ebm-papst Fans, Blowers and Technology

The fifteenth "Product of the Year" was presented on March 14, 2013, and ebm-papst achieved first place with the high-performance DV6300 diagonal compact fan.

Readers of Elektronik and elektroniknet.de chose the DV6300 as the 2013 Product of the Year in the category "Electrical Engineering" from among 111 nominated products. The award recognises the most innovative and ground-breaking products in the industry. Peter Metzger, Manager of Business Development and Marketing for ebm-papst St. Georgen GmbH & Co. KG, accepted the distinction at the awards ceremony in Munich: "We are gratified to receive this recognition from the readers of Elektronik. The DV6300 demonstrates how we are setting new standards in state-of-the-art development and production methods."

The winning product from ebm-papst has an electronically controlled S-Force motor with additional options such as temperature regulation, active motor cooling and filter monitoring with signal output for filter change. The diagonal compact fan is ideal for applications with strict requirements regarding air performance with high backpressure, limited installation space and a low operating noise level.

by Lou Moffa, Market Manager - Refrigeration

Take a walk outdoors in any suburban area and it is difficult to avoid the sounds created by the mechanical inventions in our modern society.  The drone of an aircraft passing overhead, the rush of vehicles from a busy street or the buzz of a lawnmower in the neighbor's yard create a measurable soundtrack to our daily activities.  Most of us are pleasantly surprised by just how quiet it becomes when these sounds suddenly stop and we are exposed to the underlying level of quiet that is present.  We cannot eliminate these noises entirely, but by applying our GreenTech philosophy of continuous design improvement during our product development, ebm-papst can again help engineers create air moving systems that are found outdoors that we can comfortably live with. 

In congested cities, with living spaces adjacent to supermarkets and small industry, the need for quiet operation is not just desired, it is mandatory by local codes.   Fans that are used to move large amounts of air to cool our mechanical equipment or keep our refrigeration systems running are necessary components in the systems that are placed on rooftops and the outside of our buildings.  Engineers and designers work very hard to meet the strict guidelines that are put in place to limit noise but these restrictions can negatively affect their final designs.

To lower noise in these applications, there are standard "fixes" that the designer can call upon to help meet the required noise and performance levels.  With axial fans, the common fix is to reduce the motor RPM and increase the number of fans to handle the air performance needs and or increase the blade size.  These solutions can lead to a reduction in system performance, add components increase the system footprint and increase energy consumption.   Not an appealing solution with today's high electrical costs, small installation areas and increased refrigeration costs.  Even worse, in many cases, these changes are not always effective and further fixes must be done on site where additional changes are even more costly. 

AxiTop from ebm-papst, a leader in air moving technology, offers a groundbreaking solution.  We have combined our high efficiency AC and EC axial fans with a passive diffuser assembled in one complete package to help simplify installations.  Our optimized AxiTop design has been shown to reduce noise lower energy consumption when installed in typical applications.  Integration of this assembly is simple.  The fan and diffuser are delivered as a complete assembly that can easily be integrated into an existing design using our standard square wall plate.  Or custom wall plates are available so that the AxiTop fan assembly can be integrated seamlessly into your air handling system.  

AxiTop is currently available worldwide in 800 and 910mm diameter axial fans.  These popular sizes are perfectly suited for use on rooftop condensers, fluid coolers, and agricultural ventilation applications.

If you need a real solution to meet applications with low noise requirements and at the same time reduce total cost of ownership and simplify your design, our AxiTop product line provides an answer! 

Please visit us at booth #2967 at the upcoming AHR Expo in Dallas, TX, to see the AxiTop units on display and for a complete overview of this exciting new product. Or contact us at sales@us.ebmpapst.com to review the benefits of using AxiTop. 

ebm-papst Inc. has recently replaced all the heating and cooling units in the main production areas at the U.S. headquarters in Farmington, CT. The units that were removed were mostly installed in 1998. Originally, we had only one gas fired central heating system in the assembly area (circa 1985) and one more gas fired central heating system in the sheet metal area (circa 1994). We added 9 separate air conditioning units in 1998.

The decision was made to replace 10 of these units with combination heating and cooling units that utilize the existing roof penetrations.  We selected the highest efficiency model available in the 20 ton size. 

