News » World News GM is first US car-maker to build its own motors
General Motors has become the first US car-maker to manufacture electric motors and drives for electric vehicles in America. Until now, it has mostly relied on imported motors to power its EVs.
Oil and water drive demand for MV MCCs and soft-starts
The fastest growth in applications for medium-voltage motor control centres (MCCs) and soft-starters in the next few years is likely to come from the oil and gas, and water and wastewater industries, says a new report from IMS Research, now part of IHS.
Technology that unites PLCs with IT wins Hermes Award
Bosch Rexroth has won the 2013 Hermes Award for its Open Core Engineering, which unites the previously separate worlds of PLCs and information technology (IT). The award, made annually at the Hannover Fair, singles out outstanding innovations pioneered by individual companies. This year’s shortlist included Ebm-Papst and Hirschmann Automation and Control.
Machine-builders turn to direct-drive torque motors
The global market for direct-drive torque motor modules almost doubled from $98m in 2008 to $195m by 2012, and will be worth nearly $300m by 2016, according to a new report from IMS Research, now part of IHS.
High-efficiency motor sales head towards $100bn
The global market for high-efficiency motors will almost triple from $31.79bn in 2012 to $91.46bn by 2018, according to a new report from the analyst MarketsandMarkets. It predicts that revenues will expand at a CAGR of 19.67% between 2013 and 2018.
Smart manufacturing project could halve energy intensity in the US
A group of US organisations including Rockwell, Honeywell, Invensys and Emerson has won $7.8m of Government funding for a $10m project to develop an “open smart manufacturing technology platform for collaborative industrial networked information applications”.
China’s rare-earth stranglehold spurs rise in alternative motor technologies
China’s move to corner the market for rare-earth minerals (REMs) has prompted manufacturers of low-voltage industrial motors to adopt alternative technologies that reduce or eliminate the use of these materials, spurring new growth in the motors market, according to a forthcoming report from IMS Research, now part of IHS.
Legislation boosts the uptake of micro-drives in Europe
Evolving energy legislation, paralleled by the need to control energy costs and improve efficiency, is boosting the uptake of micro-drives in Europe, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan. The study, which covers AC, DC and servo drives rated up to 10kW, says that the European micro-drive market was worth $516.8m in 2012 and will reach $637.1m by 2016.
Motion control is the fastest-growing use of industrial Ethernet
Motion controls and drives are the fastest-growing application area for Ethernet in the industrial sector, according to a new study from IMS Research, now part of IHS, which forecasts that the use of Ethernet in motion applications will more than triple between 2011 and 2016.
Windows 8 won't hit IPCs for four years; XP still leads
Windows 8, the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, will have little impact on the industrial PC (IPC) market for at least three years, according to a new report on the global IPC market by IMS Research, now part of IHS.
Mature market for belts and chains faces 'a serious threat'
The European market for chain and belt drives is well established, and its technology mature. The limited innovation and product differentiation in the sector, coupled with rapid advances in alternative technologies such as variable-speed drives, pose “a serious threat” to its future, says a new report from the market analyst Frost & Sullivan.
Ethernet still lags a long way behind fieldbuses
Fieldbus–based communications systems accounted for 75% of new industrial automation network connections in 2011 – three times more than those using industrial Ethernet – according to a new study by IMS Research, now part of IHS. Even by 2016, fieldbuses will still account for 69% of new connections, but Ethernet is growing faster and will become the dominant networking technology within 10–15 years, IHS predicts.
Robots ‘will create 2m jobs in eight years’
Industrial robots will create more than two million jobs over the next eight years, according to a study conducted for the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The study, by the London consultancy Metra Martech, also concludes that robots already in use by 2011 directly created a total of 4–6m jobs – equivalent to an average of three to five jobs for every robot in service. If jobs created indirectly are added, the total number is 8–10m.
Siemens drives further into EV market by buying VePoint
Siemens has stepped up its involvement in electric vehicle technologies by buying Semikron International’s VePoint subsidiary, which develops power electronic components and systems for hybrid and electric vehicles. It has also signed a cooperation agreement with Semikron to intensify their collaboration on power electronics for electric vehicles.
DIN-rail industrial PCs lead the growth league
Sales of DIN-rail-mounting industrial PCs (IPCs) are growing faster than those of any other type of IPC, according to a new report from IMS Research, now part of IHS. It predicts that sales of these IPCs will expand at a CAGR of 12% between 2011 and 2016 – significantly faster than the IPC market average of 9%.
