Motors & Drives Information

The company recovers data lost during power surges, earthquakes, fires, floods and other disasters, including ordeals undergone by laptops that have been drowned, dropped, crushed and burned. The firm's recovery rate is around 95 percent.

DriveSavers has a reputation for recovering data that other companies have deemed hopelessly unrecoverable, including one company's accounting records that had been lost in a fire that welded the monitor to the hard disk's outer shell.

In addition to hardware problems such as drives with stiction, bad actuators, damaged motors, controllers or control tracks, DriveSavers deals with software problems such as corruption to directories caused by conflicting software, power surges or other electrical problems and customer errors.

Over its 11-year history, the company has developed proprietary procedures such as creation of customized software applications to combat specific recovery challenges. Company engineers also have worked directly with drive companies to create data recovery techniques for specific problems with specific drives.

In cases of mechanical problems that cannot be cured externally, work is performed in a special clean room to prevent dust particles from falling onto hardware components and gouging the data stored there. The data can then be recovered by reprogramming the media's structure. Because of this procedure, most manufacturers honor warranties on drives that have been recovered by DriveSavers.

DriveSavers customers include major companies like Adobe Systems, American Express, Arthur Andersen & Co., Ben and Jerry's, Eastman Kodak, MGM, Motorola and Xerox Corp. as well as celebrities like "The Simpsons" cartoon characters, Barbara Mandrell, Sting and Isaac Hayes.

DriveSavers can recover data from any size desktop or laptop workstation and all standard operating systems including Macintosh, DOS, Windows, WinNT, Novell and UNIX. The basic estimate for a 24- to 48-hour turnaround ranges from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, depending on the size of the media and the degree of difficulty. Customers who do not require immediate turnaround receive discounts of up to 40%.

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Joint conference in Cincinnati will examine day-to-day manufacturing activities

THE INSULATION AND COIL winding conference known as EIC/EMCW, being held at the Cincinnati Convention Center Oct. 2628, will concentrate on improving day-to-day industry processes.

Manufacturers, distributors, and engineers are among those who will look for answers to practical issues facing their industry at the EIC/ EMCW '99 Conference and Expo, whose theme this year is "Searching for Solutions."

The Electrical Insulation Conference and Electric Manufacturing & Coil Winding Expo, jointly held every other year, aim to provide answers to questions about coils that those in the electrical/electronics industry encounter daily.

EIC/EMCW '97 focused on tapping into the global marketplace and fending off competitors, and while that is still a challenge that the electrical/ electronics industry faces, according to conference chairman Bill Simpson, this year's event will focus on improving the development, manufacture, and marketing of products in the industry.

By improving the processes that companies use, according to Simpson, companies are in turn improving their ability to position themselves within the global marketplace.

The joint event, sponsored by EIC, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and the Electrical Manufacturing and Coil Winding Association, is able to offer a comprehensive view of products and technologies for the industry because-according to Simpson-the "joint show provides a larger audience to pull from" and therefore has "twice as much to offer."

Simpson went on to say that the conference has stayed relatively the same size over the years, having always had a good content base to work with, but that the exposition has grown over the years due to improved content, which is attracting more and more exhibitors.

The Cincinnati Convention Center, located in downtown Cincinnati, will house the Conference and Exposition. The center is integrated into the city's Skywalk system and provides convenient travel between the Center and headquarter hotels, parking, banks, shops, and other services.

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The advent of electronic drives, as well as emphasis on efficiency, has led to countless revisions, as well as to a more readable version

WHAT'S A "STANDARD" ELECTRIC MOTOR? For decades, the best answer has been "one that complies with NEMA MG1."--The National Electrical Manufacturers Association has been publishing its "Motor & Generator" MG1 standards-hundreds of individual provisions combined into a single document-- for generations. Now, the first complete rewrite since 1993, MGI-1998, a 538-page volume, is available.

Comparison with the 1993 edition, for which partial revisions had been issued several times since, reveals numerous major changes. The most sweeping revisions, however, are cosmetic, aimed (successfully) at making both text and illustrations more readable.

Look at the visual impact first. The golden yellow binder familiar to MG1 readers since the 1980s has been replaced by a white version of much more modem appearance. Inside, the text has gone from a two-column format to a single page-width column. All numbered paragraphs-each technically an individual standard-now carry boldface tides. Line drawings have been made much clearer. Tables have been expanded for easier readability of columns of figures.

