Nidec Drives

Leading international manufacturer of industrial drives, Nidec Drives, has boosted efficiency at its production facilities in Wales with an Invar Group automated conveyor system for controlling the flow of materials between processes.

Established over 50 years ago in Newtown, Wales, Nidec Drives has grown to become a prominent global manufacturer of drives and motors, with 23 drives centres around the world and a partner network serving customers in 70 countries.
The business thrives on its innovative product designs and dedication to engineering excellence, and that attention to efficiency and performance extends to its manufacturing operations.

At the company’s Newtown site manufacturing has evolved over the years, expanding to three buildings set over three levels, creating a challenge to material movements across processes. Until recently, transporting incoming goods, components and work-in-progress throughout the site was highly labour intensive, with most material being carried between locations by forklift truck. This caused delays, affecting the flow of material, which not only impacted productivity but also impaired production capacity and the potential for growth.

Opportunity for efficiency gains

That was until Jamie Evans, Warehouse and Distribution Manager at Nidec Drives, identified an opportunity to make significant gains in material-flow efficiency – along with improvements to health and safety on site – through the application of automation.

Evans, explains: “80% of all material would flow around the site by forklift truck, taking routes outside of buildings and risking exposure to the elements. The other 20% was moved by personnel carrying trays up and down stairs and lifts. But because we couldn’t guarantee that material would be where it was needed, when it was needed, there would be significant buffering of material and this often resulted in totes being left in awkward places, causing obstruction and delays.”

What needed to be achieved was a steady, controllable flow of material between four key areas – goods-in, the warehouse, printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication/ surface mount technology (SMT) lines and the module assembly plant. Automation of some form was clearly required. But which technology would be best suited?

AMRs and AGVs were considered, but the change in levels across the site was an issue. Pouch sorters had potential, but there were major constraints too.

Objective approach

However, after a rigorous tendering process, Invar Group, an independent systems integrator, was selected for its objective approach, using double-deck 24v powered-roller conveyor runs, allowing totes to run contra-flow between all key points, with three Nerak lifts effecting transport between levels. And each of the four loading and unloading points were to be equipped with 400v belt conveyors for moving totes along inclines/declines.
Sustainability was another key consideration. The 24v Invar conveyor system was a very low powered, energy efficient solution, with auto energy-saving ‘sleep mode’ for sections when not in use.

Installation went smoothly, starting in January 2024 and going live in April – on-time, to budget. Over 300m of conveyors, along with PLCs, scanners and three lifts were assembled as a complete system that links processes in a fast, efficient manner – offering the capacity to route some 300 totes per hour across the factory, with loads of up to 30kg per tote. A tote loaded onto the system will reach its set destination within a minute.

The big wins

“Invar’s system has allowed us to really reduce the materials stocked on our production lines and in our satellite warehouses, as now we can confidently ensure that materials get to an area just-in-time,” says Evans. “We have also changed our replenishment process to a two bin, open-fronted Linbin system. An empty Linbin at the end of the line is picked up on a ‘milk-run’ and is taken by conveyor to the warehouse, repopulated and then returned and put back onto the production ‘milk-line’. The Invar system has really reduced the amount of material that we need to hold on the floor.”

Evans sets out the key benefits: “We’ve saved costs, increased efficiency and improved health & Safety on site, but critically, since we have put the conveyor system in place, we have had no recognised downtime due to material not being available, and that has been our big win. What’s more, our customers now benefit from more accurate and reliable deliveries and with higher productivity levels, we have greater capacity for future growth.”

Perfect showcase

There was a further advantage for Nidec in going for Invar’s conveyor-based solution. “We are a drives manufacturer, so we wanted to use our products on the three lifts and we needed visiting customers to be able to see our products – Unidrive and Digitax HD drives – in action. Invar arranged for clear panels to be built into the lifts, providing a perfect view.” He adds, “It’s a great showcase for us – our drives moving material around our factory to build more drives!”

Ensuring future reliability of the system, Invar Group is contracted to provide a full service and support package.
Sham Jama, Project Support Engineer at Invar Group, says: “We’re delighted to have successfully completed this significant automation project for Nidec on-time and within budget. In no small part, this was achieved through the close collaboration and support from Nidec. Their proactive involvement and unwavering commitment to the project was fundamental to ensuring the project’s success and made it a pleasure to work on. We look forward to future collaborations.”

Jamie Evans concludes: “The installation of Invar’s conveyor system has been truly transformative for our manufacturing operation in Newtown. We can now confidently rely on materials flowing to where they are needed just-in-time. I can’t speak highly enough about the Invar team for how they delivered our project, their updates and how they adapted to any changes that needed to be made. The collaboration was brilliant!”