The project was completed during the final two weeks of October – including all the new natural gas line piping, rigging of the old units off the roof, and installation of the new high efficiency units.  We also added an Energy Management System (EMS) that allows for direct communication, regulation, and temperature adjustment of all the units.  They are all connected in a machine network that is subsequently controlled through a single PC setup on our LAN system.

Also recently added was an emergency backup system that consists of two small generators for both buildings. These generators are hard wired into the building electric supply and sense when there is a loss of main power, then start up automatically and provide backup power to certain key systems.  They also shut back down automatically when power returns.  They also self-test themselves by starting up and running some diagnostics once a week – just to be certain that they are functioning correctly. Both generators (one outside the warehouse and one outside the factory) are fueled by natural gas. The natural gas services are hard lines coming into both buildings and flow gas under all conditions – regardless of utility power status.

The services covered by this tandem generator system are the site computer systems, phone systems, building alarm systems, and electronic building door locks.  We have also added some fork truck charging and also some lighting for the warehouse. While they are not designed to run a laser cutting machine or a punch press, the thought is that they would allow us to continue to operate at the most basic levels during an extended outage period.

with Brian Ladegard, Director of Operations

Q: A recent article in Design News discusses how ergonomics and repetitive motion injuries are major issues in manufacturing. How does ebm-papst address these concerns?

A: We review ergonomics continuously on our shop floor.  We work with outside consultants on an annual basis with tours and audit reviews – but we also use both engineering controls and supervisory controls to prevent injuries.

For example, we do ergonomic stretching exercises with each and every production employee at the beginning of the shift and then once again right after the lunch break.  These stretches are a series of basic movements that were developed independently and given to us for this purpose.  The total stretching time is approximately 5 minutes and is mandatory.  Just like athletes would stretch out before a game – so do our workers!

Also, we use engineering controls like counterbalanced tool holders for any screw driver or torque tool that applies a strong “reverse torque” that would twist operators’ arms.  We use supervisory controls like job rotation.  This is where take three people in one working place and have them switch tasks – within a single job – every two hours.  One person might be crimping for 2 hours, then switch to riveting for the next two – and then finally to testing for the last two hours.  This basic rotation allows each person to change their range of motion during the day, thus preventing too much repetition.

In the sheet metal shop, we use part supports to hold heavy parts at the required tool height – along with extensive use of scissor style pallet jacks to help prevent operators from having to bend down to floor level for the first few layers of finished parts as they come off machines.

The final examples are the use of robotics for tasks that combine high levels of repetition with higher levels of production – like the new robotic welding cell and the robotic bending cell.

by Scott Beauchemin, Vice President - Engineering

An important part of ebm-papst Inc.’s business is our value-added assemblies.  These assemblies are generally customer specific sheet metal enclosures that contain one or more ebm-papst air movers.  The development process for these assemblies is very much a collaborative effort between ebm-papst and our customer.  Our goal is to create a cost-effective design that meets customer requirements and can be easily manufactured on our production floor.

A critical phase in the development process is the initial design review.  At this stage, a cross-functional team of engineers is assembled to evaluate the product and offer input into the design.  We use historical knowledge from previous products to avoid design characteristics  that may have caused issues in the past.  Our philosophy is to avoid failures by designing them out.  The product is modeled in Pro-Engineer which also allows us to get an idea of how easy the product will be to assemble.  As the type of projects we work on has evolved, we have implemented Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations into the process to optimize the air flow path before making our first prototype. 

Despite all the planning in the development phase, input from the first prototype build will be used to tweak the design.  Every product we build evolves throughout the life of the product.  Our production staff that build the product day-in and day-out provide regular feedback on how to improve the design.  Nothing replaces the feedback you get from the people that build the product.   At the end of the day, there is a feeling of satisfaction you get from seeing a product being built 10 years after you worked on the project!

By Tom Costello, Market Manager, Appliance and Heating

Selecting, purchasing and integrating parts from many suppliers is a really cumbersome method to create gas-air-control (GARC) systems. But as far as anyone can remember, that’s exactly the way many original equipment/appliance manufacturers (OEMs) have assembled condensing boiler systems for their residential customers.

