---

About MagnaDrive Drives Couplings News Links Home

Competitive Questions Q: Who are your competitors in the speed control market? A. The MagnaDrive ASD competes with a wide variety of control valves, louvers, re-circulating valves, transmissions, fluid drives, mechanical belt devices, etc., used to control the flow of air, fluids and processes. In many installations, these competitors inefficiently use electrical power, because they are used to throttle down higher throughput. Throttling down is comparable to accelerating and braking an automobile at the same time. The MagnaDrive ASD also competes with Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) and Eddy Current Drives. Q. What are the principal advantages of a MagnaDrive ASD over a Variable Frequency Drive? A. While Variable Frequency Drives, or VFDs, are energy efficient, their installation and use is not always practical or cost effective due to problems of reliability, complex electronic components, need for extensive infrastructure and highly trained personnel, speed range limits, electronic harmonics and maintenance demands. These problems are effectively eliminated by the simplicity of the MagnaDrive ASD. In general, existing VFDs are inefficient for high horsepower applications (90% of VFD applications have been for 20-HP or less) or medium/high voltage applications. The simple and reliable MagnaDrive ASD is ideally suited to pump, fan and blower applications, providing the energy savings of speed control without the problems often associated with VFDs. In these installations, system complexity is reduced, vibration is eliminated and alignment problems disappear. Motor systems can be resized for lower cost and more efficient operation. In addition, the MagnaDrive technology makes adjustable speed control available to markets previously resistant to using VFDs. For more information see VFD Comparison Q: How does the cost of an ASD compare to Variable Frequency Drives? A. In most cases, the MagnaDrive ASD benefits result in a substantial savings to the customer. When MagnaDrive is the lowest “initial cost” of all available options, the low price along with these benefits make MagnaDrive the clear choice. However, depending on the application, MagnaDrive products may not represent the lowest initial cost. If initial cost is the only evaluation criteria when selecting a product, MagnaDrive appears too expensive. However, MagnaDrive is typically the better choice by a wide margin if the total cost of ownership is evaluated over the life of the system, taking into account the benefits and the cost of all drives and couplings and replacements required over the life of the system. For more information see Value Proposition Q. How does a Variable Frequency Drive work? A. Variable Frequency Drives are electronic devices that control the speed of the motor by controlling the frequency of the voltage supplied to the motor. The VFD converts three-phase 60 hertz AC voltage to AC voltage at a desired frequency. Controlling the frequency controls the motor speed, as the speed of an induction AC motor is proportional to the frequency of the voltage applied. Q: There is very similar magnetic technology in eddy current drives, isn't there? A: There are significant differences between old technology eddy current drives and new technology MagnaDrive ASDs. An eddy current drive is electromagnetic; it consumes electrical energy as it continuously energizes its electromagnets. MagnaDrive is mechanical, using rare earth magnets. The MagnaDrive is about 10-15% more efficient throughout its operating range and its disconnected technology results in vibration reduction. General MagnaDrive Questions | Competitive Questions | Operational Questions | Magnet Questions FAQ | Contact Us | Home Copyright © 2008 MagnaDrive Corporation, All Rights Reserved.