Motors & Drives Information

International Rectifier, IR(r) (NYSE: IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today introduced the IR3101, a high performance, integrated half-bridge inverter for appliance motor drive applications. The IR3101 simplifies half-bridge inverter designs for one-, two- or three-phase motor drives for refrigerator compressors, fans and pumps up to 400W (up to 250W with no heat-sink cooling).

The IR3101 is a complete driver IC with proprietary HVIC and latch immune CMOS technologies. The output features two built-in HEXFET(r) power MOSFETs with ultra-fast recovery body diode characteristics (FredFET) that deliver low di/dt gate drive for better noise immunity and low losses.

Mor Hezi, International Rectifier Marketing Manager for the Consumer and Industrial Business Unit, said, "Because the IR3101 is so small, component layout can be optimized for smaller PCB space, reducing unwanted EMI emissions. In addition, designers using the new device can save design time and reduce component count."

Propagation delays for the high- and low-side power FredFET devices are matched for better synchronized switching characteristics and lower output distortion. The device can operate up to the maximum input voltage rating of 500V up to 150 degrees Celsius. The fully-isolated MiniSIP package includes ESD protection on all leads and has isolation ratings to 1500Vrms/min.

A data sheet is posted on the International Rectifier Web site: http://www.irf.com/product-info/datasheets/data/ir3101.pdf

Availability and Pricing

The new IR3101 is available immediately. Pricing begins at US $2.50 each in 10,000-unit quantities.

About International Rectifier

International Rectifier (NYSE:IRF) is a world leader in power management technology. IR's analog and mixed signal ICs, advanced circuit devices, integrated power systems and components enable high performance computing and reduce energy waste from motors, the world's single largest consumer of electricity. Leading manufacturers of computers, energy efficient appliances, lighting, automobiles, satellites, aircraft and defense systems rely on IR's power management benchmarks to power their next generation products.

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced the Ultrastar 10K300, the world's first 300GB enterprise hard disk drive. Hitachi's newest 10,000 rpm hard drive satisfies the requirements of mission-critical storage applications such as online transaction processing, data analysis and media streaming. The new 3.5-inch drives have already begun shipping and are in the process of being qualified at major OEMs worldwide. Hitachi expects volume shipments of the Ultrastar 10K300 to begin in the second quarter of this year.

The Hitachi Ultrastar 10K300 is built on a proven drive design with demonstrated enterprise class reliability and product quality. The new drive continues this tradition with enhanced head and disk manufacturing processes designed to extend reliability and performance. The drives will use Fluid Dynamic Bearing motors to provide a low acoustic rating and improved data integrity.

Hitachi's time-to-market leadership and global technical support accelerates customers' qualification process, enabling products to be delivered to customers in a shorter amount of time. The capacity and performance characteristics of the Ultrastar 10K300 provide system builders the ability to deliver more powerful storage systems to their customers. The new drives will be available in Ultra 320 SCSI and 2Gb/s Fibre Channel (FCAL) interfaces.

"Being first to market with a 300GB server drive is a significant milestone," said Fumio Kugiya, general manager, Server Business Unit, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. "Hitachi's technology expertise and product breadth are among the many reasons that customers are increasingly looking to Hitachi to meet their disk storage requirements. This is a significant achievement for Hitachi and is expected to solidify our position as one of the industry's top enterprise hard drive manufacturers."

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

Ultrastar 10K300

300, 146, 73, 36 GB (GB = 1 billion bytes, accessible capacity may

be less)

1" in height

10,025 rpm

61 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density

5/3/2/1 glass disk platter(s)

10/5/3/2 GMR recording head(s)

250 G@2ms non-operating shock

15 G@11ms operating shock

2.99 average latency

4.7/4.5/4.3 ms average seek time (read)

1078 Mbit/s maximum internal transfer rate

89 MB/s maximum sustained data transfer rate

Ultra 320 SCSI and 2Gb/s FCAL

.75 Kg max. weight

3.4 Bels typical idle acoustics

About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies was founded in 2003 as a result of the strategic combination of Hitachi's and IBM's storage technology businesses. The company's goal is to enable users to fully engage in the digital lifestyle by providing access to large amounts of storage capacity in formats suitable for the office, on the road and in the home.

The company offers customers worldwide a comprehensive range of storage products for desktop computers, high-performance servers and mobile devices.

tarBurst Software has announced that it has teamed up with Europe Online to deliver fast, reliable access to the latest software applications, digital music files, computer games and video clips over the Internet. StarBurst's OmniCast content delivery software will be used by Europe Online for the delivery of digital downloadable products over its new high speed "Internet in the Sky" service.

Providing high speed Internet access across the Astra Satellite System, "Internet in the Sky" is a new service from Europe Online that is available across Europe to all users with Astra dishes.

StarBurst's OmniCast software provides Europe Online with a highly reliable software-based content distribution solution for its IP satellite network. OmniCast was selected because it handles video and audio as efficiently as data, and has built in content distribution technologies that can be easily scaled to accommodate high numbers of users.

"Users of 'Internet in the Sky' can now receive software upgrades, the latest games, and video clips at some of the highest access speeds available on the Internet today," said Stephen Gurney, StarBurst Software's manager EMEA. "There is huge demand for good quality content over the Internet. For example, more than 10 million people have downloaded the latest Star Wars trailer. This new service makes it easy for users to access compelling content reliably and quickly."

Through the incorporation of unique IP MultiCast and Packet Relay technologies StarBurst's OmniCast software solves the scalability demands of the Internet, enabling the effective distribution of content to large numbers of users. With the ability to package and distribute video, audio and data information with the same degree of efficiency, OmniCast guarantees delivery and, should problems occur during transmission, informs the sender so that automotive corrective action (such as retransmission) can be taken. OmniCast works over any network infrastructure, including satellite and terrestrial WAN or LAN links, without the need for any modifications to the network.

