ebm-papst Fans, Blowers and Technology

By Todd Cardillo, Market Manager - Industrial Markets

Generating wind and solar power presents an interesting challenge. As energy is generated, other power must be generated to help keep the whole process cool.

In the case of wind power, wind-turbine capacity continues to grow each year, with 6 to 10 megawatts (MW) on the horizon, key power generation components are needed to manage increasing heat within limited nacelle space. The generator, power-conversion electronics and transformers (inverter), gearbox unit, blade pitch motors and tower structure all need to be cooled within a wind-turbine nacelle. Each of these components requires different cooling needs. That’s where ebm-papst Inc.’s wide range of products comes in, Whether it is a small axial fan for blade pitch motor cooling or multiple large impellers to exhaust heat and pressurize an inverter, we provide innovative solutions.

Inverters: the heart of the system
While the infrastructure for solar applications is much less complex than that of the wind sector, there is still a need to convert DC power to AC with an inverter. As a main component in both wind power and photovoltaic (PV) systems, it is important that the inverter function properly to optimize system output. Factors that affect the life cycle of the inverter include:

• Operating temperatures, which are caused by power loads and ambient conditions

• Location of the inverter

• Time of year and day the inverter is operating

• Size of the wind turbine or solar array involved

Air movers are essential to mitigating heat and improving long-term reliability of wind power and photovoltaic systems. One of our key products, the GreenTech EC fan, provides the ability to remotely monitor operation via the Internet or a modem. All critical information, including speed, motor temperature and operating messages or alarms, can be monitored.

Click here for an overview of our cooling fans and blowers, and download our Alternative Energy brochure to learn more about the different air moving solutions we offer.

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 Scott Beauchemin, Vice President - Engineering

ebm-papst’s success in the market can partially be attributed to our dedication to maintaining engineering resources to support customer projects.  Our local technical expertise allows us to provide a level of support that most competitors aren’t able to provide.  We have several engineering departments within the organization that help make that possible.

The Applications Engineering department has the highest head count of the various engineering groups at ebm-papst.  Applications Engineers are responsible for providing technical support to all customers within an assigned geographic region. Technical support can range from helping the customer select the proper air mover for their equipment to answering basic technical questions about ebm-papst product.  Applications Engineers work with customers from various market segments including HVAC, medical, industrial, IT/ telecom, etc. The diversity of our customer base gives the engineering group an opportunity to learn about various types of equipment.  Applications Engineers also spend part of their time working in our engineering lab which consists of several air flow chambers and a semi-anechoic sound room.  Customers send their equipment to our lab for baseline testing and optimization.  The Applications Engineers coordinate this effort, help perform the tests and report the results back to the customer.  The knowledge of ebm-papst product and customer’s applications gives Applications Engineers an opportunity to advance within the company if they perform well.  The educational background for an Applications Engineer is typically a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering.  Since our product is very much electro-mechanical, an educational background in Electrical Engineering can also be attractive. 

A portion of ebm-papst’s business is producing value-added assemblies for customers.  A value-added assembly can come in different configurations but it generally involves packaging a fan or multiple fans within a sheet metal assembly.  The assembly can include various other components such as connectors, filters and specific control boards.  While Applications Engineers serve as the project manager for these projects, there are three additional engineering groups that have direct responsibilities for these projects. 

The Design Engineering group is responsible for developing the value added assembly in Pro-Engineer and creating Bills of Material.  They are directly involved in working with the production floor regarding their designs.  The Design Engineer will often be seen building prototypes and working with their hands. Design Engineers will also conduct air flow modeling using Computational Fluid Dynamics software.  The goal is to optimize the air flow path in simulation so we only make sheet metal one time.  Design Engineers typically have a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering.  

The Electrical Engineering group is tasked with developing control boards that are used in conjunction with ebm-papst fans.  Members of the Electrical Engineering group will design the circuits, lay out the PCB so it can be fabricated, write software, build and test prototypes.  The controllers developed by this group are most often installed into a value added assembly but can be sold as a separate component on occasion. Members of the Electrical Engineering group generally have a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering.

The last link in the value added chain is the Manufacturing Engineering group.  Manufacturing Engineers are tasked with supporting the production floor with work instructions, developing processes for manufactured parts and creating new tooling.  We are constantly expanding our manufacturing capabilities so the Manufacturing Engineers keep busy introducing new technology to the floor.  The Manufacturing Engineers work side by side with the Design Engineering group to bring a new product into production.  Manufacturing Engineers typically have a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical or Industrial Engineering.   

by Lou Moffa, Market Manager - Refrigeration

Our definition of "Giant" is continually evolving here at ebm-papst.  Our new W3GZ50 series EC axial fan has a 1250mm (49.2 inch) blade diameter and is currently the world's largest diameter EC air mover with integrated electronics!

Just like the other products in our EC giant line up, this new axial fan was designed from the beginning to be energy efficient, simple to use and able to be installed in a variety of air moving applications.  It can easily be customized by the end user so that it is a perfect match for use with refrigeration condensers, chiller applications or large scale ventilation applications.  Its large size allows you to reduce the number of smaller fans used.

A complete fan assembly like the W3GZ50 series streamlines your purchasing and inventory requirements.  The complete fan assembly has a motor, blade, venturi and finger guard that have all been designed to work together for maximum efficiency and eliminates the need to work with multiple vendors and patch together a fan assembly from various manufacturers.  A complete assembly can simplify your production line by reducing wiring and installation time.  

This air mover has an impressive list of features to match its size. 

-Air performance- the direct drive motor and blade combination are able to produce over 38,000 CFM and can operate efficiently with backpressure levels of up to 0.8 inches of water.

-Factory balanced blade - the rotating motor and blades are balanced as a complete assembly on the production floor to insure a smooth operation.

