r/min. The geared motor is mounted vertically to minimize the footprint of the pump and is hollow shaft mounted to the motor which has its own heavy duty roller bearings to accept the radial forces.

With an integrated EMC filter, small footprint and built-in keypad, the Lenze SMV inverters are ideal for such simple machinery where the cost of a panel cannot be justified. SMV inverters are available in a range of 0.37 to 7.5kW as standard models, with optional mains isolator or polycarbonate casings for UV resistance in outdoor applications.