A highlight of this year’s Drives & Controls Show being held at the Birmingham NEC in April will be a pavilion organised by the European Power Transmission Distributors Association (EPTDA) and featuring up to 15 of its members. The pavilion will be modelled on one that the EPTDA has run successfully at alternate Hannover Fairs for more than a decade.

The recovery of the global market for medium-voltage motor control centres (MCCs) has been “painfully slow” according to a new market analysis. IMS Research reports that sales of these products declined heavily in 2009 as a result of the global recession, and recovered slowly to climb above the $140m mark in 2010, when more than 5,300 vertical sections or “columns” were shipped.

Multi-touch operation, already familiar to users of smartphones and tablet computers, is coming to industrial HMIs and panel PCs, promising easier, more intuitive and faster operation, as well enhanced safety. At the recent SPS/IPC/Drives exhibition in Germany, several suppliers were showing products with multi-touch capabilities.

At the recent SPS/IPC/Drives show in Germany, SEW-Eurodrive unveiled an “electronic motor” that combines an IE4 permanent field synchronous motor, drive electronics and, optionally, high-efficiency gearing, to produce a drive system that can cut energy costs by up to 50%. The DRC integrated motor needs just one four-wire cable for both power and communications, cutting installation costs by up to 60%, SEW claims.