February 2021

n TECHNOLOGY February 2021 www.drivesncontrols.com 16 RESEARCHERS AT Toshiba in Japan have developed a new magnetic material that, they say, will deliver major improvements in motor efficiencies at low cost and without needing any design changes, and could lead to significant reductions in power consumption. Toshiba estimates that if the material was used in all of the electric motors in use worldwide today, it could eliminate the need for ten 1GW power plants. The material is designed to be used in stator wedges, particularly in mid-to-large-sized induction motors. These wedges prevent motor coils from falling out of their slots. They were traditionally made of non-magnetic materials, but using a magnetic material instead has been found to guide magnetic flux towards the wedges, improving energy efficiency. But the magnetic materials previously used for wedges contained spherical magnetic metal particles and could not control the magnetic flux sufficiently, resulting in the flux leaking in unwanted directions. These materials also suffer from high magnetic losses and poor high- temperature performance, making them unsuitable for applications that require high heat resistance – traction motors for trains, for example. The new material is composed of flaky magnetic metal particles with magnetic properties that depend on the direction of the magnetic field. They also exhibit extremely low magnetic losses. When used in wedges, the material can guide magnetic flux effectively in the required direction, cutting energy losses and improving energy efficiencies “significantly”. The Toshiba researchers also found that by compacting the flaky magnetic particles with a heat-resistant binder, they could improve the material’s thermal stability, even when operating at 220°C for extended periods. This heat resistance widens the potential applications for the wedges in areas such as industrial equipment, cars, robots and medical systems. Simply by replacing existing motor wedges with similar components made of the new material, Toshiba says it has improved energy efficiencies significantly, without needing to change motor designs. When the wedges were used in railway drive systems, for example, an efficiency increase of 0.9% was achieved, with the induction motors approaching the efficiency of permanent magnet synchronous motors. The material could also be used in PM synchronous motors to achieve even higher efficiencies. The railway sector will be one of Toshiba’s first target markets for the new material. https://www.toshiba.co.jp/rdc/index.htm Magnetic material for motors ‘could eliminate ten 1GW power plants’ The new material is designed to be used in stator wedges to control the flow of magnetic flux in a motor Tool gives instant diagnosis of Profibus problems PROCENTEC, THE DUTCH developer of industrial communications diagnostics products, has announced a tool that analyses live data on Profibus networks and gives instant diagnoses of the most likely cause of any faults. The Snap Analysis tool avoids the need to interpret complicated oscilloscope images and messages. Snap uses a predictive algorithm to recognise and learn from data patterns, enabling it to predict common network faults. It “takes all the guesswork out of troubleshooting device issues and enables preventative measures to be taken,” explains Procentec’s CEO, Pieter Barendrecht. “It’s a wonderful example of upgrading diagnostics with the help of AI.” Snap – an add-on for Procentec’s existing Osiris software – is one of ten diagnostic and monitoring tools that Procentec has launched to make life easier for field technicians and cut the costs of maintaining single and mixed architecture industrial networks. “These releases will cut down on unnecessary engineer call-outs, reduce the time you spend finding errors, and give you clear advice on how to troubleshoot,” Barendrecht says. “They also offer a much more connected approach to fault detection and diagnosis. They will pay for themselves in no time at all.” One of the new arrivals is Osiris Enterprise, an external platform that fuses the data from several of Procentec’s Atlas permanent monitoring systems into one convenient overview, allowing technicians to monitor entire industrial Ethernet networks from anywhere in the world“for the first time”. “Osiris Enterprise provides the next level of oversight,” Barendrecht explains. “It gives you an overview of the entire network, but lets you drill down to the last device to give you detailed diagnostic information. This, combined with Snap and the other products we’re launching today, will give owners true control over their network.” Another new product is Atlas2, a second- generation of Procentec’s permanent monitoring system for industrial Ethernet and Profibus, that it claims is four times faster than its predecessor, accelerating troubleshooting routines. Atlas2 has a customised topology, and includes an expanded report-builder, practical user notes, and an EtherCat diagnostics licence. HMS Industrial Networks has recently acquired a 70% stake in Procentec. www.procentec.com Procentec’s Snap Analysis tool gives an instant diagnosis of Profibus problems