About StarBurst Software

StarBurst Software is the leader in developing content distribution solutions that provide one-to-many, simultaneous and guaranteed transmission of content such as video, audio, software and large data files to hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of remote sites, servers, and desktops without requiring any changes to the existing network. StarBurst customers include automotive companies such as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler; retail companies like Toys 'R Us, TJ MAXX, The Gap, Wal-Mart, and Rite Aid; hospitality companies including Choice Hotels and Promus Hotels; financial companies such as Ohio Companies and Thomson Securities Information Services; communications companies such as WebTV; and many other industry leaders from a wide array of markets worldwide.

Online advertising is expected to grow to $11.5 billion in 2003, surpassing dollars spent in some traditional media, but will look less like traditional advertising and have far-reaching effects on the off-line world (including erosion and increased expectations), according to new research released today by Jupiter Communications. The Jupiter research, presented to attendees of the Jupiter Online Advertising Forum, shows that ad spending will increase 40 percent over the next four years, with financial services, automotive, and media ventures, not packaged goods, leading the spending.

Driven by the growing online population, the rise in time spent online, increasing digital commerce adoption, and an increase in inventory sold, online advertising revenues have already surpassed those for outdoor advertising and will exceed spending for cable advertising and equal roughly three-quarters of today's radio spending by 2003. However, heavy consideration products and services, such as financial services, and automotive will continue to dominate off-line advertising. The media, financial services, and automotive sectors will account for nearly half ($4.2 billion) of all online ad spending in 2003. Compared with their 18 percent share off-line, consumer packaged goods companies, will represent a much smaller slice (7 percent) of the online advertising world even into 2003.

The industry should consider this growth a wake-up call, according to Jupiter's analysts. "Online advertising will serve as a catalyst for change in the traditional ad business. Media integration and the inevitable erosion of traditional markets will be more important than the effects of online ad dollar growth," explains Patrick Keane, senior analyst and director of Jupiter's Online Advertising Strategies. "This is less about the online medium evolving to fit advertisers needs than it is about advertisers evolving to fit the needs of the medium, and ultimately, consumers."

The classifieds market is expected to be one victim. For the online classifieds market, price erosion posses a serious threat. Online classifieds is expected to grow from one percent of the overall classifieds market in 1998 to 6.4 percent by 2003, but revenues will only reach $1.4 billion. The proliferation of free and deeply discounted models will prevent the revenues from growing with usage. With this in mind, Jupiter estimates that off-line classifieds providers such as newspapers stand to loose $3.2 billion, or 13 percent, of what the market would be without the impact of online classifieds. While this impact will directly affect the classifieds market, it will ripple other off-line targets as advertisers begin to demand increased efficiency, accountability, and higher interactivity for their money.

Keane also cautions that advertisers must stop thinking of online ad media as separate from off-line efforts. In a recent Jupiter survey of leading online advertisers, only 30 percent currently use cross-media audience measurement or reporting, and 57 percent said that they never or infrequently compare online and off-line media performance.

Now in its fourth year, the Jupiter Online Advertising Forum is one of the flagship events for the online advertising industry. This year's event, August 17 to 19, at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York City, will attract more than 1,500 delegates, up from 850 last year, from both the traditional and online advertising communities and covers some of the leading issues facing online marketers today.

Session topics include "Online In The Media Mix: Is Integrated Marketing A Reality?"; "Trends In The Consumer Internet Economy"; "Fear And Doubt: The Web And Brand Advertisers"; "The Reengineered Agency"; "The Fight For Ad Dollars: Media Companies And The New Competition"; and "A Global Perspective: Interactive Advertising."

Something unexpected is happening on the road to lean manufacturing.

The United Auto Workers union, with a little help from Ford Motor Co., has found a clue. Just-in-time inventory, the logistical bedrock of lean production, is becoming one of the UAW's most effective tools since the Wagner Act, the federal law that established the ground rules for collective bargaining.

Exemplified by February's 24-day stand-off with Johnson Controls Inc., where Ford Expedition seats became pawns in the dispute, the UAW is beginning to reverse a 20-year slide in membership among independent suppliers.

With nine words: "We will not accept seats produced by replacement workers," Ford took the most potent management weapon out of JCI's hand, sending tremors throughout the supplier community in the process.

"It's caused all of us to step back and ask ourselves what the OEMs mean by partnership," says Robert D. Albert, chief operating officer of Becker Group Inc., a Warren, MI-based interiors supplies with both union and non-union plants. "We must have a clearer understanding of that definition before we make long-term commitments. There's no question it has heightened the suspicions between some OEMs and some Tier 1 suppliers."

Another supplier executive puts it more bluntly. "I won't buy another Ford product as long as I live," he grumbles. "It's totally outrageous that a customer dictate the way I run my business."

For most of the last decade, the UAW was beginning to look like roadkill on the highways taking the U.S. industry's center of gravity further south. Not only did Japanese and German automakers opt for the nearly union-free climate below the Mason-Dixon line, suppliers followed by the score.

As those same suppliers produced larger chunks of new cars and trucks, the prospect of further erosion of UAW membership seemed certain. Until now.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, UAW President Stephen Yokich says he will increase the number of full-time organizers, which has dwindled to fewer than 50 from nearly 200 in 1978. The union has added about 3,000 new members from independent suppliers in the last year, but that's a fraction of the 70,000 partsmaking jobs lost between 1978 and 1990 (see chart).

"We want to help suppliers where we have already organized by bringing up the wages and benefits of their competitors," Mr. Yokich says, pointing to the disparity between what Lear Corp. pays workers in its Detroit area plants ($13.50 to $15 an hour) and what Johnson Controls paid before the strike ($9 to $10.50 an hour).

The UAW wants to prove that it can help make former General Motors Corp. parts plants competitive without major wage and benefit concessions. In its first contract since buying five plants from GM's Delphi Automotive Systems, American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. agreed to a three-year pact with the UAW that retains most of the wage and benefit levels of GM's own national contract for 7,200 workers. While AA&M can start new hires at 70% of the existing UAW scale, those with three years or more of seniority earn between $18.44 and $22.14 an hour, depending on classification.

Similar agreements were reached with Rolls Royce plc, which bought GM's former Allison Turbine aircraft engine plant in Indianapolis, and Penske-owned Automotive Component Carrier Inc.

