Electricity + Control June 2017

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LIGHT + CURRENT
ABB inaugurates traction transformer
plant in South Africa
ABB inaugurated a new traction transformer production facility adjacent
to its South African headquarters in Longmeadow, Johannesburg on 3
May 2017. ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer inaugurated the new factory with
The Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry, Lionel
October.
“ABB is proud of this new traction transformer facility in South Africa,
reiterating our philosophy of locating manufacturing units close to our
customers,” said Ulrich Spiesshofer, speaking at the inauguration event.
”It reinforces our Next Level strategy focus on strengthening our presence
inAfrica and supports our ongoing commitment to sustainable mobility.”
This unit will produce traction transformers to help power trains and
support South Africa’s growing railway network. Traction transformers
feed power at safe voltages to essential train functions like traction,
brakes, lighting, heating and ventilation, as well as passenger informa-
tion, signalling and communication. The 2 450 square metre facility is
expected to employ 60 people by the end of 2017 and the first major
order to be executed at the new facility will be the supply of traction
units for 240 Bombardier electric locomotives.The local manufacturing
of these traction units supports the South African government’s local
procurement and employment requirements. Since 2012, South Africa
has invested in the development of its rail network as an opportunity to
rejuvenate the economy, create jobs and support a major shift from road
to rail transport for both passenger and freight travel.The expansion of
the country’s rail network is also expected to contribute to its vision of
becoming a key logistics centre in sub-Saharan Africa.
ABB has more than 130 years of experience in producing traction
transformers that are powering more than half the world’s electric loco-
motives and train sets. As part of its ongoing commitment to innovation
ABB recently launched Effilight, its next-generation traction transformer
which uses a patented high-technology cell design that can reduce the
amount of oil required by up to 70%, without compromising functionality.
Enquiries: Email
Brushless dc servomotor reaches a
new performance class
FAULHABER has extended the extremely powerful BP4
product family with the brushless dc Servomotor 2264…BP4.
As well as having an outstanding ratio of torque to size and
weight, the miniature drive comes with integrated sensors
and a wide speed range.
The 4-pole motor achieves a torque of 59 mNm with a
weight of just 140 g and a diameter of 22 mm. Furthermore,
the 2264…BP4 reaches up to 34 500 revolutions per minute.
The reason for the outstanding performance is the innovative
segment winding of the coil, which was developed for the
brushless dc motors of the BP4 family.
Thanks to the overlapping, nested, individually wound
segments, an especially large amount of copper can be
accommodated in the coil. The high winding symmetry
with minimal losses and appropriately high efficiency is a
desirable side effect.There is also room for a resilient shaft
with a diameter of 4 mm and suitable bearings thanks to the
compact coil.With its low inertia, the motor is well suited for
dynamic start/stop operation.
The 2264…BP4 is also overload-resistant. It operates
without wear-prone mechanical commutation and, as a
result, has a service life many times longer than standard
dc micromotors. It can be used at temperatures of between
-40 and +125ºC. Optionally integrated analogue Hall sensors
can replace an encoder in the majority of applications and
determine the position of the output shaft very precisely.
Compatible optical and magnetic encoders are also avail-
able for high-precision applications. Among other things,
the motor is ideally suited for industrial automation and the
hand-pieces of electric tools, e.g. electric pruning shears and
screwdrivers, motorised instruments for surgery, grippers
and robots, and also for aerospace or for active prosthetics.
As well as the new 2264…BP4 series, FAULHABER is also
adding a drive with integrated Motion Controller to the
family of motors. The 3274…BP4, which is the most power-
ful motor in the family, is now also available as a Motion
Control System.
The MCS 3274…BP4 combines the brushless high-per-
formance motor with control electronics which have been
tailor-made for it, in an extremely small space, creating a
highly dynamic drive system for complex positioning tasks
directly in the automation environment.
Enquiries: Email
Director-General of the DTI, Lionel October; ABB Group Chief
Executive Officer, Ulrich Spiesshofer; ABB Local Division Manager,
Power Grids, Mauro Damonte; ABB Global PG Manager, Small Power
Transformers - Power Grids, Holger Ketterer; ABB Managing Director,
South and Southern Africa, Leon Viljoen; and ABB Operation Manager,
Power Systems - Substations, Power Grids, Quinton Gouveia.
Electricity+Control June ‘17 46