ABB’s new customer drives test laboratory has been established to enable customers to evaluate the capability of their own motors when operating in combination with the new generation of ABB drives. The facility incorporates independent equipment for high-precision measurements of drive/motor dynamic performance, load capability and efficiency that enables customers to find the optimal drive system for their application, helping reduce costs, equipment size and energy consumption. 
The test laboratory is an entirely new concept that is aimed primarily at high-volume drives customers and ABB partners such as technology companies in the machine building industries and system integrators. It now offers an easy and reliable way for customers to test various motor/drive combinations before introducing a new ABB product into volume production.
“This investment really supports the process of establishing the ideal drive/motor combination and demonstrates how we can help customers test their equipment up to 400 kilowatts (kW) with a minimum amount of effort to verify that ABB’s solution is the best choice for their application,“ explains Morten Wierod, Managing Director of ABB’s Drives and Controls business unit.
ABB’s global drives business also has customer laboratories in the United States, China and India that provide local support. Morten Wierod continued, “This new laboratory in Helsinki is the center of excellence for our business unit from where we support global customers with the most demanding requirements. The main advantage of these laboratories is how we connect them together in a global chain so that all customers always receive the best support available from the most appropriate ABB unit.”
The decision to make the investment to create the new facility was based on ABB’s successful experience with the customer application laboratory for crane and winch applications that opened in 2011. This facility, also located at the drives factory in Helsinki, provides facilities for OEMs to test ABB’s drive compatibility in cranes and winches in a simulated environment corresponding to actual application conditions. The laboratory has played a significant role in helping ABB to grow its business in this sector and it has recently been upgraded to increase its test capacity to cover a wider range of application areas.
Morten Wierod acknowledges that customers are increasingly demanding and ABB wants to offer even better service and application know-how by bringing customers into its own facilities. “We are dedicated to our customers and want to help them achieve the right features and performance in their applications by investing in these facilities. Being able to test the customer’s own equipment together with our drives gives them the confidence that ABB really can support our partners and customers in their day to day operations,” Wierod said.
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