Mechanical drives factory moves to Leeds Design Installation Take the complication out of designing, selecting <strong>and</strong> installing components <strong>and</strong> systems into your machine <strong>and</strong> environment with Rexroth’s Engineering Tools <strong>and</strong> support structure. From factory layout software through to CAD files, product configurators <strong>and</strong> documentation, Rexroth has the tools to simplify your project. www.boschrexroth.co.uk/etools Selection Support Simplify your system design, selection <strong>and</strong> installation processes Engineering Tools from Rexroth SIEMENS IS moving its mechanical drives (MD) factory from Bradford to a new purpose-built site in Leeds, with more space <strong>and</strong> improved facilities. Since Siemens bought Flender’s gear <strong>and</strong> gear-motor business for €1.2bn in 2005, it has been investing in the operation. The new 4,645m 2 (50,000ft 2 ) factory Nadin: relentless commitment has 30% more production space, making it easier to optimise production cell layouts, as well as materials <strong>and</strong> h<strong>and</strong>ling flow. The site, in Stourton, will be used to assemble gears, geared motors, motors <strong>and</strong> couplings. The move has been overseen by Simon Nadin, who was appointed general manager of the MD division in July, replacing Nick Garthwaite, who has left the Siemens group. Nadin, who has been with Siemens since 1998, was previously based at the company’s drives factory in Congleton. “Siemens is committed to manufacturing in the UK <strong>and</strong> the mechanical gears aspect is a key element in the drive train,” he says. “This new facility will not only enhance our manufacturing capability; it will also be used to train apprentices <strong>and</strong> hold technical seminars.” Nadin believes that with the right strategy <strong>and</strong> investment, it is possible to be successful in the current economic climate. “A relentless commitment to process improvement is an essential part of our business DNA,” he states. “Without this focus, we open the door to competition.” The factory will be opened officially in early 2011. MV inverter is ‘world’s most effi<strong>cient</strong>’ THE BRAZILIAN manufacturer WEG has produced a medium-voltage inverter which, it claims, is the world’s most effi<strong>cient</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>reliable</strong>, with a 99% efficiency <strong>and</strong> a 22-year MTBF (mean time between failures). The 8,000hp (5,996kW), 4.16kV system is also WEG’s largest-ever MV inverter. The 12-pulse inverter has been supplied to Weir Pumps, which is using it to drive a 7,500hp (5,593kW) WEG motor used to test mud drilling pumps at its laboratory in Dallas, Texas. These tests, which ensure that the pumps will support real loads during operation, have not been performed before, because of their complexity, risk <strong>and</strong> high costs. “In a single stroke, we have doubled the output of our MV inverter range to 8,000hp,” says Marek Lukaszczyk, WEG’s European marketing manager. “The 99% efficiency is an average 1% more effi<strong>cient</strong> than that delivered by any other MV inverter on the market – <strong>and</strong> this can mean an economy of up to $50,000 per year for this user.” The MVW voltage-source inverter drive has two layers of control, rather than the usual three or five layers. It is driving a four-pole 46Hz motor, rotating at 1,371 rpm. www.weg.net 8 November/December 2010 www.drives.co.uk
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