Product category:
Manufacturing industry news
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors)
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 06 February 2003
Advanced production line opened for
drives
An advanced production line for variable speed drives has been officially opened in Helsinki, by Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
ABB's new advanced production line for variable speed drives has been officially opened in Helsinki, by Finnish President Tarja Halonen Nicknamed "Galactica" because of its futuristic manufacturing techniques, the production line is initially producing 100 units per day in the power range 100kW to 610kW
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 25 Jun 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Weekend fan parts search saved chipboard output
Tens of thousands of pounds worth of lost production at chipboard manufacturer Sonae Industria, Merseyside, has been saved by ABB Drives Alliance Partner Central Electrical.
ABB drives range extended
ABB has extended the range of one of the key elements in its ACS 600 drives range, by introducing new IGBT Supply Unit frame sizes.
This will be increased to 150 units per day.
The Galactica line is a flexible production platform that allows for mass-customization of ABB drives.
This means that drives can be customized to any application, no matter how demanding, by tailoring the product as it passes through production.
Further reading
ABB launches tour of Technology Days
A series of Technology Days has been launched by ABB, held in conjunction with its Channel Partners at venues across the UK.
World's first personalized drives Web site is up
ABB launches world's first personalized motors and drives Web site to reduce costs, errors and time.
"We are not making bespoke drives, but we can customize them just-in-time, within the normal production procedure," explains Pekka Tiitinen, head of the drive operations in ABB.
The highly automated production line uses ABB's own precision robots and has fully automated material flow and testing routines.
Each drive takes 4.5 hours to produce, which is some 30 % faster than previous drive types.
"To keep up with the increasing demand for ABB drives, whilst satisfying varying customer requirements, we needed to invest in flexible production technology for our medium and high power drives.
This new production facility reflects the strengthening of our market position which is driven by strong product development," says Tiitinen.
"We have been able to continually renew and expand our product portfolio with the result that we now have the widest and most modern product range available on the market.
We expect a lot from our new drive and I am confident that this new facility more than meets the demands of our customers." Variable speed drives are used in virtually all industries to control the speed of electric motors, which are the world's largest single consumer of electrical energy.
A variable speed drive adjusts the motor speed depending on the process demand, thereby saving significant amounts of energy.
This, in turn, reduces the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on the environment.
The drives form part of ABB's Industrial IT philosophy, which allows all automation products to be easily integrated within a plant, thereby bringing significant production efficiencies and reduced costs to customers.
The Galactica production line inauguration was attended by Jurgen Dormann, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman, ABB Group; Dinesh C.
Paliwal, Head of Automation Technologies Division and Member of the Executive Committee, ABB Group, and many distinguished members of the Finnish business community.
• ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors): contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