Despite these modest victories the jury is still out on whether the UAW can sustain its newfound momentum. We may find out very soon.

Most suppliers regard Chrysler Corp. as the most cooperative OEM among the Big Three, but the UAW is pondering its next move at a JCI seat plant in Taylor, MI, that supplies Chrysler's Jeep assembly plants in Detroit and Toledo. More than 50% of the workers have signed cards expressing interest in joining the UAW, but the union has not asked for a certification election. Will Chrysler allow JCI to use replacement workers in the event of a strike?

"It's pure speculation," says Chrysler spokesman Bryan Zvibleman. "We prefer not to meddle in our suppliers' labor relations."

The turning point in this paradigm shift can be traced to a simple letter crafted in the midst of last fall's contract talks in which Ford said it values its harmonious relationship with the UAW and recommends it to suppliers. We're talking about the moral equivalent of "I love my wife and I don't abuse my children."

Until the JCI strike, however, it meant absolutely nothing to the average battle-scarred supplier.

These are folks who have seen former GM purchasing czar Inaki Lopez tear up their contracts in 1992, fax their patent drawings to every competitor on the planet, then defect to Volkswagen with all the price and future product information his henchmen could download. This is no business for sissies.

Don't bore them with sermons about labor-management cooperation. They live in the New Global Reality. If you can't make a profit in Toledo, pack up the tooling and truck it to Toluca. "Those folks in Solidarity House just don't get it," is a common lament among suppliers.

How effective is this government endeavor, now in its fifth year?

ANYONE INVOLVED AT ALL in industrial energy management has probably heard by now of a new government endeavor called the "Motor Challenge." Just what is this program? Who's being challenged, and to do what? Who's paying for it?

A short answer is that the challenge is to improve the efficiency of motordriven processes throughout all U.S. industry. Some government seed money is being spent. But industry itself is expected to do the job.

Here's how it came about. The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE), primarily through its Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) is charged with promoting efficient industrial use of the nation's energy supplies. Conservation is being encouraged. New, more efficient technologies are being sought. This is an outgrowth of the "National Energy Strategy," issued by the Office of the President in February 1991, subtitled "How we expect to produce and use energy in the future."

Since then, President Clinton has issued his Climate Change Action Plan, aimed at mitigating the threatening "greenhouse effect" by reducing emissions of fuel-burning combustion products. Both energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction are dealt with by provisions of the 1992 Energy Policy Act (EPACT).

To promote compliance with, and even going beyond, that legislation, the DoE (through the OIT and the Department's Office of Energy Demand Policy) launched its "EMS" or "Efficient Motor Systems" program early in 1993.

At a kickoff conference in Baltimore in February of that year, 350 representatives of government, electric motor and drive manufacturing and service firms, consultants, electric utilities, and other concerned parties met to discuss the application, economics, and marketplace encouragement of more efficient industrial electric motor drives. An outgrowth of that effort was the Motor Challenge initiative, officially begun in October 1993.

The "challenge" is to develop, manufacture, and put into use the most efficient electric motor-driven industrial systems that can be economically justified. Legislation to force such usage is, of course, one means to that end, if the public is willing to accept it. Such willingness has expressed itself to some extent in EPACT. But that law is only a basis or starting point for large-scale conservation of energy in motor drives. Here's why:

The largest motors (above 250 hp) that individually use the most energy, as well as the smallest motors (below one hp) that far outnumber all others, are exempt from the law.

Even before EPACT, most manufacturers offered products with efficiencies well above the legal minimum. Still more have become available since.

In making repair-or-replace decisions, many users seem skeptical about the reliability of the newer, more efficient designs, and of their performance aside from efficiency.

Uncertainties remain concerning accuracy of quoted efficiency values and how product conformance with EPACT will be verified.

Adjustable speed drives (ASDs) often save far more than a more efficient motor. But EPACT does not prescribe or govern ASD application.

In 1993, therefore, the DoE began working out a program to encourage equipment specifiers and operators to look for energy savings outside the EPACT limits. Unlike many public utilities at that time, the DoE could not offer direct financial incentives to encourage such planning. Therefore, the Motor Challenge evolved into these primary activities:

Education. Through widely distributed publications (such as the periodic newsletter Turning Point and trade magazine articles), regional and national user/manufacturer workshops, conferences, and telecasts, the EMS message has been brought to large numbers of engineers, designers, plant operators, facility managers, and others involved in choosing and using not only motors and drives but fans, pumps, and other process machinery.

In 1995, the DoE published its 261page Motor Challenge Sourcebook. The most extensive available reference to "current activities and resources in the industrial motor systems markets," this volume contains listings of drive system manufacturers and trade associations; sources of reference books, software, educational resources, and other publications-what they are, what they contain, and how to get them; electric utility incentive programs nationwide; and what each of the states is doing to promote energy conservation, with the contact person to reach.

Other publications include the 55page Energy Efficient Motor Selection Handbook and an ASD application guidebook.

Data availability. Through direct financial incentives and promotion to potential users, as well as indirect support, the DoE has helped place the 12,000-item "MotorMaster" database in the hands of decision-makers to aid them in evaluating efficient motor availability and economics from one through 600 horsepower.

Test facilities. The first step was designation of 22 Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Centers on university campuses from Oregon to Florida. (This has not been a strong point of the program. Few academic professionals are familiar with the apparatus, the standards, or the application requirements of industrial electric motors.)

Chorus Motors plc. -- Uses of traction motors can get five times as much power on start-up for the same sized frame by switching to the latest Chorus® Meshcon(TM) motor and drive system. In recent laboratory tests, a 20 horsepower Chorus Meshcon system achieved low-speed start-up torques in excess of five times those achieved in a conventional three-phase motor of the same size, using the same current.

One result is that Chorus Meshcon can provide a starter and generator system in the same motor. In a car, the starter, which gives high torque at low speed, cannot generate power at high speeds. The generator, or "alternator," provides electric power at high speeds but does not have enough torque to start the engine.

