DRIVES AND CONTROLS
environmentally-friendly as no external cooling
system is needed.” Typical industries for their
application are material handling and mining
where the customer needs a high torque density
with an optimised space requirement.
Voith’s VECO-Drive family
Voith in May 2017 introduced the first member
of a new product family in the field of speed
control for compressors and pumps: the VECO-
Drive. It is an electric superimposing gear and is
inspired by the established principle of the Voith
Vorecon with more than 600 installations. The
VECO-Drive combines a mechanical planetary
gear with frequency-controlled servo motors.
“The electrical superimposing gear is the most
efficient way to make speed variable. Servo
motors are used to drive a planetary gear. Since
they only need a small part of rated power, an
overall component efficiency of more than 97%
is reached. This saves valuable energy and
reduces operating expenditures every day.”
The VECO-Drive is installed between a
constant speed motor and a variable speed
compressor or pump. With the new VECO-Drive,
Voith says it combines the reliability of
mechanical gears with the outstanding
productivity of low voltage VFDs. “Since
additional power is supplied to the drive train, a
smaller main motor can be used. This saves
capital expenditures. Moreover, the servo motor
can be used as a starter
to protect the electric
grid from high inrush
currents.”
For the functional
demonstration of the
VECO-Drive, a prototype
system was built and
tested in Crailsheim,
Germany, in 2016. Voith
engineers designed the system for compressor
and pump applications with a maximum output
speed of 15,000 rpm, maximum output power of
15 MW and a speed adjustment range from 50 to
100%. Compared to a typical full-scale medium
voltage VFD train with a step-up gearbox, the
measured system efficiency of a VECO-Drive is
about 2% higher over the whole speed range.
Thus, the VECO-Drive system reduces annual
energy consumption by more than 2,000 MWh
compared to a comparable VFD system. With a
typical energy cost of €50/MWh, these energy
savings result in cost reductions of more than
€100,000 per year.
As a matter of principle, the VECO-Drive is
designed as a modular system and thus offers
individual specifications for different application
types, classes of explosion protection and speed
levels. Advanced functions like the integrated
PLC-based output controller, user interfaces,
condition monitoring and simplified
Voith in May 2017 introduced
the first member of a new
product family in the field of
speed control for compressors
and pumps – the VECO-Drive
maintenance are part of the scope of supply,
whereas remote access and remote diagnosis
are available on demand.
New WEG flameproof motor meets
ATEX and IECEx standards
The WEG W22Xd flameproof motor, available
from Zest WEG Group, meets worldwide
standards for use in hazardous applications
including the mining sector. The W22Xd motor is
certified in line with European ATEX and
international IECEx standards. ATEX/IECEx
certified, WEG W22Xd flameproof motors are
designed to cope with the rigours and
aggressiveness of explosive atmospheres, while
delivering the added benefits of high efficiency.
Motors available with the IE2 or IE3 energy
efficiency rating offer minimised noise,
vibration, and low operating temperature for
increased reliability and safety.
The WEG W22Xd flameproof electric motor is
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