Drives technology is set to change gear

摘要

Drives performance has been fairly stable for a number of years, with only small incremental improvements being achieved by any of the major players. The same is true of prices; after a period of decline, prices have been stable for the last18-24 months. This is because the electronics that control drives are now fully developed, so there are no more great strides to be made. However, this does not mean the end of the road for drives technology; for future developments there must be a fundamental shift to new thinking. There are several fields of exploration to be investigated, and the running will almost certainly be made by the very largest of the global majors who commit substantial proportions of their annual profits to research and development. Digital electronics is a key area; faster switching and increased density of switches on each device, can both enhance drives performance.