This basic limitation exists both for permanent magnet DC brushless motors, and inverter-fed AC induction machines.

Chorus Meshcon breaks this mould. Its new winding and drive connections allow the motor to act as both a low-speed, high-torque machine (suitable for starting an engine), and as a high-speed, low-torque machine (suitable for generating power from an engine). The change happens in a fraction of a second, allowing a motor to seamlessly switch from starting mode to generating mode.

The specific results from the latest 20hp Chorus Meshcon drive show that a motor and drive designed for high-speed, low-torque generation-type operation is able, without any additional loading on the power electronics, to deliver five times the torque at low speeds.

Chorus Meshcon is thus ideal for starter-generators, conveyors, locomotives, cargo handling equipment, hoists, printing presses, or any application requiring large start-up torques and smaller high-speed loads. Newly updated details can be found on the Chorus Motors plc web site at www.chorusmotors.gi including recent test results.

Integrated power assemblies for Chorus Meshcon continue to be designed and built by Semikron Limited on an exclusive basis. Chorus Motors plc is currently working with several motor suppliers to meet customer requirements for specific applications.

"With these superb results from testing, we are now designing motors and drives for specific applications that are clearly superior to any other motor and drive technology," said Isaiah Cox, President of Chorus Motors plc. "We are already tendering for contracts which, if we are successful, will put our business on a firm footing for many years to come."

Technical Notes:

The Chorus Star concept uses concentrated, high-phase order windings which allows the beneficial use of harmonics (temporal, spatial, and overload). Consequently, a Chorus machine can achieve much higher torque densities than a traditional three-phase motor, but with no cost penalty.

Conventional motor drives cannot output maximum current and voltage to a three-phase motor when it is operating at low speed, for example, when starting. The proprietary Chorus Meshcon system uses harmonic drive to simulate high-speed conditions, so that the motor then draws a higher current into the winding slots.

The result is that a very much smaller drive can be used for the same load, without hampering high-speed operation. The same motor could, for example, be used to start a car engine, and then efficiently produce electrical output as a generator once it is running.

About Chorus Motors

Chorus Motors plc (OTC: CHOMF) is a majority-owned subsidiary of Borealis Exploration Limited (OTC: BOREF). Chorus has developed the proprietary Chorus® Star and Chorus Meshcon(TM) electric motor technologies, which offer substantial cost and performance improvements over comparable motor and drive systems. The Chorus systems produces high torque at start-up speeds and are ideal for traction applications such as automobiles, trucks, locomotives, and ships. Its advantages enable several potentially innovative applications in aerospace.

Zzyzx Peripherals Inc., a leading manufacturer of platform independent, high-availability RAID storage systems and the country's leading reseller of Sun(TM) compatible Tatung(TM) desktop and rack mount UNIX(TM) workstations, today announced the availability of new leading edge tape back-up solutions featuring Sony's AIT-2 tape drive technology and Qualstar's 412360 and 412180 AIT Tape Libraries -- offering unparalleled performance, capacity and value for unattended tape back-up solutions.

AIT-2 tape drives offer higher capacity (50GB native capacity/130GB compressed) and speed (6MB/sec native/15 MB/sec compressed) than any other tape drive on the market. These units are available as internal units, external subsystems and installed into Zzyzx' AIT Tape Libraries.

The two new members of Qualstar's highly successful TLS-4000 family of tape libraries, the 412360 and 412180, house up to 12 tape drives and 360 data cartridges. Integrated with the AIT-2 tape drives, these systems offer up to 46TB of total capacity and throughput exceeding 670 GB/hr. The powerful combination of the AIT-2 tape drives with Qualstar's tape libraries, are integrated with back-up software from Zzyzx' industry partners Computer Associates, Legato and Veritas. This allows Zzyzx to offer true enterprise class, custom tape back-up solutions to its customers and extends Zzyzx' already comprehensive line of total hardware/software tape solutions for UNIX and NT environments.

"This new combination of AIT-2 tape drives and Qualstar's 412180 and 412360 Tape Libraries allows Zzyzx to offer our customers bigger, faster, stronger tape back-up solutions that feature five times the capacity (up to 46 TB), and twice the throughput (670GB/hr) than our previous best tape library," said Gino Fontana, product manager at Zzyzx.

The Total Solution

To provide total solutions, Zzyzx offers full consultation and analysis of customer needs to determine the proper mix of products customized to their individual requirements. Appropriate software packages are then folded in that will run best with the user's computing applications, along with complete installation and training. Zzyzx' back-up software partners include Computer Associates, Legato and Veritas.

In addition to these software packages, more than 20 other leading back-up and storage management application developers are supported by Zzyzx' tape libraries.

"It becomes much more than simply reselling a tape library because we help customers decide what's best for them, implement it for them and then after the sale support them on it down the road when it comes time to fine tuning it," said Mary June Makoul, vice president of marketing at Zzyzx.

W ANT TO FILL UP your car for $1.54 a gallon?If you have a car that runs on natural gas, you can do just that, even though gasoline prices in California have topped $2 a gallon since the start of March.

Natural gas is actually a mixture of gases that occur in underground rock formations, the primary component of which is methane. It is used to heat homes, fuel kitchen stoves and run power plants.

It is considered a clean-burning fuel, and for the most part, it doesn't have to be imported from overseas: Most of California's supply comes from the United States and Canada.

Still, natural gas is not very popular as a fuel for automobiles. Cities, school districts, and some private companies use natural gas to fuel their vehicle fleets. Trying to combat air pollution, Oakland International Airport requires that owners of taxicab and shuttle bus companies use an alternative fuel such as natural gas on a portion of their vehicles.

According to the California Energy Commission, there were 745 vehicles on the road in the Bay Area last year that use compressed natural gas. That compares with about 800 electric vehicles and 2,500 hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles. PG&E says

there are only about 50 private users of natural gas vehicles in the East Bay.

But owners of natural gas cars such as Paul Pinney, a deputy district attorney for Alameda County, can't say enough good things about them. The most important benefit, he said, is that natural gas vehicles are always allowed to travel in carpool lanes on Bay Area freeways.

