Both European and North American motor drive markets suffered badly in 2002, says IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com). In fact, IMS says, 2002 was one of the worst years ever for drives. The North American market dropped 4.2%, its second year of losses, while the European market declined 1%.
But every cloud has a silver lining, including the ones hovering over drives. Nearly every recent study points to boom times ahead for smart drives, micro drives, servo drives, high-power drives, and low-power drives.
Following is a brief summary of what suppliers are offering these days in drives. We were surprised to see that only a few have added Ethernet connections. In fact, only a few drives even mention how you might communicate with them. Finding out how to talk to these new drives is a good excuse for calling the company. We've provided web addresses and phone numbers to help you with your search for the right drive product.
(Note: This is the first part of three segments covering motors and drives. Look for the second installment the week of November 24th.)
