MITSUBISHI DRIVE
SOLUTIONS CENTRES
ANNOUNCED
HAVING ALREADY PIONEERED
a more collaborative approach
to designing and delivering
automation systems employing low
power drives, Mitsubishi Electric
UK has announced a new network
of Drive Solutions Centres (DSCs).
Each one sharing technology,
experience and ideas to focus on
providing a full service o ering for
the entire lifecycle of larger capacity
low voltage and medium voltage
variable speed drives.
National Sales Manager Stuart
Woodhead explains how this
will bene t customers, “Having
helped UK industry move forward
with our class leading low power
drive systems, it’s now time to
further improve our overall service
proposition for larger capacity drives.
This will include system design &
build, installation, commissioning and
the ongoing need for site service and
support.
“By working together, we believe
Sound
solutions
with maxon
BY WORKING TOGETHER, maxon
and Sound Leisure have found the
perfect motor replacement for their
high-quality jukeboxes in just 18
months.
Sound Leisure contacted
maxon after receiving notice of the
obsolescence of the AC turntable
drive motor, a vital component in
their jukeboxes.
After looking at the existing
motor and the space envelope
available, Sound Leisure, together
with maxon engineers, selected
the maxon brushless EC 45mm at
motor. This brushless DC motor
is part of a program of at motors,
ideal when space is at a premium,
that gives high performance and an
extensive speed range. As is usual
in these instances, for speed and
proof of concept, a standard motor
was provided for Sound Leisure to
test, before ne-tuning to include
any necessary modi cations. Initial
testing proved positive with the
standard maxon motor, but ideally, a
longer shaft was needed.
The maxon engineers then
created the EC 45 at with the longer
shaft. However, there was an issue
due to the relatively high radial load
needed to drive the jukebox turntable
and the short distance between the
bearings. They decided to look at an
alternative motor. As the EC 45 at
had been working well, it was decided
HORIBA SHAKES THINGS UP
RESPONDING TO SOARING demand
from the UK automotive industry
for advanced battery safety testing,
Horiba MIRA has invested £1.5m
in a new Large Climatic Vibration
Laboratory and Battery Abuse
Facility.
Set to open in October, the new
Large Climatic Vibration Laboratory
is the UK’s rst battery vibration test
facility - or ‘shaker’ as it’s known in the
industry - to also o er electrical and
thermal cycling. It enables battery
Mitsubishi Electric and a select
number of key partners can deliver
better operating e ciency with
improved system performance and
visibility using intelligent automation
solutions as part of a turnkey service.
Dedicated project management and
client communications are expected
to improve turnaround times in all
the major industry sectors.”
The knowledge developed
by the new DSC network will
be actively shared, improving
every aspect of service delivery
for customers; from design and
installation to ongoing service and
site support. Simple areas, such as
drive optimisation, ideal operating
conditions, smart peripherals and
optimised panel architecture,
can deliver signi cant savings in
purchase and operating costs.
Ongoing service support is a key
aspect of the DSC, including on-site
service for optimisation, updates
and repairs.
charging and discharging whilst in
use, along with climatic capability, to
carry out tests in ambient conditions
ranging from -40°C to 100°C.
The new twin vibration facility
can operate in three axes and has the
capacity to vibrate up to one tonne of
mass, making it ideal for testing the
biggest EV batteries on the market to
regulatory standards such as UN38.3
and ECEReg100.
The unique ‘shaker’ is the second
part of a recent £1.5m investment
by HORIBA MIRA into
battery safety related
testing, which includes
its new Battery Abuse
Test Facility (BAT) that
opened in July. The BAT
facility provides abuse
and safety testing at cell,
module and pack level, supported by
high speed cameras, thermal imaging
and gas detection.
This £1.5m investment
signi cantly strengthens HORIBA
NEWS | EUREKA!
to stick with the multipole motor
technology and select the brushless
maxon EC-i 30 mm motor. This gave
the same electrical characteristics
but a much lower ratio between the
bearing and the length of the shaft.
Samples were built into the
testbed where they were quickly
on long-term test. The motor was
performing faultlessly after months
of continuous operation. Finally,
the rst full development turntable
system was built and connected to
the speakers ready for integration
into the jukebox casing.
Although the motor provided the
required sonic performance, there
were concerns about the wear on
the motor brushes. Sound Leisure
jukeboxes are designed to last a
lifetime, so the most critical part of
the system needed not to wear out.
Andrew suggested a customised
DC-max motor that incorporated
precious metal brushes. Testing
showed that the motor still
performed awlessly, even after
many months of continuous use, and
would be the perfect solution.
MIRA’s comprehensive battery
development capability, enabling
end-to-end engineering and test
solutions for cell, modules and
complete battery packs.
DECEMBER 2020 | WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK 9
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