"I love it. It's really been a godsend," said Pinney, who bought a used natural gas-fueled Honda Civic in December. "I can ride in the commuter lane with only one person in the car, which is an immense time savings."

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which sells natural gas for vehicles in addition to homes and businesses, is trying to promote natural gas as a transportation fuel. While natural gas isn't necessarily as sexy as hydrogen, touted by the Bush Administration and others as the fuel of the future, it's readily available today.

"It's incredibly clean," said PG&E spokesman Jason Alderman, who drives a company-issued natural gas car. "It's from a domestic fuel supply. It's relatively inexpensive."

Some enthusiasts say that companies haven't done enough to promote natural gas cars, though they are made by Ford, Honda and General Motors.

"People just don't know about them," Alderman said.

Drivers say there are positives and negatives to natural gas cars. They cars cost anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000 more than equivalent gasoline cars, but the state offers a $3,000 rebate and the federal government gives a $2,000 tax deduction that can help cover the difference.

They also have limited trunk space. About half of a conventional car's trunk space is used up by the natural gas tank. And they aren't exactly roadsters when it comes to acceleration.

Also, there are fewer than 200 natural gas stations in California, compared with the thousands of gasoline stations. So drivers of natural gas cars need to keep a handbook of those stations handy.

"If you want to go farther than you normally do, you have to plan it out," said Will Mitchell of Moraga, who also drives a natural gas Civic.

The 2002 model of the natural gas Civic can go about 200 miles before it needs to be refueled and can hold the equivalent of 7.2 to 8 gallons of fuel, according to Honda.

Stephen Ellis, manager of alternative fuel vehicles for American Honda Motor Co., said Honda is planning to package a $2,000 home refueling station with the natural gas Civic next fall. That will allow people to hook up their cars to their home natural gas lines and refuel overnight.

Unlike commercial natural gas stations, which take only minutes to fill up, home refueling will take several hours because residential natural gas lines operate at a lower pressure.

Ellis said that another alternative fuel vehicle, the battery- electric car, was a failure in the marketplace, but the introduction of those cars in the 1990s did teach Honda a valuable lesson.

Howard Price Turf Equipment, the Chesterfield, Mo., manufacturer of commercial turf care equipment, has introduced a new mower targeted to commercial lawn care professionals in landscaping and municipal applications. The new Hydro Power 1280 mower is powered by a choice of two Yanmar diesel engines and features an optional hydrostatic four-wheel drive system.

The standard engine is the four-cylinder, naturally aspirated Yanmar 4TNE88 diesel engine rated 52 hp at a mechanically governed speed of 3100 rpm, with 101 lb.ft. of torque at 1600 rpm. The 133.5 cu.in. engine features direct injection, 18.0:1 compression ratio, forced lubrication system via an integral trochoid pump, a Nelson muffler, and a Donaldson RadialSeal air filter with dual element filter and dust unloading valve.

The optional engine is a four-cylinder, water-cooled, Yanmar 4TNE84T turbocharged diesel engine rated 61 hp at a maximum governed speed of 3100 rpm, with 101 lb.ft. of torque at 1600 rpm. This engine uses a Yanmar supplied muffler.

Engine accessories for these engines include a 400 W electric intake air preheater designed to aid in cold starting; mechanical fuel feed pump with replaceable 120 micron fuel filter/water separator; 12 V, 40 amp alternator; and Radiator Specialties 7 fins per in. radiator and oil cooler assembly.

The engine drives a 2.48 cu.in./rev hydrostatic pump through a Guardian Industries hydraulic pump drive system. The pump's maximum system flow is 32 gpm. A mechanical linkage, connected to an operator-actuated traction foot pedal, controls the variable forward/reverse ground speed through a servo control valve. This design is intended to give the operator smooth and easy control of the transmission pump.

The hydrostatic transmission powers Eaton series 2000 wheel motors, each with a displacement of 14.9 cu.in./rev, which drive the front wheels. The optional four-wheel drive system includes two Eaton series 2000 hydraulic motors, each with a displacement of 6.2 cu.in./rev, on the rear wheels. The rear-mounted turning axle assembly and four-wheel drive system are packaged by Fluidrive, Inc.

The optional four-wheel drive system, which is activated by a dash-mounted switch, has a pressure equalized flow distribution to the rear wheel motors through Fluidrive's Equa-Trac valve system. This design allows a tight turning radius, without scarring turf while in the four-wheel drive mode, while providing better vehicle traction, according to the company. Ground speed for the 1280 mower is zero to 16 mph in forward and zero to 5 mph in reverse in two-wheel drive.

Piggybacked to the hydrostatic transmission is an Ultra Hydraulics tandem gear pump providing power for the open center hydraulic system that drives the cutting blades. This pump has a displacement of 1.19 cu.in./rev and a maximum flow of 15 gpm at each section. One section of the pump powers the front mower deck while the other section of the pump provides power in a series circuit for the two wing decks. The system is limited to 3000 psi.

An electrohydraulic manifold block with solenoid switch from Sterling Hydraulics controls on/off, braking and pressure relief functions. The blades are driven by Ultra Hydraulics gear motors with 1.16 cu.in./rev displacements.

The mowing deck raise and lower functions, as well as the power steering system are powered by a third Ultra Hydraulics gear pump. The mower deck hydraulic lift system has a relief pressure of 2000 psi. The cylinder for the front deck has a 2 in. bore x 4 in. stroke, and each wing deck is raised by a single 2 in. bore x 10 5/16 in. stroke cylinder.

Mower deck raise and lower functions are controlled by three separate three-position valves. The lift valve function includes an automatic float position. Each deck lift system also incorporates a limit switch to automatically cut hydraulic power to the blades if the deck is raised vertically more than 20[degrees] above the horizontal plane. The wing decks can also be used to aid in wheel traction or weight balance for different mowing conditions by raising or lowering the deck off the ground.

The steering system is a full hydraulic power system with a supply pressure relief setting of 1000 psi. An Eaton Char-Lynn series 2, nonload reaction-type steering valve controls a 1.75 in bore x 7 in. stroke steering cylinder.

