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."

GAMBICA tops British Standards table for contributing members

A recent report from BSI, the business standards company, has revealed that GAMBICA has more members contributing to BSI committees than any other trade association. The report, entitled Structuring Knowledge: Standards Development Briefing states that GAMBICA has representation on 100 technical committees and sub committees.   

The report was published by BSI to demonstrate that standards are a crucial part of the way that business delivers value to the economy and to society.

BSI committee members are leading experts who help to create published standards. They come from industry, trade associations, government organisations, professional associations, research institutions, academia, consumer and public interest bodies.

Furthermore, the report does not only demonstrate influence over standards in the United Kingdom. In order to influence standards at a European (CEN / CENELEC) and international level (IEC / ISO), work has to be conducted at a national standards working group level through the BSI.

This has been highlighted over the last twelve months by changes in the regulatory landscape in Europe, most notably with the release of the new standardisation regulation, EU No 1025/2012, in October 2012, as well as moves in numerous countries to clarify the referencing of standards in regulation.

“This shows how well GAMBICA is ensuring that it lives up to one of its core principles, namely that our members will be provided with the best possible representation when standards which can dramatically affect their business prospects are being developed both in the UK and Europe,” argued Ron Neiger, president of GAMBICA. “This analysis shows that there is no association which does more for its members’ interests in the standards arena.”

“Advances in standardisation are only possible through the collaborative effort of our valued network of standards experts and stakeholders,” said Shirley Bailey-Wood MBE, director of publishing at BSI. “It is this work that enables us to identify and shape standards that respond to the pressing industrial and societal issues of the day, while delivering real benefits to business, industry and the general public.  Participation in a committee ensures that member’s requirements, understanding of the market and voice is heard and captured into the development of a standard, and we are actively seeking experts to get involved.”

Top 10 trade associations on BSI committees and sub committees as published by the BSI are:

1, GAMBICA Association - 100
2, UK Steel Association - 80
3, British Cables Association - 70
4, British Plastics Federation - 68
5, Safety Assessment Federation - 54
6, Energy Networks Association - 54
7, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders - 53
8, Intellect - 48
9, Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Electrical Appliances - 46
10, Engineering Equipment and Materials Users' Association – 41

The report can be downloaded in full here.