AC Adjustable-Speed Drives Product Focus Study August 2003

Executive Summary

• Among those specifying, recommending, and/or buying AC adjustable-speed drives, 77% do so for in-plant requirements and 40% do so for OEM requirements.

• Half of the respondents chose pumps, fans, and blowers as their primary application, making it the most common among those Control Engineering subscribers surveyed. Over two-fifths of respondents chose assembly, conveyer lines as their primary application.

• Volts/Hertz control (open loop) is the most common AC adjustable-speed drive type used by respondents.

• Seventy percent of respondents rate simple controls/setup as very important when selecting an AC adjustable-speed drive.

• Over one-third of respondents rate torque control as very important when selecting an AC adjustable speed drive.

• Over two-thirds of respondents use line conditioning devices and one-third of respondents use AC microdrives.

• Nearly all respondents have stand alone drives.

• 4-20 mA is currently the most commonly used communication network and will continue to be over the next year.

• Eighty-one percent of survey participants report 1 to 5 hp AC drives are used at their locations. The average number of such drives in use per location is 34. Results suggest all size ranges are widely used among those surveyed.

• Over one-fourth of respondents currently use an integrated motor-drive. Nine percent of total respondents do not currently use integrated motor-drives, but plan to use them in the next 12 months.

• On average, 86% of the AC drives respondents currently buy are off-the-shelf. The remainder is customized systems. Results suggest future purchases will be segmented along the same lines.

AC Adjustable-Speed Drives Product Focus Study

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