The hydraulic system uses a 15 gal. reservoir with an in-tank filter screen on the suction line. A 10 micron, full-flow spin-on Donaldson filter is located on the pressure side of the Eaton hydrostatic transmission charge pump, while a Zinga spin-on full-flow 10 micron filter is used in the return circuit before the fluid returns to the sump.

The parking and service braking is provided by two individual 9 in. x 2 in. drum brakes on the front traction drive wheels. Each wheel can be independently operated by individual foot pedals to assist steering. Braking assist is also provided by the dynamic braking effect of the hydrostatic traction drive system.

Instrumentation and controls for the 1280 mower consist of a Datcon hour-meter, fuel gauge and water temperature gauge. The indicator lights, also from Datcon, include one each for mower blade and cruise control engagement, four-wheel drive engagement and hydraulic filter restriction, battery, parking brake engagement, engine water temperature and engine oil pressure. Audible alarms are also included for low oil pressure and high engine coolant temperature.

New Devices Feature Higher Current Ratings And Integrated HVIC Technology

International Rectifier, IR(r) (NYSE:IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today introduced a set of 600V, 16A and 20A integrated power modules (IPMs), expanding the analog power stage solutions offered as part of IR's iMOTION(tm) integrated design platform. The new IPMs simplify the design of compact, high-performance variable-speed motion control power stages for air conditioners and commercial freezers, for example.

Designed specifically for 85V to 253V AC variable speed motor drives for energy efficient appliances, these new IPMs integrate IR's proprietary high voltage integrated circuit (HVIC) with a three-phase inverter power stage. The 16A device addresses the 750W to 1.2kW power range while the 20A devices can accommodate 750W to 2.2kW. All of the new IPMs are packaged in efficient, single in-line packages (SIP) with improved thermal characteristics.

The IRAMY20UP60B is a 20A, 600V IPM with internal shunt resistor that combines IR's low VCE(on) non-punch-through and short circuit rated IGBT technology with IR's three phase HVIC gate driver. The IPM has a built-in temperature monitor. The integrated HVIC enables over-current and over-temperature protection, as well as under-voltage lockout, delivering high levels of protection for fail-safe operation. The SIP3 package includes internal heat spreaders for the power die. Its single in-line full-transfer mold structure minimizes PCB space and simplifies heat sink isolation and mounting. The new IRAMY20UP60B in SIP3 is an advanced solution available on the market for a fully integrated inverter driver application up to 20A.

The IRAMX20UP60A is a 20A, 600V IPM that does not include a shunt resistor but is packaged in a more compact SIP2 outline. An open emitter configuration of the low-side IGBT switches offer easy current feedback and over-current monitoring for high precision and reliable control. The IRAMX20UP60A is also a full-transfer mold structure and has internal heat spreaders for the power die for maximum thermal efficiency.

The IRAMX16UP60B, offering similar functions and features to its 20A counterparts, is rated at 16A and for motors in the 750W to 1.2kW power range. The IRAMX16UP60B also comes in the SIP2 package, includes internal shunt resistor, temperature monitor and all the safe-fail features of the IRAM product family.

The new IRAMX16UP60B is pin-to-pin compatible with the existing IRAMS10UP60B while the new IRAMX20UP60A is pin-to-pin compatible with the already available IRAMS10UP60A and IRAMX16UP60A, delivering a simple path to upgrade or expand power level in existing designs.

"These modules featuring integration of HVIC with IGBT in a thermally-efficient package, along with the rest of our iMOTION family, expands the options to appliance motor drive designers and simplifies the design and integration of variable speed motion control. More than half of the world's electricity is consumed by electric motors, many of which are electro-mechanically controlled, wasting vast amounts of energy. We can save much of that energy by deploying this energy-efficient motion control technology," said David Tam, Vice President of IR's Consumer and Industrial group.

About iMOTION(tm)

International Rectifier's iMOTION(tm) integrated design platform consists of a development system, mixed-signal analog chip set and power stage, which when co-designed together, simplify motion control designs and bring energy-efficient, cost-effective solutions to market faster.

The new power stage IPMs being introduced today work in concert with digital control ICs, current sensing ICs and gate driver ICs in the iMOTION platform. The digital control ICs configure motion control algorithms with dedicated hardware logic for permanent magnet or AC induction motors and their position feedback devices. The iMOTION linear current sensing ICs and high-speed gate driver ICs form the analog chip set, interfacing the digital stage with the power stage. Fundamental to the performance of these ICs is proprietary high-voltage IC (HVIC) technology, pioneered by IR, which simplifies the path to high bandwidth signal processing and precision variable-speed motor drives.

Availability and Pricing

The samples of IRAMX16UP60B, IRAMX20UP60A and IRAMY20UP60B are available immediately and delivery for production quantity is 8 weeks after receipt of order. Pricing starts from US $10.95 each in 10,000-unit quantity. Prices are subject to change.

World-class companies recognize the importance of implementing sales technologies to improve sales force effectiveness, increase efficiency, strengthen customer relationships and drive revenue.

&uot;The strength of a company's ability to understand and respond to changes in customer needs and expectations ensures that it will maintain its competitive advantage in today's changing marketplace,&uot; said Chris Bogan, President and CEO of Best Practices, LLC, a leader in the field of benchmarking and process improvement. Best Practices, LLC and GTE will host the Winter Meeting of the Global Benchmarking Council (GBC), March 1-3 at the Omni Dallas Park West and GTE Solutions Center in Dallas, TX. &uot;This session will provide an insightful review of world-class sales technologies and initiatives at all levels. Increasingly, companies are required to change the way the sales force conducts business to maintain customer satisfaction and to compete effectively,&uot; Bogan said.

