Respondents to the Control Engineering 2019 Motor Drives study identified five key findings related to the purchase and specification of variable-speed, servo/stepper and medium-voltage drives for industrial automation applications:

Industrial drive use for automation 

Usage plan of motor drives for automation and industrial applications: Eighty-eight percent of respondents use or expect to use variable speed drives (VSDs) within the next 12 months; 46% use/plan to use servo drives and/or stepper drives and 17% use/plan to use medium voltage (MV) drives. 

Industrial drive applications for automation 

Applications of motor drives for automation and industrial applications (check all that apply): When specifying VSDs, 89% of applications are new, 74% are retrofit and 71% are replacement. The breakdown for servo/stepper drives is 87% new, 67% retrofit and 64% replacement. For MV drives: 89% new, 81% retrofit and 78% replacement. 

Industrial drive-drive purchasing for automation 

Purchasing motor drives for automation and industrial applications: Thirty-six percent of respondents prefer to buy motors and related VSDs separately; 22% prefer matched units. Regarding servo/stepper drives, only 12% prefer separate, and 60% look for matched units. For MV drives and Above NEMA motors: 30% prefer separate, and 19% favor matched units. 

Industrial drive spending plans for automation 

Expenditures on motor drives for automation and industrial applications: Over the past 12 months, respondents estimated an average of $139,000 having been spent on VSDs. For the same time frame, respondents also estimated average values of $94,000 for servo drives and /stepper drives and $620,000 for MV drives. 

Factors for selection of industrial drives for automation 

Important factors when choosing a motor drive for automation and industrial applications: The most critical qualities respondents look for when choosing a motor drive are frequent start/stop tolerance for VSDs (83%), accurate positioning for servo/stepper drives (97%) and frequent start/stop tolerance for MV drives (83%). 

Access the full 2019 Motor Drives Report to view additional findings.

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If you have any questions about this research study or others performed by Control Engineering, please contact:

Amanda Pelliccione
Director of Research
Control Engineering, CFE Media
apelliccione@cfemedia.com

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