The format of paragraph numbering has been simplified and made more consistent. Consequently, even though much of the content is unchanged, the numerical identity is changed. As an example of hundreds of such revisions, see Table I, on the facing page.

Because of these revisions, searchers of the technical literature are likely to find numerous incorrect published references to various MG1 standards. Anyone citing such standards by number for any purpose needs to have the latest edition.

If most of the text remains the same, how does one determine what exactly did change? Must the reader place the 1993 and 1998 publications side by side, to compare paragraph by paragraph, or even word for word?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. In January 1995, a NEMA spokesman acknowledged the problem in these words: "In trying to streamline NEMA Standards publications-that is, by removing approval dates-NEMA is forcing users to read and compare the standard and revision to identify changes. We lost sight of the importance of this feature to users." Future provisions would show, he said, "in a way not yet determined, what actually changed."

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Chorus Motors plc, a subsidiary of Borealis Exploration Limited (BOREF), announces that a patent, titled "Polyphase Induction Electrical Rotating Machine", No. 6,351,095, was issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on February 26th, 2002.

Further patent applications related to the Chorus(R) technology and polyphase motors are pending.

The Chorus(R) Motor uses new controllers and windings to substantially increase the efficiency of AC motors. For more information about Chorus(R) see the Chorus Motors plc web site at www.chorusmotors.gi. The new patent and other issued Chorus(R) patents are available on the web site.

Characteristics of the Chorus(R) Motor include very high start-up torque and greater efficiency, within standard operating temperature limits. Tests have shown marked improvements over conventional AC motors. Chorus(R) Motors are especially well-suited to traction applications, such as hoists, conveyors, electric and hybrid-electric vehicles.

The patent describes a new type of AC induction motor that can be operated at high saturation levels, substantially beyond those associated with conventional AC motors. The Chorus(R) motor also allows high flux densities, which greatly enhances the power output when operated under saturation. This in turn leads to the very high start-up torque characteristic of Chorus(R) drives.

Isaiah W. Cox, President of Chorus Motors plc, says "This patent extends our very broad coverage of the Chorus family of motor drive technologies. The benefits of very high start-up torque to industry are numerous - for example, traction motors may be sized closer to the optimum size for continuous running, while still retaining the necessary output torque for frequent starting and stopping under load."

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THE name Covisint is a blend of high-minded words - communication, vision and integration - but a much more basic concept, savings, is the driving force behind the new internet market for the motor industry approved this week by US regulators.

Covisint, an electronic marketplace for auto parts and supplies hatched by General Motors, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, Renault, Nissan and a dozen auto suppliers, is expected to quickly capture up to $3 billion (2.14 billion) in annual sales and wrench cost savings from the $240 billion a year that car plants in Detroit alone spend on materials, parts and supplies.

A recent study by the Automotive Consulting Group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, estimated that within five years the world motor industry could save $174 billion, or $3000 per car, once new e- business applications such as Covisint are in place at every level of the supply, manufacturing and sales chain.

But the bulk of Covisint's business will not be parts for new vehicles, which are subject to long-term contracts and are not interchangeable, but other essential items.

"The auto makers and major systems suppliers spend more than $100 billion a year on non-product parts, what they call MROs - maintenance, repairs and others," says Dennis Virag, president of the Automotive Consulting Group.

"We are talking about everything from cutting fluids to mops, paper and pencils. The cost savings will come on the MRO and basic materials supply side."

In the new market place, if General Motors needs 100,000 pencils quickly, it could put the bid online and see who responds, or shop among online pencil producers for the best deal.

A pencil maker knowing that GM and Lear and Dana, two big suppliers of parts, are all shopping for pencils at the same time could presumably make a better offer to all three individually.

The Federal Trade Commission took a relatively long time reviewing Covisint, the largest B2B online exchange to seek antitrust approval.

There were concerns that rather than cutting costs through improved efficiency it would give manufacturers the combined muscle to force suppliers to cut prices.

In the end, however, the FTC commissioners, though concerned about possible price squeezing, were swayed by the technology and use of firewalls to protect price information.

The four commissioners unanimously approved the online exchange on Monday.

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Know the various ways to electromagnetically bring a motor to a stop, to maintain control of stopping times and load movement

ANY MOTOR MUST START BEFORE IT CAN run-we all know that. Starting duty-accelerating some driven machine to operating speed-can have more influence on motor design than the running performance. In many applications, stopping the drive-bringing the load to a stop, and perhaps holding it there-can be equally important.