Prudential Insurance embarked on a $100-million laptop initiative for their 12,000 field associates. &uot;LaunchPad&uot; has streamlined the process of writing policies, increased agent efficiency and productivity and enabled Prudential to enhance customer service. With their laptop computers, each agent now has access to sales illustration software, a client management system, marketing materials, needs analysis software and e-mail capability. The LaunchPad management team designed and implemented one of the largest technology rollouts in the history of the financial services industry, using lessons learned from similar initiatives. As a result, their sales force is now fully automated and provides world-class financial advice and products to their customers. Learn how Prudential developed and implemented its leading sales force automation (SFA) strategy. Join one of Prudential's SFA experts at the Winter Meeting of the Global Benchmarking Council as she discusses &uot;Prudential's LaunchPad Program: Launching Our Sales Force into the New Millennium.&uot;

Embedded in every great sales strategy is a systematic approach to managing the customer relationship. Lucent Technologies realizes the important connection between world-class sales and customer management. Hear about Lucent's strategy to drives sales with effective customer relationship management at the Winter Meeting of the Global Benchmarking Council, March 1-3.

General Motors' AC Delco sales force continues to grow following the company's decision to service a comprehensive product base. Learn how AC Delco has implemented innovative training programs to integrate an increasingly diverse sales force while providing added value to the customers they serve.

Sales executives at GTE continue to implement advanced initiatives intended to maintain the sales force's competitive edge and sales continue to rise at GTE. Join GBC members and guests in Dallas, as a GTE sales expert shares GTE's sales strategies and lessons learned. GTE will host the Winter Meeting of the Global Benchmarking Council at the GTE Solutions Center in Dallas, TX, March 1-3.

Drawn by discussions of Creating Profit with Cutting-Edge Sales Technology, Driving Growth through Marketing Excellence and Best Practices Benchmarking, Global Benchmarking Council members and guests will gather in Dallas, TX to trade insights and implementation solutions through detailed presentations, success sharing, management roundtables, knowledge exchanges and informal conversations. This quarter, members and guests will also examine actual benchmarking case studies from leading companies in the areas of customer service and call center excellence. Attendees will participate in interactive presentations from Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies, General Motors, GTE, Prudential, Georgia-Pacific and Best Practices, LLC as well as share in the collective experience of member organizations including Cisco Systems, Dell, Pfizer, AT&, Johnson &Johnson, Sprint, USAA, Lucent, DuPont, Bell Atlantic, General Motors, GTE and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

The Global Benchmarking Council (GBC) was launched in 1998 by Best Practices, LLC, a Chapel Hill, NC research firm, in collaboration with founding members such as GTE, Sprint, DuPont, and AT&. Membership in the GBC is crafted to transform colleagues into partners and friends. The Council's size fosters substantive knowledge sharing. In addition to a year-round network of fellow corporate innovators and benchmarking thought leaders and attendance at quarterly council meetings, GBC members enjoy numerous benefits: preferential discounts on the Best Practices Online Database(c) and Best Practices Benchmarking Reports(c); invitations to participate in leading-edge benchmarking studies, free of charge; and monthly Best Practice Spotlights. Online resources include a library of data resources, a comprehensive directory to facilitate benchmarking between members, and research links, as well as electronic meeting reports and speaker presentations - all housed on a customized Select Page. To join or to receive more information about the benefits of membership in the Global Benchmarking Council, please visit the GBC website at or call Rachel Porter at 919-403-0251 Ext. 225.

Kollmorgen Corporation (NYSE: KOL), a leading supplier of high-performance electronic motors and drives, today announced that it has contracts to build the high-performance motors for two new lines of electric bicycles now being introduced in the U.S.

Kollmorgen will supply custom electric motors for the U.S. Pro Drive electric bike line from Currie Technologies and for the eBike line from E.V. Global. The motors are high-efficiency DC brushless motors with no "brushes" or mechanical contacts, so they eliminate friction, reduce wear and allow the system to run longer on a single battery charge. The motor can generate speeds up to 18 miles per hour and travel up to 20 miles on a three-hour charge. Cyclists can also pedal faster and further with minimal pedaling. The bikes plug into any standard AC outlet.

"These brushless motors bring very high efficiencies to this kind of application," said Willy Verbrugghe, president of Kollmorgen's Industrial and Commercial Group. "In the past, the motors had to be so large that it made the bikes impractical. We expect this market to grow very quickly over the next few years both in the U.S. and overseas."

The Kollmorgen brushless technology offers better than 90 percent efficiency, more than twice the efficiency of brush-type motors. The Currie Tech design, priced at $899, uses a direct-drive motor attached to a drive plate on the rear wheel of the bike. It is available as a two-wheel or three-wheel model with two speeds, high and low. It can also be purchased as a conversion kit for any 26-inch bike. The eBike design incorporates the direct-drive motor as part of the rear hub itself. The eBike is available in several models priced from $1,000 to $1,395.

"We see a lot of growth in this market," says Kirk Strobel of Kollmorgen. "Currie already has a model available for police applications and they are working on designs for scooters that can be used in warehouses, marinas, airports. The bikes are so clean, quiet, and easy to operate that the applications are almost unlimited."

About Kollmorgen Corporation

Kollmorgen's primary business is high-performance electronic motion control components and systems.

About Currie Technologies

Currie Technologies Inc., located in Van Nuys, Calif., is a maker of electric bicycles. The company was founded by Dr. Malcolm Currie, former chairman and CEO of Hughes Aircraft and Delco Electronics, and Richard Mayer, owner of Electric Car Company of America. Mayer and Currie are co-inventors of the patented U.S. Pro-Drive(TM) propulsion system.

About E.V. Global Motors

E.V. Global was founded by Lee Iacocca, former Chairman and CEO of Chrysler Corporation. The company is committed to providing with new choices for battery-powered transportation and recreation that are both convenient for the user and friendly to the environment.

Cautionary Statement

The anticipated benefits associated with these contracts are forward-looking as defined in the federal securities laws. Expected performance may not be achieved due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to receipt and timing of actual purchase orders, market acceptance of the products, competition and continued demand for the products in the marketplace, the ability of the company to fulfill terms of the contract, and other risks detailed in Kollmorgen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.

