WEG ELECTRIC MOTORS (U.K.) LTD.

Hydropower is an extremely old source of energy, tracing its usage back to the watermills that were relied on by ancient civilisations. Here, Marek Lukaszczyk, European and Middle East Marketing Manager at WEG, explains how plant managers can make today’s hydropower smarter, more efficient, and reap financial and carbon savings by embracing energy efficient products and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology.

The energy cost to run an electric motor over ten years is at least 30 times the original purchase price. With energy consumption responsible for the vast majority of whole life costs, Marek Lukaszczyk of WEG, explains three ways to boost plant efficiency.

Strict regulations are synonymous with hazardous environments. Despite this, changes to legislation can still cause disruption. Marek Lukaszczyk European and Middle East Marketing Manager at WEG, explains the changing regulations for hazardous area motors and how the new energy efficiency requirements could provide significant financial gain.

WEG has replaced the ventilation fan drive system at Manchester Central as part of an efficiency project to help the venue achieve ISO 20121 standard for sustainability. Now, as the venue is transformed into the NHS Nightingale North West, the air system must withstand the requirements of a much-needed temporary hospital.

WEG has launched two extended versions of the CFW500 series of Variable Speed Drives (VSDs). The new models are available with an extended frame size and higher Ingress Protection (IP) rating and have been developed to comply with future energy efficiency regulations from the European Union (EU). The CFW500 frequency inverter series has been produced to efficiency class IE2.

  WEG will exhibit its energy efficient motor and geared motor lines along with its extensive range of automation products, at MACH 2020 in Hall 7, booth 727. The show is held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham from 20th-25th April, 2020.

WEG has extended its SSW900 series of soft starters. The series previously consisted of four frame sizes A to D, covering output currents from 10-412A in the voltage range of 220-575V 3-phase AC. Now, WEG has introduced frame size E for the current range of 480-670A. These compact high performance devices with integrated PLC, provide fully programmable algorithms for controlling induction motors, as well as fully flexible torque control and are designed for industrial and commercial use.

WEG is delivering more than 350 of its class-leading three-phase induction and electric motors to WestConnex, the largest ever transport infrastructure project in Australia and currently one of the world’s greatest engineering projects. The motors, which will be used for smoke extraction within two link tunnels, are designed to withstand a temperature 250ºC for 2 hours in an emergency situation.

WEG has unveiled a new optional kit for its class-leading CFW500 series of variable speed drives (VSDs) that facilitates pump motor control through photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. The CFW500 Solar Drive comprises of a plug-in module to simplify set up and installation, complemented by a rich feature set that offers a host of user benefits. WEG‘s compact, energy-saving CFW500 Solar Drive is ideal for the control of centrifugal and submersible motor pumps installed in places where the power grid is unavailable or unreliable.

WEG will showcase the new Motor Scan condition monitoring technology plus energy-efficient electric motors with electronic speed control for HVAC applications at SPS IPC Drives 2018, on Stand 466 in Hall 3A. The new Motor Scan product is targeted to deliver remote monitoring of WEG Motors, in order to maximise uptime and enable predictive/ preventative maintenance.

WEG has launched a new guide entitled: Totex for the European water industry, which covers the rising trend of adopting a Totex model to overcome the challenges of the heavily regulated water industry, its benefits, and how specifically using it can help to reduce cost over the lifetime of the asset, whilst at the same time delivering better value and lower bills for end users. The guide also includes real life case studies.

WEG has recently competed a major investment in the modernisation of machinery at its subsidiary Watt Drive Antriebstechnik in Markt Piesting, Austria. In an initial step, the Austrian gearbox specialist has taken delivery of a new €1.1m production machine. Installation took place in early August 2018 in spectacular fashion (video) with the use of the world's most powerful all-terrain crane, the Demag AC 1000-9, which has a carrying capacity of 1,200 tonnes.

It has been announced that WEG has unveiled new ATEX certified geared motors in the WG20 series with output power from 0.12 to 30kW and energy efficiency class up to IE3 at this year’s ACHEMA trade fair. The geared motors are certified in accordance with Directive 2014/34/EU as explosion proof for zone 2 (gas; groups IIA, IIB and IIC) or zone 22 (dust; groups IIIA, IIIB and IIIC).

A new whitepaper has been launched by WEG, which covers the growth in influence of IIOT and, with the digitalisation of the electric motor, the impact this could have on the maintenance sector. Talking about its latest release at last week’s Give Me 5 event in London, WEG has launched a new paper entitled: ‘How digitalisation transforms the role of the maintenance professional’ which is available free to download at here.

Launching the DWB series of modular circuit breakers, WEG has designed them to reliably interrupt short-circuit currents up to 80kA at 415V to protect plant, equipment, cables and wiring, as well as motors and generators. The circuit breakers are suitable for a wide range of industrial applications and feature compact design, robustness and reliability, so engineers benefit from maximum operational reliability and uptime under the most demanding conditions as well as space-saving installation.

WEG has launched an easy-to-install plug-in EMC filter to enable users to safely deploy the CFW100 Mini Drive in a wider range of simple engineering applications. The CFW100 Mini Drive is the smallest variable speed drive (VSD) with an integrated micro PLC currently available on the market (covering the rated motor power 180 - 750 W) and it can now be used with machines that are not necessarily equipped with a group EMC filter, including swimming pool pumps, lift doors and fitness equipment, as well as small fans, stirring and mixing machines and simple handling equipment.

Awarded the prestigious Lean Six Sigma Award by the British Quality Foundation (BQF) during the UK Excellence Awards Ceremony, WEG beat finalists including Siemens and Shop Direct. The 2016 Lean Six Sigma Award recognises the work businesses do to improve their performance and achieve sustainable excellence through delivering Lean Six Sigma innovations to customers, shareholders and other key stakeholders.

Reducing installation time and costs by up to 66% is the CSW series of command and signalling devices with new pushbuttons and contact blocks from WEG. Designed to increase flexibility and simplify stock management, the individual contact blocks can be easily combined to meet specific requirements and assembled without tools. Additionally, the new pushbuttons have an IP66/NEMA 4X rating, which means they provide a reliable solution in harsh environments.

Reducing installation time and costs by up to 66% is the CSW series of command and signalling devices with new pushbuttons and contact blocks from WEG. Designed to increase flexibility and simplify stock management, the individual contact blocks can be easily combined to meet specific requirements and assembled without tools. Additionally, the new pushbuttons have an IP66/NEMA 4X rating, which means they provide a reliable solution in harsh environments.

WEG has developed IP55-rated enclosures for its CFW701 variable speed drives (VSD) to help users in the process industry adopt more energy-efficient strategies while meeting stringent hygiene and endurance requirements. Both VSD series - in frame sizes B to E – are now available with enclosures that effectively protect electrical components against water jets, dust and corrosion and as such are a great fit for process applications in the food industry or for especially harsh environmental conditions. As a result, users can be confident that their VSDs reliably operate, providing long service life with reduced downtime.