Although many braking methods exist, one of the most common is the friction brake. It has the advantage of providing both holding torque and decelerating torque. Of either disc or shoe construction, like automotive brakes, the friction motor brake is most often flange-mounted directly on the motor, which has an additional shaft extension to which braking torque is transmitted. The assembly is often sold as a single "brakemotor" unit. Although they operate on the same principles, some brake models are of "through-- shaft" design for installation elsewhere in the power train.

Such brakes are termed spring-set, electrically released. While the motor is energized and driving the load, the brake is held in the released or off position by an electromagnet or solenoid, to which power is supplied by the motor circuit or control equipment. Since bringing the motor to a stop requires that it be de-energized, the brake is automatically set by mechanical spring action whenever the motor power is interrupted.

With increasing motor (and brake) size, the forces involved become too great for such simple mechanisms. Shoe-type construction predominates, and the electromagnetic release may be augmented by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. But the principle remains unchanged; when the motor is de-energized, the brake is automatically set. For simplicity, we'll go into detail here concerning only the disc-type electromagnetic design, most often applied to motors in the range of 1 to 150 hp.

Questions to ask

Choosing the proper friction brake involves these questions: 1. What is to be stopped? 2. How often must it be stopped? 3. How quickly must it stop?

In addition, the electrical release circuit must suit the available voltage and control scheme, the brake enclosure must suit the environment, and the brake mounting must suit the motor frame or drive configuration.

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Legislation prohibiting the use of handheld mobile phones in cars is spurring car manufacturers to fast-track the implementation of Bluetooth into the dashboards of many 2003 models.

Several car manufacturers, such as Saab, Ford, Volvo and Daimler Chrysler, have announced plans to integrate Bluetooth into the dashboard. A study by research firm Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) predicts that while just 1 percent of new vehicles will include embedded Bluetooth nodes in 2003, that number will swell to 19 percent by 2007. As a short-range radio frequency technology that carries both voice and data, Bluetooth provides a safe, hands-free and cordless option for making mobile calls whilst driving.

"The car industry has a lengthy development cycle with even the smallest design modifications taking years to appear on the showroom floor," said Nick Hunn, managing director of TDK Systems. "In the case of Bluetooth, however, all of the big players are moving mountains to make it happen by next year. It will go into the top-of-range models first but cascade into mid-range models by the year's end."

Nick Hunn explained the car industry's interest in Bluetooth by citing General Motors' research, which found that 70 per cent of all mobile calls in the US are made by people traveling in cars.(1)

"The car manufacturers want a universal solution that will enable them to match all of the cable permutations for the various entertainment systems, communications devices and `toys' that people want in their cars," said Hunn. "They want a Bluetooth profile that supports voice and data and is interoperable with the many different Bluetooth-enabled handsets that are available today."

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Superior Technical Capabilities, Extensibility, CA Support

Considered Key Factors In Selection Of Unicenter TNG Over

IBM/Tivoli And HP OpenView

Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) today announced a comprehensive agreement with Isuzu Motors America, Inc. to implement CA's Unicenter TNG as the IT management solution for Isuzu America's diverse corporate technology environment.

The enterprise-wide deployment will initially involve the automation of network management functions, and the implementation of advanced job scheduling, help desk, and single sign-on capabilities across Isuzu's IT infrastructure--a diverse client/server enterprise encompassing IBM AS/400, UNIX and Windows NT servers, and more than 1,100 PCs and workstations.

Isuzu America's decision to standardize on Unicenter TNG follows an extensive analysis of the company's business and technology requirements, as well as a rigorous examination of IT management products from IBM/Tivoli and Hewlett-Packard.

"What really tipped the scales in its favor was CA's willingness to dive in and help our IT department understand the issues and challenges of enterprise management," said Gary Gray, chief information officer of Isuzu America. "CA made a concerted effort to understand how our company operates. We felt we were gaining a long-time strategic partner.

"We considered Tivoli's offerings, but they did not have all the components we were looking for," said Gray. "We also ran HP OpenView, but it did not compare with the scope of Unicenter TNG. CA's solution addressed all our needs."