-Accepts traditional control inputs - So that you can fully speed control this fan in your application, our integrated electronics will accept a variety of control inputs.   For a simple set up, this means that you can use either a 0-10VDC input, 0-100% PWM input, or a 4-20mA input from an outside controller to completely vary the speed of the fan. 

-RS485 Modbus RTU protocol ready - Many of the previously mute devices that are part of our daily lives are starting to become vocal whether we like it or not!  Our cars, heating systems and even our home refrigerators are now capable of telling us what condition they are in with texts and e mails.  Our lineup of EC Giants that are over 500 Watts are ready to be heard as well!  If you would like this fan to be a vocal participant in your assembly, it is simple to establish two-way communication using the on board RS485 Modbus RTU protocol.   Not only can you command it what RPM to run at, but you can obtain the run hours, the specific alarm status, internal motor temperature and many other bits of information that will keep you informed and up to date for critical applications.   Our ongoing partnerships with key worldwide controls manufacturers make incorporating  digital communication  easier than ever before. 

-Built in PID controller- for ultimate flexibility, our built in process controller allows you to program this unit to run independently without the need for a separate process controller to handle common field tasks.  For example, when programmed to operate in closed loop sensor mode with your supplied temperature, pressure or other sensor, the fan will maintain a process specific set point.  Simply set the sensor parameters and how quickly you want the fan to respond and the process controller will take it from there.  The set point can be either entered using software to prevent unauthorized changes or from an accessible potentiometer for simple adjustments by anyone in the field.  This powerful feature is a perfect way to reduce components in your overall assembly.  Even if you choose to not use this feature as the main process controller, it can easily be programmed and can remain dormant in the background as a back up to the main process controller.

These are just some of the advanced features that this exciting new product has to help simplify your larger air moving projects.  

We welcome you to come see this impressive fan and all of our equally advanced products on display at the AHR Expo in Dallas.

Visit us at Booth #2967 at AHR Expo at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas on January 28-30, 2013 

Please contact us for additional information at Marketing@us.ebmpapst.com

by Joe Landrette, Market Manager at ebm-papst.

The US consumes about 4.40 trillion kWh of electric energy (Tomorrow is Greener 10/2011). Two percent of that power consumption, or 88 billion kWh, is used by data centers, which provide us with services like Apple's iCloud or Microsoft’s SkyDrive.

Because power savings is critical for hardware manufacturers and their customers, many companies are migrating from large facility data centers to portable/modular data centers that are often set up within sea containers. This new generation of data center is often fitted to house many racks of IT equipment that have ultra efficient cooling systems inside.

Not only can modular/portable data centers be manufactured and deployed more rapidly than traditional data centers, they also employ cooling solutions that can be 30 times more efficient than facility-style cooling systems and can save up to $500,000 a year in energy costs!

Because the majority of portable and modular data centers don’t have the same heat/cooling duct losses experienced in traditional data centers, the new configurations can super-charge their energy efficiency by incorporating ebm-papst’s range of EC blowers and fans, from our small 80mm fans up to 1250mm models.

The new modular/portable data centers also provide an opportunity for ebm-papst Inc. to offer builders air flow and design management strategies and custom sheet metal assemblies. Our products and engineering support services are helping shape how data centers are joining the earth-friendly movement and changing the future of both indoor and outdoor data storage.

For more information on Data Centers, contact Joe Landrette at Joe.Landrette@us.ebmpapst.com or call ebm-papst at 860-674-1515

Campaigns for ‘being green’ are everywhere. The plastic water bottle I’m drinking out of uses about 1/3 of its label just to tell you that they’ve redesigned their bottles in an effort to be green. Here’s an idea, use less paper and make a smaller label. On my desk, a box of all natural sweetener - that’s made of recycled fiber - requests that you recycle it once it’s empty (and I will). More noticeable than that I see green buttons filled with white checks everywhere I look - the symbol for ebm-papst’s own green campaign, GreenTech.   

  Less of a campaign, and more a way of life, GreenTech is a name  put to the philosophy ebm-papst has used for decades. "Each new  product that we develop has to be better than its predecessor in terms of economy and ecology." An example of that philosophy in action is the ACmaxx series. This series started as an attempt to advance the standard technology of the basic  AC fan. The problem with the basic AC fan is its poor efficiency compared to DC technology.

• By giving our fan the ability to operate on AC mains power around the world, while retaining the AC fan’s mounting dimensions, a new standard was created. But this wasn’t good enough.

• While the ACmaxx could fit applications new and old because of its wide voltage range and compact dimensions, there was one problem. Due to the complexity of the electronics, the installation depth couldn’t replace all AC fans. Our next step was streamlining this series into an even better model – the i-Maxx.

The i-Maxx takes the ACmaxx concept to a whole new level.

• By integrating the drive, fan and converter electronics into the motor hub, the i-Maxx has the same dimensions of conventional AC fans, while maintaining the ability to connect to worldwide AC mains.

• We didn’t stop there. The i-maxx is also quieter, more compact, and more efficient than its predecessor. 

This way of life is not just for designing new and more efficient fans. It’s also in practice in the offices and in building the factories, locally and internationally. At the US corporate headquarters in Farmington, CT, and throughout all of the international locations, the employees are urged to recycle, not just bottles and cans, but paper as well, with several paper bins located throughout the office. On of the factories located in Hollenbach, Germany, uses solar power to generate its own energy. The factory was also designed to convert residual heat into a usable ventilation system. Here, at the corporate headquarters in Farmington, a renovation was just completed. Solar panels are up and running, providing our building with lighting that shuts off after a period of inactivity. That will keep us from being too sedentary- but that’s another issue for another company. Many companies are jumping on the green bandwagon, while ebm-papst has been driving.