Schneider Electric Altivar Process drives

Schneider Electric has released Altivar Process, a range of drives for process applications. Due to a convergence of IT and operational technologies, Altivar Process drives deliver added-value services in the water, oil and gas, mining, metals, minerals, and the food and beverage industries that enable business and process optimisation through improved life-cycle asset management and optimised energy consumption.

Through advanced system and equipment condition monitoring, Altivar Process ensures that applications are performing at optimum efficiency at all times. Compared to conventional drives, Altivar Process delivers an additional 8% cost reduction due to its ability to instantly detect efficiency drifts and to monitor motor power with a high level of accuracy (<5%). This enables the automation system to immediately make adjustments, thereby minimising a negative impact on the bottom line. In contrast to conventional drives, Altivar Process is also able to reduce downtime by another 20% due to predictive, condition-based maintenance and a user interface with easy-to-understand graphs.

Fully integrating both architecture and business systems, Altivar Process provides process visibility and transparent access to enriched data at both the factory and asset level. Embedded Ethernet and web servers provide consistent and secure access to this information. The embedded web server allows users to select which information to view and which to store. Additionally, key performance indicators and alarms are automatically monitored and can generate alerts to system operators of any performance irregularities so preventive steps can be taken to maintain optimum process efficiency and profitability.