In 1994, Isuzu transitioned from being a U.S. distributor of Isuzu vehicles to a fully autonomous business subsidiary of Isuzu Ltd. of Japan. This substantial change to the company's overall business model created radical business and resource management challenges, and served as Isuzu's motivation to move toward enterprise-wide IT management.

The new business entity took on the task of manufacturing the majority of Isuzu products in the U.S., as well as some new engineering responsibilities. In addition, it formed relationships with other automotive companies, such as Honda Motor Co. and General Motors, to collaborate on complex product building exchanges.

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Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co., Lexington, Ken., has developed a new 300-ton (272 metric ton) hydraulic lattice boom truck crane. The HC-278H all-hydraulic lattice boom truck crane can be used to place loads at a 340 ft. (103.7 m) radius or 404 ft. (123.2 m) in the air. Non-assisted stripdown is fast and the lighter weight modular components make the machine easy to transport according to the company.

The HC-278H cranes join the 200-ton (181.5 mt) HC-248H and the 150-ton (136 mt) HC-238H in the Hylab (Hydraulic Lattice Boom) series of lattice boom truck cranes. Since 1987 over 300 Hylab lattice boom cranes have been delivered in North America.

Among the key design targets of the Hylab cranes are roadability and quick, easy assembly and re-assembly, which allows the machines to more efficiently move from jobsite to jobsite. The weight-efficient design of the new HC-278H crane, with its Mannesmann Rexroth hydraulic system, allows the entire machine to be easily transported with a minimum of five trailers and only one load requiring any special permit. The new upper module weighs less than 80,000 lb. (36,288 kg) with live mast and base section in place for transportation. The six-axle carrier, with its innovative triple-box frame design, hits the scales at under 92,000 lb. (41,731 kg) with outrigger boxes and 71,000 lb. (32,205 kg) with the outrigger boxes removed. Total upper counterweight is 98,200 lb. (44,543 kg).

Hylab series truck cranes are designed to be self-erecting and self-stripping. The standard live mast or 10 ft. (3.05 m) self-assembly boom extension can be used. A specially equipped 10 ft. (3.05 m) boom extension is available with necessary sheaves for handling counterweight and boom during self-stripdown or erection without using a standard tip. This extension can also be used in the normal boom makeup, with no need to repeatedly remove or insert the extension once installed.

A self-undecking device is standard on the HC-278H crane. Four hydraulic jacks, controlled by a Rexroth 5SM12 control valve, are mounted on the upperstructure to allow it to be removed from or remounted on the carrier. This eliminates the need for a helper crane during any phase of undecking, Link-Belt said.

Link-Belt's patented, 30-second counterweight removal system, coupled with hydraulic boomfoot pins, enable the Hylab truck cranes to be put to work quickly. The HC-278H crane can self-erect in as little as two hours, according to the company.

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Sessions Will Address Benefits and Real-World Implementations

of Interactive Multi-Channel Marketing Strategies

CentrPort Inc., a leading provider of outsourced e-business marketing solutions to Fortune 500 companies, announced today that company executives will speak at the DM Days New York event sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association. The presentations delivered by CentrPort executives and one of CentrPort's customers, General Motors, will highlight trends in online marketing, including the latest developments in integrated multi-channel marketing analytics and messaging, as well as approaches taken to more intelligently leverage and optimize online marketing strategies and infrastructure. The DM Days New York event will be held June 2-4, 2003 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

On Monday, June 2, 2003 at 10:20 a.m., Art Melville, senior vice president of application strategy for CentrPort, will co-present a customer case study session with Gary Beck, director of CRM Strategy for General Motors. The session entitled, "GM Drives Interactive Marketing Results: A Case Study," will focus on how large organizations like General Motors can drive greater return-on-investment (ROI) from existing online marketing systems while better acquiring, retaining and growing customers. Melville and Beck will demonstrate how organizations can better integrate, measure and optimize multi-channel marketing strategies across all divisions and brands.

On Wednesday, June 4, 2003 at 11:25 a.m., CentrPort's vice president of consulting services, Bill Badeau, will participate in an executive roundtable entitled, "Multi-Channel Marketing in the Digital Future...Marketing Strategies For 2003," along with several other industry visionaries from America Online and Gevalia-Kraft Foods. The discussion will focus on how marketers can successfully communicate dynamic messaging that is accountable and relevant, and outline how leading marketers can effectively invest their media dollars to achieve constant performance from their marketing efforts.

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