- ABB is a trusted advisor for sustainable, reliable, easy-to-use Integrated Motor Drive (IMD) solutions
- ABB provides guidance to OEM partners through ideation, design, development and implementation
The global heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) market is moving to compact, powerful, easy-to-control solutions that improve energy savings, reduce installation costs and simplify startup. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) rely on internal resources and external component suppliers to ensure their designs are developed and manufactured to a level of excellence that achieves these goals.
ABB has responded to these dynamics, forming a new Integrated Motor Drives (IMD) business group, focused on bringing innovative, packaged motor and drives solutions to market. The IMD mission is clear: to help customers get to market quickly, with high-value motor and drive products, while delivering the highest level of customer support.
IMD technology combines a motor and its variable speed drive into a single unit, eliminating the need for additional components, such as a separate housing for the inverter or shielded connection cables, which can significantly reduce the cost of installation and manufacturing. IMDs also offer several other advantages, including:
- Improved power density: IMDs can improve power density by 10–20 percent, which reduces volume.
- Better thermal management: ABB IMDs run cooler, improving efficiency (IMDs reach IE5 efficiency levels) and extending unit life.
- Less electrical interference: The direct connection of the motor to the drive without additional cables reduces harmonics, decreases voltage spike levels and improves EMI/EMC behavior.
- Lower system losses: IMDs have lower system losses due to shorter motor runs and associated thermal losses.
- Better flexibility: IMDs’ smaller design, reduced complexity and plug-and-play operation offer more options in product design.
Manufacturers are being challenged to develop new generations of products that advance against multiple criteria, from higher levels of efficiency to improved serviceability. Releasing a new product line is a journey, and success can be achieved best through small wins at each step in the process. In addition to providing and supporting adaptable IMD technologies, ABB partners with OEM customers to help develop next-generation products. These collaborations deliver success at each stage, improving and shortening the development cycle and accelerating the go-to-market process.
ABB has identified four areas in which the IMD team can assist HVACR manufacturers in their product development:
- Ideation: ABB delivers applied IMD expertise; opportunity identification; market threat analysis; analysis of efficiency, space and resilience improvements; access to other ABB divisions and engineering support, so you can quickly understand market threats and opportunities, identify new product and product rejuvenation ideas, define development priorities and align on an execution plan.
- Validation and prototyping: ABB provides a dedicated program manager, lab and engineering resources, and agile team to support development, prioritized parts availability, completed prework and best-of-breed IMD products, so you can quickly produce requirements, create 3D product drawings, verify dimensions and complete design cycles.
- Development: ABB brings local teams into the process, with local stocking and pricing programs, so partners can complete final design quickly, conclude contractual terms and manufacture without interruption.
- Go-to-market expertise: Finally, ABB helps OEMs to constantly improve their product portfolio with marketing, media and support resources to maximize market impact with efficiency and begin to look for the next opportunity. Continuous improvement processes and practices help to measure and track successes and failures to learn ways to move forward quickly with future projects.
With dedicated engineering support through its product testing, customer success and engineering excellence center in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, ABB provides a high level of service throughout the entire process. In today's market, seizing the right opportunities is everything. ABB’s IMD business group is the timely, transformative and trusted partner to help HVACR manufacturers go further, faster.
ABB Motion, a global leader in motors and drives, is at the core of accelerating a more productive and sustainable future. We innovate and push the boundaries of technology to contribute to energy efficient, decarbonizing and circular solutions for customers, industries and societies. With our digitally enabled drives, motors and services we support our customers and partners to achieve better performance, safety and reliability. To help the world’s industries outrun – leaner and cleaner, we deliver motor-driven solutions for a wide range of applications in all industrial segments. Building on over 140 years of domain expertise in electric powertrains, our more than 22,000 employees across 100 countries learn and improve every day. go.abb/motion
ABB is a global technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting its engineering and digitalization expertise, ABB helps industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. At ABB, we call this ‘Engineered to Outrun.’ The company has over 140 years of history and more than 105,000 employees worldwide. ABB’s shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ABBN) and Nasdaq Stockholm (ABB). www.abb.com
