Topic: Drives and Motors

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How to Push Motor Efficiency
Have Induction Motors Reached the End of Their Efficiency Improvement Road?

Arc Flash: Not My Fault
End Users Are Responsible for Keeping Workers Safe From Electrical Hazards, but More of the Onus is Now on Machine Builders

Don't Over-Specify Ethernet Switches
Industrial Ethernet Can Operate in Harsh Environments. But for Light Manufacturing and Assembly Operations, Industrially Hardened Ethernet Switches Can Be Overkill.

Push and Pull of Electronic Drives
Electric Drives Can Work Against Each Other. In Many Web-Processing Machines, Drives Work Toward Opposite Ends

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White Papers: In Depth Research

Optimizing Drive Systems for Energy Savings
Author: William B. Gilbert, Siemens Energy & Automation
Posted: 02/17/2012
Several areas should be considered when looking for potential opportunities to reduce energy consumption via the drive system.

The use of a common DC bus architecture as an alternative to individually powered AC drives will conserve energy by sharing the normally wasted regenerative energy from unwinds and other regenerating driven sections. In addition to sharing and saving energy, true common DC bus systems also conserve energy by eliminating many of the typical energy wasting system components.

Utilizing active front end (AFE) power sections to reduce system power factor and harmonics. Active front end power sections provide near-unity power factor and produce minimal harmonics. AFE's can also compensate for the effects of poor power quality issues.

Reducing mechanical losses with direct drives, certain power transmission components can waste significant energy.

Optimizing drive sizes and tuning through mechatronic practices and tools. Oversized drives will use more power and adversely affect the system power factor. Poorly tuned drive systems can be a common source of energy waste.

Retrofitting older DC drive systems with more efficient AC drive systems. AC Drive systems offer greater energy efficiency over older DC technology. Some AC drives can automatically reduce their magnetizing current under low load conditions

Utilizing energy efficient motors for across the line applications and AC drives in front of the motors in place of mechanical dampers and valves.

Drive-Based Integrity Safety
Author: John Krasnokutsky, Siemens
Posted: 05/10/2011
While safety functions have been integrated into drives packages for some years now, the current trends are very exciting, from many angles. Today, a full complement of safety functions can be implemented at the front-end of a system design on all types of production machines, including printing, packaging, converting, materials handling and other equipment used throughout American industry. This can be accomplished in full compliance with all the current regulations for machines used worldwide.

Furthermore, machine designers can look to a drive-based safety integrated protocol that has greater flexibility than ever before, both in terms of its mechanical footprint and component savings, owing to the various ancillary devices such as external contactors and redundant electromechanical safety devices, with all their inherent wiring, cabinet space and related cost.

This paper looks ahead to the ways today's advanced drive designs can be used to better implement the mandated safety functions on many types of production machines, including printing, packaging, converting, materials handling and others. Without the need for redundant or hard-wired back-up devices, or for safety functions being incorporated into a PLC or other motion controller, machine designers and end-users alike can benefit from fast, accurate and fully compliant safety features integrated directly into the machine's drives package. The result is more immediate detection and response, plus space-savings, wiring reduction, external component cost elimination and overall improved machine effectiveness in the critical areas of man and machine protection. Some emerging trends in drive-based integrated safety are detailed as well.

The Case for Hollow Shaft Torque Motors
Author: Siemens, Harald Poesch, Product Marketing Manager for Servomotors
Posted: 06/14/2010
Permanent magnet synchronous torque motors offer significant advantages on high energy consuming and high dynamic applications.

Today's machine designer must evaluate more factors than ever in approaching a new project. Likewise, the integrator and retrofit engineer has expanded options, not only as a result of new technologies, but also because of critical areas of focus such as reduced energy consumption, faster assembly time, vendor reduction and smaller footprint achievement.

In the realm of motion control, one type of motor with a relatively short history has made significant advancements that necessitate a new look at its potential in many application areas. These applications range from machine tool rotary tables to various packaging, printing, converting, extruding, papermaking, plastic film and materials handling machinery, anywhere direction must be reversed with a very high degree of accuracy, no backlash (hysteresis) and the maintaining of motion control, contrasting the necessary decoupling of a conventional motor and gearbox.

Enter the often-overlooked permanent magnet, synchronous torque motor. Torque motors are direct drives built for rotary axes where high torque and high precision are required at relatively low speeds. With significantly lower installation time, maintenance requirements, component part count and space allowance, these motor types are frequently viable alternatives to geared motors.

Two popular varieties of torque motors exist today. They are the complete torque motor, requiring only direct flange-mounting to the machine and connection of the rotor to the machine shaft, and the built-in torque motor, where the stator and rotor are supplied as individual components that are directly integrated into the machine mechanics.

General Purpose Permanent Magnet Motor Drive without Speed and Position Sensor
Author: Jun Kang, Yaskawa Electric America
Posted: 05/18/2010
1. Power consumption by electric motors
Worldwide, about two-thirds of the electricity is consumed by motors used in powers industrial facilities. According to DOE report, the motor systems are responsible for 63% of all electricity consumed by U.S. industry and electric bill represents more than 97% of total motor operating costs.

Rapidly increasing energy cost and strong global interest in reducing carbon dioxide emissions are encouraging industry to pay more attention to high-efficiency motors.

Permanent Magnet (PM) motors have higher efficiency than induction motors because there are no I2R losses of the rotor. But widespread use of the PM motors has been discouraged by price and requirement of a speed encoder.

Recent release of low-cost high-performance CPUs and establishment of the speed sensorless control theory (hereinafter referred to as an open-loop vector control method) enables the advent of a general-purpose open-loop control PM drive. In this white paper, the open-loop PM motor control technology is introduced and its characteristics and major application fields are described.

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