Driving the future of automation

Drives play an essential role in automation technology. Stating its importance, K T Chougule, DGM – drive solutions, factory automation & industrial division, Mitsubishi Electric India says, "Generally 70% of the electrical load is motor load in the industry and to run the motor with variable speed according to the machine/process application requires a drive. VFDs also play a critical role in energy saving particularly in variable torque application, where energy is saved considering the difference between process demand & supply, mainly for fan & pump application. Energy saving market is growing very fast in India due to relatively high cost of power in India." Further he adds, "Drive not only gives variable speed, it can also deliver smooth start-stop, which reduces mechanical impact on machines or equipment, improves the power factor of the system and also reduces the maximum demand (MD) of factory Drive plays a key role in the automation technology, and the drive market is more than 50% of total factory automation market."