Product category:
Industrial Drives/Controls
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors)
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 07 June 2001
Technology Days cover top motor/drive
topics
A series of Technology Days has been launched by ABB in the UK, covering subjects including harmonics, fieldbus, bearing currents, EMC, high efficiency motors and the Climate Change Levy
A series of Technology Days has been launched by ABB, held in conjunction with its Channel Partners at venues across the country Aimed at engineers seeking motor and drive solutions, the presentations cover six subjects that ABB has identified as being of concern to industry today, including harmonics, fieldbus, bearing currents, EMC, high efficiency motors and the Climate Change Levy
These generic topics are presented by some of ABB's worldwide leading authorities, with the opportunity for questions and answers as well as one-to-one technical clinics.
The next Technology Days will be held 3rd July in the Midlands and 19th September in the North.
"A Technology Day is a great opportunity for the user who needs to stay up-to-date with the latest thinking in motors and drive technology, new standards and recent innovations," says Ian Rennie, Division President, Automation Technology Products, UK.
"Additionally, it gives us an opportunity to pick up valuable feedback from the users." ABB is also inviting electrical engineering degree students to its Technology Days, offering them an insight into subjects that affect industry.
According to ABB, the issues that are of greatest concern to engineers in industry are: Harmonics - electrical pollution that can disrupt electricity supplies, caused when non-linear loads are connected to the electrical supply, e.g motor starters, variable speed drives, computers, electronic lighting and uninterruptible power supplies.
Harmonics can be reduced either by modifications to the drive system or by using external filtering.
Fieldbus - connecting intelligent field devices and automation systems to a network in an industrial plant using a fully digital and duplex data transmission system.
The presentation outlines the advantages of fieldbus compared to conventional control.
Bearing currents - high frequency currents induced in the drive system and discharged to ground over the motor bearings, that can damage the bearings.
The incidence of damage due to bearing currents has increased in recent years, as the switching frequency of drives has increased dramatically.
EMC - Electromagnetic Compatibility is the ability of electrical and electronic equipment to operate without problems within an electromagnetic environment and without disturbing or interfering with nearby equipment.
The presentation explains how this can be achieved with good installation practices.
High efficiency motors - European Union classification divides motors into three classes according to efficiency.
The presentation explains what these classes are, what makes motors efficient and what the benefits of high efficiency motors are.
The Climate Change Levy - introduced in April this year, this is a new levy on energy usage in industry.
All UK businesses and public sector organisations will pay the levy, via their electricity bills, which are estimated to increase by 10-15%.
The presentation explains how energy can be saved with motors and drives to offset the cost of the levy.
ABB's Technology Days are held against a technology backdrop provided by some of the most interesting venues in the UK, such as the Glasgow Science Centre IMAX Theatre, the British Airways' London Eye and Williams Grand Prix Engineering.
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