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Design News talks to John Malinowski, Product Marketing Manager for AC & DC Motors at Baldor Electric Company (Fort Smith, AR), about industry trends and developments in today's motor market.
DN: What trends should design engineers be
concerned with today and why?
Malinowski: Design
engineers should look beyond the product design and consider the ability of the
supplier to deliver the product. As business gets better, many suppliers that
cut back production or moved offshore during the downturn may not be able to
respond quickly to customers needs. The engineer needs to partner-up with the
right supplier or his new product may be doomed.
Q: What should engineers attending NDES this year
be looking for?
A: Engineers should look for solid
suppliers that are responsive and willing to work with them during the product
development cycle and that can supply what they need with short lead times when
the design goes to production.
Q: What's new in any technology area of
motors (control, materials, etc) you'd like to
highlight?
A: Baldor continues to offer the
customer many choices of motor technology. For example, some customers are still
very comfortable with dc motor and drive technology and if that is what they
want, we're pleased to supply it. Other customers that want the fastest, most
responsive motor technology specify linear servo motors and drives in their
products. Baldor continues to develop the motor and drive products that our
customers are demanding in all technologies.
Q: What is on the horizon in, say, the next five
years?
A: End users are becomingly concerned about
reducing plant downtime. As business gets better, energy costs will continue to
increase. Manufacturers will need to differentiate themselves from competitors
by selling life cycle costs as part of their product. A more expensive product
may be a bargain if it costs less to operate and lasts longer.
Q: How are your customers' needs changing and how
are you meeting those needs?
A: Customers want
motors that last longer in rugged applications and consume less energy while
doing so. More customers in many different process industries are beginning to
use severe duty motors built to comply with IEEE 841 standards (IEEE Standard
for Petroleum and Chemical Industry - Severe Duty Totally Enclosed Fan-Cooled
(TEFC) Squirrel Cage induction Motors - Up to and including 370 kW (500 hp),
IEEE STD 841-2001). Baldor offers a complete line of these 841 motors and
ratings of 1 to 250 HP in 2, 4 and 6 pole designs are available for immediate
delivery from stock.
Also, Baldor just introduced a new Dirty Duty Washdown motor for the most severe and corrosive applications in the processing industry and others requiring intense high-pressure washdown. The new DirtyDutyWD(r) utilizes an all-new exterior surface coating that is bonded to the steel frame, cast iron endplates, conduit box, and base of the motor.
Customers want quick delivery on motors. Baldor offers over 7,000 catalog numbers of motors, drives and gearboxes available for same-day shipment. Our lead-time is 10 days for custom items.
Q: How does Baldor leverage its website for design
engineers and customers?
A: Baldor has two websites
for customer use. Baldor's main website www.baldor.com has complete data and
information about all Baldor products. Our www.BaldorProSPEC.com website that was
introduced at NMW 2003 is geared specifically for specifying engineers and has
more technical data and white papers. The ProSPEC site has an "Ask the Engineer"
e-mail to allow the specifying engineer to ask a technical question and get an
answer within one business day. This has been a very popular feature.
Q: What do you see as the value of trade shows,
such as National
Manufacturing Week?
A: Trade
shows are becoming very segmented and specialized. Perhaps there are too many
shows that are too similar. Some of these shows need to evaluate what they offer
and consider switching from being held every year to every two or three years.
When an engineer wants to research a new component or material, he can't wait
for a trade show, he looks on the web and then gets his local representative to
come and visit. People can no longer wait for trade shows to see all the new
products.