Honey Harvesting

The Challenge

For beekeepers globally, the most common method of harvesting honey is with an extractor. It is cleaner and allows them to replace the wax back into the hive for the bees to re-fill. Týča’s honeycomb extractors are fully automated honey extraction machines, where centrifugal force is used for the separation process. Jaroslav Týča, the company owner, said, “We were looking for a new supplier of drives for our honey extractor centrifuges. Control Techniques was recommended to us by an existing satisfied customer.”

The Solution

Control Techniques Commander C200 AC drive was just the business to ensure the delicate automatic operation of the honey extractor. The drives power the process of turning each frame around, enabling the honey to be removed. Commander C200 integrated logic controller was programmed to run five cycles as follows:

1. The honeycomb basket spins at a lower preset speed to one side and tilts the cassettes with honeycomb frames by inertia.

2. When the set interval has elapsed, the basket of the honey extractor spins at the same speed to the opposite side and flips the cassettes with frames by inertia.

3. When the set interval has elapsed, the basket rotates from a low to high preset speed, and the cassettes do not flip.

4. After the set interval has elapsed, the basket of the honey extractor rotates at the same speed to the opposite side and flips the cassettes with frames again by inertia.

5. When the set interval has elapsed, the motor stops automatically.

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The Benefits

The Commander C200 is simple and easy to use and includes a built-in programmable logic controller. The PLC allows a simple control program to eliminate the need for a master control system. The resulting product is simple to operate, user-friendly, and affordable.

“We are more than satisfied with our drives and appreciate the technical support and assistance we received when programming the inverters. The Control Techniques team wrote the program that best suited our needs! I had no idea before that a simple inverter could perform tasks without an expensive master control system.”

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