STUDENTS SETTLE FOR A WINNING FORMULA
Mechanical Engineers and the programme provides students with an opportunity to gain invaluable work experience whilst still studying - by taking part in fascinating motorsport projects. Thomas Simson, harness module manager on the
project, commented, “EPLAN Harness proD is largely self explanatory and it was very easy to begin using it. We began using it straight after the one day training session.” EPLAN Harness proD supplies valuable information
E
PLAN Harness proD, a new wire harness tool, has been put to good use as part of the Formula
Student programme - a course designed to inspire and develop enterprising and innovative young engineers. The tool is being used by the Running Snail Racing Team from Amberg-Weiden University, who have taken on the challenge of developing a winning electrically powered vehicle. Formula Student (FS) is run by the Institution of
that is needed when constructing the vehicle at the touch of a button, including how much cable is needed, which colours and which diameters are required. Simson summarised, “It took us a month to go from
nothing to a complete harness. This used to take much longer, although the wiring was much smaller. What’s more, the cable lengths were exactly the right length - there was no need to add an extra bit for safety to the cable length. EPLAN Harness proD has brought us significant, measurable advantages.”
www.eplan.co.uk
MAJOR SUCCESS FOR UK MANUFACTURING
The best sales growth for Delta Electronics’ industrial automation and switchgear products throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa has been achieved in Britain by Softstart UK of Great Yarmouth. Delta has been represented in the UK by Softstart for some time, with 2013
seeing sales increase by 80% and a further double forecast for this year. “We represent Delta and several other companies,” explained managing
director Stuart Harvey. “The companies all complement one another. Thus we have created a portfolio of automation products that cover just about every possible requirement. We also have a system building capability that has seen us working on major projects around the world.” Softstart also stated that it is benefitting from several trends in UK
industry including the general recovery after several tough years, some reshoring of production previously jobbed-out overseas and a particular growth in its home region of East Anglia. Perhaps the most important driver at the moment is integration of two or more existing production machines
into autonomous systems. “In the first instance, this means our sales of micro-PLCs (programmable logic controllers) and remote I/O are particularly buoyant,” explained Harvey. “But the bigger picture is that UK manufacturing is becoming more integrated and therefore far more efficient. Several of our clients are now committed to increasing their automation and plant integration in stages over the coming years.
www.softstartuk.com
MOTOR RETRO-FIT SAVES 400,000KW OF ENERGY
Electronically commutated motors from Regal Beloit have been installed in over 800 rooms at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston, saving over 400,000kW of energy. A landmark on the Boston city skyline, the hotel is one of the city’s most famous structures. The hotel is also committed to a wide range of environmental initiatives and energy saving strategies and is the recipient of the 4-Green Key eco rating Award. As part of this ongoing
commitment, the hotel looked at how it could reduce the energy usage in every room of the hotel. The huge numbers of motors involved in a large commercial
6 JUNE 2014 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
building mean that improving the energy efficiency of each one can have a big impact on overall energy consumption. Researching the latest energy
efficient motor solutions, the hotel found the electronically commutated motor (ECM) range from Regal Beloit. Not only did this offer significant ongoing savings in running costs, it also meant saving the equivalent of 282 metric tonnes of CO2
, whilst at the
same time improving guest comfort. That made the retro-fit a win-win project – good for the hotel, good for the guests and good for the environment.
www.regalbeloit.co.uk
ABB has won the approval of DNV GL, the ship and offshore type approval organisation, for its REA 10 arc flash monitoring systems for installation on board ship and offshore units. Ian Hodkinson, head of ABB’s
Distribution Automation business in the UK said, “Winning type approval from DNV is a major endorsement for ABB’s REA Arc Flash Detection System. A typical substation might only experience a single incidence of arc flash protection in its lifetime but the impact of such an incident is significant in terms of risk to life and limb, serious damage to electrical hardware and lost production time.”
www.abb.com
Hager’s four millionth consumer unit recently came off the end of the production line at the electrical solutions provider’s UK manufacturing plant in Telford. The senior management team
from Hager UK congregated at the end of the assembly line to celebrate as number four million was packaged into its box for distribution. To celebrate this landmark, the
company has also hidden promotional scratch cards (to win an iPad) in the packaging of all of its consumer units with the four millionth including the winning card.
www.hager.co.uk
A new international panel partnership has been signed between Apollo Fire Detectors and Italian-based company, SCAME, who specialise in developing and manufacturing control panels for Fire and Gas (F&G) detection. The new partnership will provide
customers of both companies with access to a wide range of Safety Integrity Level (SIL) approved fire detection products and a SIL approved integrated F&G control panel.
www.apollo-fire.co.uk
LED lighting has been embraced because of its energy efficiency, but consumer safety charity, Electrical Safety First, is highlighting the potential dangers of substandard and counterfeit LED lights. And, in partnership with the Trading Standards (TS) Imports Team, it has been working to help remove these products from the UK. Steve Curtler from Electrical Safety
First commented, “Some estimate the cost of counterfeiting to the UK economy to be as high as £30bn but it’s the damage - to people and property - that particularly concerns us. Fake LEDs can overheat and lead to fires, which can take hold after people have turned them off and gone to bed - which is when a fire is much more likely to go undetected and become much more dangerous.”
www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk
/ ELECTRICALENGINEERING
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