Electricity + Control November 2016

COVER ARTICLE

FEATURES: • Control systems+ automation • Drives,motors+ switchgear • Plantmaintenance, test+measurement

Process optimisation for accuracy, quality, and reliability

• Temperaturemeasurement • Energy+ enviroFiciency

T oday’s production facilities are often textbook examples of optimisation. Speed control of motors according to changing needs improves process control, which is essential to ensure high quality of the product produced. Accurate control from a VLT® drive has positive effects on efficiency, material usage, environmen- tal emissions, and production yield. A recent major trend is towards increasing user friendliness and drives dedicated to and optimised for specific applications. Digitalisation drives down operating costs The era of digitalisation has long begun and our dependence on data, analytics, and the cloud will develop dramatically in the com- ing decades. For ac drives, the potential is enormous and includes: • Predicting customer problems and solving them before they start • Enabling OEMs to run their applications even better • Leveraging data utilisation to reduce costs for the customer • New services drawing upon analysis of big data With digitalisation developments, ac-drive programmability is en- hanced with improved connectivity, data gathering and analysis abilities, moving towards more customisable solutions. Digitalisation also brings data handling, intelligence, and learning as totally new fields of ac-drive software functionalities; end-to-end communications, device availability, interoperability, and security on a wide variety of digital platforms including your mobile phone. Energy efficiency drives development in new motor tech- nologies For each application, a different motor technology can provide the optimal performance characteristics. When the ac drive is compatible

with all typical motor technologies, then the system designer is free to choose the optimal motor for overall system efficiency. This adapt- ability will become increasingly important with widening diversity of new motor technologies. Energy storage and hybridisation The increasing development of hybridisation involves equipping general processes and machines which with energy storage to up- grade performance and efficiency. VACON ® drives contribute to the advantages of energy storage which include: • Peak shaving, removing the need to dimension systems to peak power demand • Optimising performance by operating at the optimum point, avoiding over- and underload operation • Back-up power, which removes the need for idle reserve running Outlook With their diminishing size, increasing capabilities, and growing intel- ligence, variable speed drives have become indispensable for both the industrial and domestic sectors. In the present economic climate, reducing total lifecycle costs and optimising system performance, without compromising on product quality, are now more crucial key factors in the early stages of the design process than ever before.

For more information, please check our local website: www.danfoss.ae

Danfoss Drives is a world leader in variable speed control of electric motors. We offer you unparalleled competitive edge through quality, application-optimised products and a comprehensive range of product lifecycle services. Our low voltage and medium volt- age VLT® and VACON® drives are used with all major motor brands and technologies in power sizes from small to large.

November ‘16 Electricity+Control

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