Over the years, ebm-papst’s role in this process has been to supply premix gas blowers as part of the overall GARC assemblies.

Enno Vroljik, who runs gas valve production for ebm-papst’s European and North American operations, knew there had to be a better way. Enno joined ebm-papst in 2010 and brought with him more than 20 years of gas valve development experience from Honeywell, located in the Netherlands.

Enno Vroljik, Program Manager – Gas Valves, ebm-papst Landshut.

To make life easier for our OEM partners and speed delivery of condensing boiler systems to their residential customers, Vroljik and his engineering team have developed a pre-assembled GARC system called the NRV Series.

Developed for residential condensing boilers rated up to 150 MBTU/H (45 kW), the NRV Series includes an NRG118 premix gas blower, mutli-venturi and GB 055 E01 gas valve that can be configured, pre-adjusted and supplied to customers as a turn-key GARC assembly.

As shown below, the NRV118 GARC assembly allows for the gas valve to be mounted in three different positions and the venturi to be rotated into six positions.

 Vroljik and his crew aren’t done yet: They’re putting the final touches on NRV Series products for appliances rated up to 500 MBTU/H (150 kW). These will be launched in January at the AHR Expo 2013 in Dallas. Stop by our booth (#2967) to check out these new NRV systems, or contact us at sales@us.ebmpapst.com.

NRV118 Series
Gas-air ratio control assembly

A Day in the Life of a Regional Sales Administrator (Customer Service)

By Liz Callaghan

The main objective of a Regional Sales Administrator (RSA) is to ensure 100% customer satisfaction for all of our current and potential customers. Each RSA works with a member of the Sales Team to cover customers in a specific geographic territory.  Their jobs change daily, depending on what our customers need. At any given time, the RSA Team could be on a conference call with a customer or out in our warehouse. The RSA and warehouse Logistics Team work together very closely to ensure their orders are going out on schedule and shipping the correct method the customer requires. The RSA works with our international purchasing team to schedule deliveries from our factories based on customer needs.  RSAs also work with the Quality Department to manage returns. When a new project comes up, RSAs work closely with our Application Engineers to make sure the customers get the product samples they need.   RSAs work with our Planning department to make sure all Value-Added orders are on schedule.

A big part of the day is discussing the customer’s activities with their appropriate Sales People.  The RSA might need to adjust orders, expedite parts, discuss new customer details, and add new customers to the system - anything that ensures customer satisfaction.

As technology changes, we provide our RSA team with training that will keep them up to date with the latest and greatest information. Developing relationships with customers are a top priority for ebm-papst. We strive to make sure customer service is giving personal attention to the needs of each of our customers. The RSA team works every day to continue growing those relationships that our business is built on.

by Bob Sobolewski, President & CEO of ebm-papst Inc.

In The Pita Group's “In the Pocket” video interview, I had the chance to speak about trending topics that affect business in terms of customer needs and communication.   

So how has ebm-papst evolved to meet customers’ needs?  In one simple word, innovation.  Innovation can help discover what opportunities exist now, or are likely to emerge in the future. Our teams collaborate with the feedback given from our customers based on market trends, to redesign and develop new products that are the leading-edge technology, ahead of our competition.   Customers look to us for the newest solutions and know they can present new air moving challenges for us to solve.  Innovation is not only about designing a new product or service to sell, but can also focus on existing business processes and practices to improve efficiency.  Recently, ebm-papst published the philosophy of GreenTech.   This idea reflects a simple but clear philosophy that goes back to our company principle: "Each new product that we develop has to be better than its predecessor in terms of economy and ecology."  It is extremely important to us that with innovation, comes the responsibility of eco-friendly practices to preserve our environment.  Not only are we producing new efficient technology to benefit our customers, but we are also ensuring that every product carries along with it the assurance of sustainability in our production practices. In addition to various enhancements, 50kW of solar panels were installed on the roof of our engineering office in Farmington, CT, in June 2011. This past June, another 50kW array was installed to supplement the original installation.


Another evolution in the way business is done. Everyone wants things instantaneously.  So at the tip of our fingers, we have the ability to instantly communicate and search for information. We must adapt to the changing business practices and stay ahead of the curve!  

Bob Sobolewski filming the "In the Pocket" video.

