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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Until now, the monitoring and preventive maintenance of low-voltage motors has been time-consuming and expensive. New technology from ABB transforms simple motors into IoT motors — intelligent machines that tell you when they need servicing. Smart sensors attached directly to the motor supply information regarding operating and condition parameters via wireless transmission.

The innovative sensor technology offers plant operators not only huge potential savings on maintenance and repair, but will henceforth also make it easy to utilize the Internet of Things, Services and People (IoTSP) … for millions of motors. The IoTSP is ABB’s concept for enabling its customers to take advantage of the opportunities of digitalization. With the new solution, small and mid-sized companies can also benefit from the advantages offered by the IoTSP.

The smart sensor provides information on operating and condition parameters such as vibration, temperature or overload and calculates power consumption. The data are analyzed by a specially developed software program and provided to the plant operator in the form of graphics for maintenance planning, thereby enabling downtime reductions of up to 70 percent. At the same time, the lifetime of the motors can extended by up to 30 percent and energy consumption reduced by as much as 10 percent, so that the investment in this innovative form of condition monitoring pays for itself in less than a year. More after the jump.

“This innovative solution makes condition monitoring the new standard for low-voltage motors,” says Pekka Tiitinen, President of the ABB’s Discrete Automation and Motion division. “Optimized maintenance schedules help reduce maintenance costs greatly. Unscheduled outages are reduced considerably or even eliminated completely. Increased availability significantly boosts our customers’ productivity.”

This innovative solution is not restricted to new motors made by ABB. The sensors can be installed at the factory or retrofitted on already operating low-voltage motors within minutes.

Cyber security is guaranteed at all times with the new sensor technology from ABB. The sensor is not electrically connected to the motor, so unauthorized parties cannot access the motor via this route. The smart sensors wirelessly transmit the data via encryption protocols to a secure server where they are analyzed using special algorithms. The cloud-based server implementation fulfills all of ABB’s strict specifications for cyber security. The data are stored in the cloud in encrypted form. The Internet-based customer portal also uses a role-based access protocol to make the data securely accessible.

For over a decade, ABB has been enhancing its control systems, communication solutions, sensors and software to make them compatible with the Internet of Things, Services and People. These technologies enable customers in the industrial, utility and infrastructure sectors to analyze their data more intelligently and thus to optimize operational management while increasing productivity and flexibility. The product introduced in this press release once again expands the range offered by ABB in this field.