What would a person be without theatre, without art, without actors, without performances? With art we can transcend the boundaries of time and, for example, travel back to ancient Greece, to the origins of the theater. But what do art and... Automation together? Quite simply: one modern theater doesn't work without them. Which role Mitsubishi Electric plays, shows this application in Łódź.

The Theater Wielki (German: Great Theater) in Łódź is the artistic successor to the famous Łódź Opera. Thanks to the passion and commitment of the “Association of Friends of the Opera” the theater was founded. The main representatives of the association included Władysław Raczkowski (Polish conductor, pianist), Tomasz Kiesewetter (both Polish conductors, pianists, etc.) and Mieczysław Drobner (Polish composer, musicologist and educator).

Since 1967 The Teatr Wielki has staged 288 premieres, including classics from opera, ballet, musicals and operettas as well as works by modern Polish artists. The operas “Lord Jim” and “Maria Stuart” by Romuald Twardowski were premiered on the theater stage. The productions of the works “The Devils of Loudun” and “Ubu Rex” by Krzysztof Penderecki remain unforgettable. However, none of these successes would have been possible without the soloists, performers and staff who have always been the theater's greatest strength.

Frequency inverter | decentralized, networked with app and much more.

The Teatr Wielki gained increasing reputation over time, but also grew older: the ravages of time took its toll on many parts of the stage Modernization work necessary. Their manual control system was failing more and more frequently. Thanks to support from a European fund, the building was finally able to be fundamentally modernized in 2012 – for the first time in over 40 years.

The show must go on

The EU-funded infrastructure project at Teatr Wielki was intended to promote regional cultural identity in particular Łódź Province are formed and developed with the help of opera art. In this context, Mitsubishi Electric received the offer to participate in the design of a concept and to support it with appropriate components. To achieve this, the automation experts suggested using the latest regenerative frequency converters.

Even back then, the automation engineer had some experience specifically in the theater sector, as several of his... control systems had already been successfully installed in venues such as Tarnów and Koszalin. Therefore, the Polish company AB Industry, which was awarded the contract for the entire project, approached Mitsubishi Electric with a cooperation proposal.

The modernization measures should ultimately unite faster scene changes so that even the most demanding performances can be perfectly brought to the stage. The transition from manual to automated operation of the technology should also be initiated with a faster stage change, made possible by frequency converters, among other things. Until then, the stage technology had been controlled by several operators.

The modernization work started in 2013 under the leadership of Grzegorz Kruchly, Head of Infrastructure at Teatr Wielki, and Grzegorz Kozioł, Product Manager Inverters + LVS, Mitsubishi Electric Europe BV in Poland. “A regenerative converter reduces the costs incurred for the energy supply and the implementation of the electrical installation. This also reduces the overall operating costs,” explains Grzegorz Kozioł.

Different control modes and fiber communication

However, this project differed significantly from previous assignments in some aspects. From the combination of different control modes from fully automated to manual and the Synchronization of several Drives There were special requirements via fiber optic communication. In order to fulfill this, the development was ultimately more special Invertersoftware required. Last but not least, the application experts from Mitsubishi Electric at the company headquarters in Japan, who worked closely with their Polish colleagues, provided support. For them, the project was the first application of its kind in Europe.

 Devices for braking energy recuperation for electric drives

The automation concept at the Teatr Wielki in Łódź not only included the installation of 62 frequency converters, but also the integration of a “Melsec iQ Platform” with motion modules for motion control, HMI operating devices GOT series , and a Scada-System.

New actors, regenerative converters

The Reduction of energy consumption as well as an additional 60% savings in installation effort and 40% savings in the space required for the control cabinet enabled a reduction in overall commissioning and operating costs.

This project is very important to us. In previous years we had already realized several projects in theaters, but the challenge that awaited us in Łódź was special for various reasons. The most important aspect for us was to promote art with our work and also for the future great productions to allow.

In this case there was also the challenge of the different Control modes. That's why we worked closely with the engineers from Japan. Thanks to the support of AB Industry, we were able to complete the project in just 18 months. And today we can enjoy fantastic performances in the theater together with art connoisseurs,” says Grzegorz Kozioł happily.

Regenerative converters have an integrated braking function to recover the braking energy. This can save energy and reduce costs even in high-torque applications such as winches, elevators, winding machines, conveyor belts, testing machines and centripetal cutters. In addition, the regeneration function allows for smaller and more cost-effective automation systems. Simpler, more compact distribution systems are also possible, which has a positive effect on the space required Control cabinets and the associated costs.

Total energy consumption lowered

Regenerative inverters can effectively solve three key problems that can arise, particularly in drive systems in high-torque, high-power applications: Such applications are a significant factor in overall energy consumption. They usually require a lot of space. And they pose major problems in terms of heat propagation. Via the system integrated in the inverters Energy recovery The drive can feed regenerative braking energy back into the power grid without any significant loss.

This energy can then be used for other purposes, which in turn helps reduce overall energy consumption and the Significantly reduce operating costs. In addition, renewable energy generates less heat than ordinary braking resistors. As a result, no additional cooling devices are necessary, which saves space and energy. As a rule, drives with regenerative converters require up to 60% less mains powercabling and up to 40% less area than conventional solutions (depending on the inverter performance).

Together with the considerable energy savings of the drive itself, this results in a considerable reduction of the total cost of ownership (TCO).

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