Lessons in sun, wind and collaboration power

By Todd Cardillo, Market Manager, Alternative Energy

Did you know that in 40 minutes the sun spills enough energy on the earth’s surface to provide our entire planet with energy for one year? Or that it would take 250 million barrels of oil (10 billion gallons) to generate as much electricity as U.S. wind turbines will generate this year?

Why are we not utilizing our natural resources more effectively? What I saw during a recent trip to ebm-papst’s global headquarters in Mulfingen, Germany offers a vision for what the United States could achieve.

Face time with my German colleagues gave me new information on world market trends in air movement, as well as insight on new projects. I also completed the company’s 17th annual marathon and finished in 1 hour 57 minutes and 12 seconds - my personal best.

However, what struck me most during this visit was how well Germany utilizes alternative energy. During the two-hour ride from Frankfurt’s airport to headquarters in Mulfingen, I saw multiple wind farms. Set back in the countryside’s rolling hills, the size and infrastructure of these huge turbines are amazing – they’re engineering marvels! It’s hard to believe that people in the United States call these an eyesore, or complain about the noise they emit. These seem like very minor issues compared to the benefits they provide.Solar power is also huge throughout Germany – the country is ranked #1 in the world for solar usage. Bloomberg reports that Germany managed to break its record for new solar installations in 2011 despite sizable reductions in subsidies for the industry.

It is very hard to drive (or run) through the villagesin Germany without seeing solar panels – they are everywhere! Germany’s large solar farms, commercial businesses and residential homes are all harnessing the sun for electricity. They have spent a lot of time and money to build this infrastructure. Now they’re reaping the benefits of low-cost, clean power.

Incentives play a BIG role in how far Germany has come in alternative energy use. In the United States, where we’re ranked #4 for solar power usage, we have federal tax rebates and similar solar incentives. In contrast   Germany offers manufacturers a fixed amount for every kilowatt-hour of energy produced by a solar system.

While Germany has concerns with the possibility that their solar incentives could be reduced by putting a one gigawatt-per year cap on new installations, we in the U.S. face an uncertain future for our Production Tax Credit (PTC). While the credit is due to expire this year, I am hopeful that it will be renewed by Congress.

The U.S. has come a long way in alternative energy use. Following Germany’s lead, it’s essential we continue to grow our alternative energy production and markets. Our population and economy will be better for it.

by Phil Hartman, Senior Director of Marketing

On September 13, 40-50 members of the Connecticut ASHRAE chapter paid ebm-papst a visit in Farmington for a technical session. These sessions are held once a month from September through May; consisting of a technical session given by a host company, social hour, dinner, and presentations by the host company. They are an  opportunity for members to learn more about other companies and their products, and for the host company to showcase their expertise.

Those who arrived early were able to visit our new showroom and view our extensive range of products, including fans, blowers, and value-added assemblies.

To start our technical session we divided into two groups for tours – one of our manufacturing area led by Brian Ladegard, Director of Operations, and the other of our test lab, including airflow and acoustic testing areas, led by Scott Beauchemin, Vice President of Engineering. 

In the manufacturing areas, participants were able to see a variety of processes, such as sheet metal punching, bending, forming, painting, assembly and end-of-line testing.

In the lab and testing areas, Scott described the testing we are capable of for air moving devices with focus on our air test and acoustic chambers.  Participants were able to see actual customer units currently being tested. 

After the tours, the group reconvened at the Farmington Marriott for a social hour, dinner, and presentations by Armin Hauer, Advanced Technology Manager and Tom Costello, Market Manager - Heating.  Armin covered the latest fan & EC motor technology for buildings, fan efficiency metrics and the latest fan energy legislation.  Tom focused on gas component and system technology used in high efficiency residential and commercial gas fired condensing boilers, with emphasis on comparing pneumatic and electronic GARC (gas-air-ratio-control) technology.

Many thanks to Armin Hauer, an active ASHRAE member himself, for being instrumental in making this possible and for providing guidance for the content.  This was our first time hosting an ASHRAE tech session, and based on the feedback we received, the group found the tours and presentations to be informative and interesting.  It was our pleasure to host and we thank ASHRAE for their assistance and participation with this event!