Drives and Controls Technology News http://drives.co.uk/techfeed.asp The Latest Drives & Controls Technology news <![CDATA[Brush-wear monitor eliminates guesswork]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2413 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2413

The US motor manufacturer Bodine has developed a brush-wear monitoring system that mounts inside the housing of a permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motor and indicates when the brushes are nearing the end of their useful life. The system will allow OEMs to offer uninterrupted operation of PMDC gearmotors or motors, and to eliminate the guesswork in brush maintenance and inspection.

]]> <![CDATA[Passive enclosure cooling cuts remote electronics costs]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2412 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2412

A Canadian company, Intertec, has developed a passively cooled enclosure that uses a novel phase-change material (PCM) to keep the temperature of electronics equipment up to 10°C lower than peak ambient levels. The technology needs no power supply and can be used to keep remotely located instruments, such as transmitters and process analysers, cool.

]]> <![CDATA[European project aims to create the wireless real-time factory]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2411 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2411

A team of Austrian researchers has embarked on a three-year collaborative European project to develop wireless communications technologies that meet the needs of industry better than today’s technologies. The aim of the project – called flexWare (Flexible Wireless Automation in Real-Time Environments) – is to extend existing technologies to satisfy demands such as robustness, real-time operation and protection against failures.

]]> <![CDATA[Servo system analyser pinpoints problems ]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2410 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2410

Parker Hannifin has developed a software package that analyses vibration signals from servo-based drive installations and can be used to optimise the performance of these installations.

]]> <![CDATA[Super-efficient motor `captures energy from space`]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2414 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2414

A Brazilian scientist claims to have developed a novel motor that requires about a quarter as much power as a conventional motor and delivers five times the torque. The scientist, Dr Norberto Keppe, says that his motor works "by capturing scalar energy from the vacuum of space". Electricity is only needed to start this capturing process.

]]> <![CDATA[GaN power devices `ten times better than silicon`]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2409 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2409

The power semiconductor giant International Rectifier has developed a "revolutionary" power device technology based on gallium nitride that, it claims, can perform up to ten times better than silicon-based technologies and will cut energy consumption dramatically in a variety of applications.

]]> <![CDATA[Magnet-free linear motor challenges mechanical drives]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2391 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2391

Siemens has developed a synchronous linear motor with a magnet-free secondary track. The company claims that the 1FN6 motor offers all the advantages of synchronous direct drives – such as high force densities and dynamic responses, minimal maintenance, low energy losses, and high precision – while being "very inexpensive", especially for long traversing distances.

]]> <![CDATA[Protocol brings open comms to machine tools]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2407 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2407

The US-based Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) has announced a new open communications protocol designed to link machine tools from different suppliers. The protocol, called MTConnect, is being backed by major suppliers including Bosch Rexroth, GE Fanuc, NUM and Siemens.

]]> <![CDATA[Silicon valve `will cut air-con energy use by 25%`]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2408 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2408

A US company,  Microstaq, claims to have come up with "the first true revolution in HVAC technology in 50 years" – a miniature silicon valve that, it says, will cut energy consumption in air-conditioning systems by 25%, as well as allowing computer control of fluid movement for the first time. It adds that the silicon expansion valve (SEV) will simplify the design of AC control systems and extend the lives of AC compressors.

]]> <![CDATA[System searches automatically for families of parts ]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2406 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2406

A company located in Birmingham, UK, claims to have developed the first graphical-based technology for identifying potential families of parts for cellular manufacturing.

]]>