January 2022

TECHNOLOGY n INOVANCE TECHNOLOGY EUROPE – the European arm of one of China’s largest drives manufacturers – has announced an AC multidrive system designed to meet the needs of European OEMs for flexible, scalable multidrives with a compact footprint. The modular MD800 system can supply up to eight drives from one rack with a single rectifier, sharing energy through a common DC bus. Innovance says that its footprint is up to 50% smaller than traditional single-drive modules. The company also claims that the system can cut installation and commissioning times by two-thirds, as well as halving assembly and mounting plate preparation times. The dual rating of each drive module allows 150% overloads for demanding high-torque applications, or 110% overloads for normal-duty fan and pump applications. “We think that MD800 is the most compact and flexible multidrive on the market today, and we also think it’s the most cost-effective AC multidrive available in Europe,” says David Bedford, Inovance’s European strategic marketing manager for AC drives. Market research by Inovance across Europe “has ensured that the MD800 will meet and exceed the demands of all multidrive manufacturing machines in Europe – from the simplest of conveyors to the most complex printing machinery,” he adds. The drive’s functions and specifications include: n the ability to control PM and induction motors from a single software package; n individual STO (safe torque-off ) functions on each drive; n a 24V DC control backup supply; n pluggable, spring-type connectors that save time and cut installation costs; n 3C3 and 3S2 conformal coating, allowing the system to be used in harsh environments; n an operating temperature range of –20 to +60°C; n the ability to operate at altitudes of up to 4km; n a separate cooling channel for the heatsink; and n the availability of a range of fieldbus and I/O expansion option cards. Inovance Technology Europe offers industrial automation products including LV and MV AC drives, servodrives, motion controls, CNCs, PLCs, HMIs and industrial robots. The company has sales and engineering offices in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Turkey, and distributors across the continent. In 2018, it acquired Power Automation, a German specialist in PC-based CNC systems, and has combined these with its own servo technology to offer real-time machine control capabilities. Inovance is a $2bn automation group, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, which has more than 12,800 employees. In 2020, it had revenues worth $1.7bn and claims to be the Chinese market-leader in drives for compressors, elevators and injection-moulding machines. It is China’s third-largest drives supplier behind ABB and Siemens. In 2019, Inovance invested 11.6% of its revenues in r&d, and employs more than 2,500 r&d engineers. www.inovance.eu Modular multidrive’s footprint is half the size of its rivals Inovance claims that its modular AC drive system can cut installation and commissioning times by two thirds www.rittal.co.uk IT INFRASTRUCTURE SOF TWARE & SERVICES VX IT The world’s fastest IT rack