International Rectifier, IR(r) (NYSE:IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today introduced the IR3103 motor drive IC, expanding its iMOTION(tm) integrated design platform offerings. The new device is a half-bridge FredFET with gate driver IC that does not require a heatsink for electronic motor drive applications up to 180W. Packaged in a sleek 11-pin mini SIP, the IR3103 simplifies the design of extremely compact, high performance two- and three-phase half-bridge inverter motor drives for appliances such as fans and refrigerator compressors.

"The transition away from noisy and inefficient motor controls based on triacs to quieter, more efficient and compact controls are made possible with the IR3103. Our latest solution simplifies the transition to more efficient, variable speed driver designs for low power appliance products and shrinks the footprint," said David Tam, Vice President of International Rectifier's Consumer and Industrial group.

Propagation delays for the high- and low-side power FredFET devices are matched for better synchronization of switching characteristics and lower power dissipation. The device can operate up to a maximum input voltage rating of 500V up to 150 degrees Celsius. The package features isolation ratings up to 1500Vrms/min., and enables shorter inter-component connections, reducing unwanted EMI emissions. ESD protection is included on all leads, and a bootstrap diode for the high-side driver section is integrated into the IR3103. In addition, a single-polarity power supply is all that is needed to drive the internal circuitry, simplifying module use.

Design Tools

To accelerate the design process and demonstrate the features of the IC, the IRADK31 demo kit is available. The kit includes a complete three-phase 250W motor drive system controlled by easy-to-use graphical user interface software. The software can compare several motor control drive strategies for traditional AC induction motors as well as advanced brushless DC (BLDC) motors.

Availability and Pricing

The IR3103 is available immediately. Pricing is US $1.25 each in 10,000-unit quantities. Prices are subject to change.

About iMOTION(tm)

International Rectifier's iMOTION integrated design platform consists of a development system, mixed-signal analog chip sets and power stages, which when co-designed together, simplify motion control designs and bring energy-efficient, cost-effective solutions to market faster.

About International Rectifier

International Rectifier (NYSE:IRF) is a world leader in power management technology. IR's analog and mixed signal ICs, advanced circuit devices, integrated power systems and components enable high performance computing and reduce energy waste from motors, the world's single largest consumer of electricity. Leading manufacturers of computers, energy efficient appliances, lighting, automobiles, satellites, aircraft and defense systems rely on IR's power management benchmarks to power their next generation products.

IR's Integrated HVIC Technology Enables Sophisticated Protection and Shrinks Size Compared to Opto-Coupler- or Transformer-Based Discrete Solutions

International Rectifier, IR(R)(NYSE:IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today introduced a series of high voltage IGBT control ICs with a sophisticated set of protection functions. In addition to these advanced functions, these devices feature high noise immunity with up to 30% fewer components in half the footprint compared to discrete opto-coupler- or transformer-based solutions. The series consists of 1200V and 600V gate driver ICs and current sense interface ICs for a variety of applications including inverterized motor drives, general-purpose inverter circuits, switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

"This new suite of gate driver and sensor ICs made with IR's high voltage IC technology enables small circuits with full protection, including ground fault protection, which was once available only in high-end systems. The new ICs blaze a new path for low-end industrial or servo drives as well as cost-competitive appliances," said David Tam, Vice President of IR's Consumer and Industrial group.

Power stages using IGBTs or MOSFETs must be protected from failures such as short circuits, over-current conditions and ground faults. In addition to protection circuits, the fault conditions must be detected, or sensed, in order to enable the protection functions. IR's new line of driver ICs and sensor ICs fill this requirement, while reducing component count and simplifying circuits.

1200V HVICs for Industrial Applications

There are five 1200V gate drivers made with IR's HVIC technology.

The IR22381 is an analog, three-phase IGBT gate driver. With a deadtime of 0.5usec (micro-seconds), the device is ten times faster than comparable opto-coupler-based drivers. Also, the IR22381 minimizes temperature drift and changes in performance over time.

An integrated de-saturation feature provides for all modes of over-current protection, including ground fault, shoot-through and short to supply rails protection. Soft shutdown is initiated in the event of an over-current condition followed by the turn-off of all six outputs. A shutdown input is included to enable custom shutdown functions. The IR22381 includes programmable deadtime, and the output drivers have separate turn-on/turn-off pins with a two-stage turn-on output to achieve the desired IGBT dv/dt switching level. Voltage feedback provides accurate measurements, and a bootstrap power supply eliminates an auxiliary power supply.

The IR2277 and IR22771 are high speed, single-phase current sense interface ICs with synchronous sampling for motor drive applications. The current is sensed through an external shunt resistor which converts the analog voltage into a time interval through a precise dual ramp system. The time interval is level-shifted and provides digital PWM output suitable for DSP and analog-to-digital interfaces without additional logic circuits. The maximum throughput is 40kSamples/second, suitable for up to 20kHz asymmetrical PWM modulation and maximum delay is less than 7.5usec @20kHz. A noise immune bi-directional level-shifting circuit is used to avoid false common mode dV/dt noise up to 50V/ns. The IR2277 provides both analog and PWM output, while the IR22771 provides PWM output.

The IR2214 and IR22141 are designed to drive single half-bridge circuits in power switching applications as well as three-phase 380VAC circuits at up to 50A@80 degrees C. Unlike solutions using opto-couplers, the IR2214 and IR22141 gate drivers deliver stability during their lifetime and include parameter matching, such as propagation delay for high- and low-side channels as well as deadtime insertion. Their low quiescent current on the high-side enables economical and space-saving bootstrap supply topology. Fault feedback on IGBT de-saturation is included which automatically shuts down the IGBT when used in multi-phase configurations. Desaturation detection for both sides as well as an internal biasing resistor are included in the IR2214, while an active de-saturation diode bias is included in the IR22141. The IR2214 and IR22141 can be connected together via a dedicated pin to protect the drive system from phase-to-phase short circuits. Input and output pins are 3.3V CMOS-compatible to simplify microprocessor interfacing. Separate power and signal ground pins enable emitter shunt configurations to simplify low-side IGBT current sensing. These devices are housed in a SSOP-24 package.