Energy efficiency experts at Drives and Controls 2014

GAMBICA, the UK trade association for instrumentation, control, automation and laboratory technology, will host a pavilion at the Drives & Controls Exhibition, taking place at the NEC in Birmingham, between April 8 and April 10, 2014. The seven participating GAMBICA members can be found at stands number G10 to G70.

Steve Brambley, GAMBICA’s deputy director and the organisation’s Variable Speed Drives (VSD) group convener, will also present two seminars at the event. The first one will be a part of the Motor Driven Systems (MDS) day and will take place on April 9, between 11:30 and 12:00. The seminar will address ways in which intelligent control can significantly reduce energy usage.

The second session is a panel discussion that will take place on April 10, from 10:15 to 11:15 and will look at the automation trends in the UK.

The GAMBICA members pavilion will play host to seven members, each with their own stand. The participants are Danfoss, Fairford Electronics, Omron Electronics, Pepperl + Fuchs GB, TECO, Vacon Drives UK and Parker SSD Drives.

“We’re particularly looking forward to this year’s event as an opportunity to exhibit as a trade body and in partnership with some of our members,” explains Brambley. “We’ve worked with all our members to create a varied exhibit, that reflects the GAMBICA membership and we look forward to meeting as many visitors and fellow exhibitors as possible. We’re certain that the recent confidence boost in the automation and manufacturing sectors will reflect positively on this year’s Drives & Controls show.”

For the 2014 Drives & Controls show, the participating GAMBICA members will focus on issues including energy efficiency, the benefits of motor control in fixed and variable speed applications and the advantages of using automation and robotics.

An Omron Delta-style robot will be exhibited on stand G70, in a typical material handling application. Every aspect of the machine cell will be controlled by a Sysmac machine automation controller.

GAMBICA member Fairford Electronics has also prepared a particularly interesting exhibit. "Fairford are delighted to be part of the GAMBICA pavilion this year. It gives us a chance to showcase our revolutionary intelligent energy saving motor controller - Synergy. We will have a live unit with us and visitors will be able to test it and see just how compact, powerful and easy to use it is," commented Stephen Royle, sales and marketing director at Fairford Electronics.

On stand G20, Danfoss will discuss their VLT® High Power Drives and low harmonic versions of the VLT® Automation, HVAC and AQUA drives. The products actively reduce harmonic distortion in the power supply, improving power quality by continuously regulating the network to the load conditions. The VLT® Advanced Active Filter is designed to complement the VLT® series of low harmonic drives, a flexible and adaptable solution for stand-alone or group harmonic mitigation.

Teco will be launching the latest additions to the 510 family of VSD’s, namely the IP66 version of the E510 sensorless vector drive and the IP55 variant of the F510 which is designed for fan and pump control.

On stand G60, Vacon will showcase VACON 100 FLOW drives, which incorporate an extensive range of dedicated features and menus optimised for pump and fan applications, and VACON 100 X drives, which have an IP66 ingress protection rating that allows them to be used almost anywhere – even outdoors – without the need for extra protection.
Brian Hurley, general manager of Parker's SSD Drives Division announced "We're delighted to be back at Drives & Controls. This show will be the UK debut for the new AC10 drive, as well as the newly extended AC30 Series. The UK is an important market for us and this exhibition presents us with a good opportunity to show our customers how our product range has developed."

Lifetime cost is more important than purchase cost

GAMBICA, the association for instrumentation, control, automation and laboratory technology, is set to present two seminars, on energy efficiency and electric motors respectively, at The Machine Building Show in Hall 3 of the NEC, Birmingham between September 25 and 26, 2013.  

Organised by trade show expert Trident Exhibitions, and backed by a wide range of industrial media organisations, this new event is co-located with a number of other industry leading trade exhibitions. GAMBICA is one of the supporting partners.

The first seminar has the title ‘Energy Efficiency – Investing in the machine to reduce the running cost’ and will address the benefit of investing in energy efficient systems to reduce energy costs.

It will focus on the difference between purchase price and lifetime cost for motor driven systems and show that the energy consumed costs significantly more than the capital purchase. The session will also discuss why this is an important factor for the end-user and how machine builders can provide this service, using their own expertise to add value.

“If you justify an investment purely on purchase cost, the “cheaper” option could turn out to be more expensive and the most energy efficient machine would be the most cost effective over its lifetime,” explains Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA and the speaker at both sessions.

“When buying a car like a BMW saloon, the purchase cost is more significant than the cost of fuel, whereas with an electric motor, the energy cost is far more significant than the purchase price. Nevertheless, car buyers do pay attention to fuel and economy.”

The second seminar has the title ‘Electric Motors – how control and automation is the key to energy saving’, building on the financial focus of the previous seminar.

This session will look in more detail at electric motors and the options for control and automation. It will demonstrate how the major gain in efficiency is at the system level rather than component level by looking at both theory and case studies.

It will explore the different forms of motor control, examining the advantages and typical uses of each. Finally, it will look at how best to make a decision on the appropriate form of control for the application, using tools to assist in the process.

“GAMBICA, and particularly its variable speed drives group, is constantly looking for ways to collaborate with communities that use automation technology. The Machine Building Show is a fantastic opportunity to meet with stakeholders who design, build and operate machines and understand their needs.


“The many benefits of automation can be discussed and new ways to bring value can be raised. As a speaker at the event, my goal is that participants will go away having learned something new that will be useful in their work,” concluded Brambley.