Show continues to drive on forward

Tom Shelley reports on a few of the highlights of this year's Drives and Controls show

Live demos show EMC problems and solutions Schaffner will be bringing a £25,000 demonstration unit to the exhibition to illustrate EMC effects on drive systems and what solutions are available to improve compliance, functionality and reliability. Live demonstrations of the effects of EMC filters at the inputs and outputs of drive systems will be given to small groups of pre-booked visitors. The company says that pre-booking for the demonstrations is essential. Visitors to the show can go to a specially constructed micro site within the main Schaffner website, www.schaffner.co.uk, for further information and to book their session with the unit and the Schaffner EMC Application Engineers. The stand number is D114. Cool design advances Rittal's Climate Control Division will be showing its TopTherm air conditioning system, specifically designed for drives that can be easily linked into a PLC. Software integration allows parameters to be monitored, analysed, and changed. Also on display will be the company's cooling technology that uses water as a cooling medium and is built into an enclosure back plate for directly removing high heat loads. In addition, the company will be giving a first showing of its new CM range of compact enclosures. These encompass the case benefits of the AE wall box range combined with the diversity of the TS 8 floor standing range and offer infinite mounting possibilities. Major drives extend range One of the largest stands will be that of Control Techniques, who will be taking the opportunity to show the extended range of their Commander SK and Unidrive SP ranges from 0.25kW to 1.5MW. The UK manufacturer will also be demonstrating new Ethernet capabilities. The Commander SK is available up to 132kW while a main attraction will be the large, freestanding Unidrive SP cubicle drives launched late in 2005. Stand number is D104 New compact drives SEW Eurodrive will be launching its new, economic and compact drive inverter range, Movitrac B. The Movidrive range is extended with a Drive PLC Module while the servo product range is extended by introduction of a compact range of servo motors, a servo motor with integrated ball screw, synchronous linear motors and extended ranges of servo gear units. Other recent introductions include a new Aseptic gearmotor range, Eff1 motor range, TorqLoc shaft mounting system and extensions to the company's range of visualisation and software products. New products drive for super efficiency On stand D82, Danfoss VLT will be showing their new super compact high power drives, with efficiencies of better than 98 per cent, exemplified by a 450kW model. The high efficiencies mean much reduced heat losses and thus an extremely compact format. IP54 enclosures are available as standard. The low losses also mean that the range is designed for zero side clearance mounting and front access only for ease of installation and servicing. RFI filtering up to class A1 is standard, allowing output cable lengths up to 150mm, making the range ideal for the industrial market, particularly the water industry. Fusing and mains disconnect are available as an option, as is a 24V external control supply. The EMC optimised design of the enclosure makes for simple and cost effective connection of cable screens. Also on display will be a new optional variant of the high performance VLT Automation Drive FC302 in an IP55 enclosure complete with integral mains disconnect switch. The company will also be demonstrating its latest MCT10 programming software and the logic control wizard to help users commission and operate. Drives consultants will be on hand to discuss application problems and arrange site visits and energy surveys. Space saving springs and rings TFC will be showing its range of Smalley Spirawave springs and retaining rings. Spirawave springs deliver equal deflection compared with conventional coil springs but typically require 50% less space. Smalley retaining rings offer shallow material depth, 360 deg support and no ears to interfere with mating components. This makes them ideal for use in medical applications where axial space is restricted. The company has over 1,000 standard Smalley springs and rings in stock, all of which can be easily found using the component finding facility on the TFC website. For unique applications, custom designs can be satisfied quickly without tooling. Drives and Controls Exhibition 2006