Anechoic EMC Chamber Enhances VFD Research & Development

Invertek Drives, a leader in the design and manufacture of variable frequency drives (VFDs), has taken delivery of one of the latest anechoic EMC chambers as part of its continued investment into research and development.

Invertek’s innovation team, based at its global headquarters and manufacturing facility at Welshpool, Powys, UK, is using the chamber as part of the company’s design and validation process.

“The anechoic chamber is a further important addition to our measurement and test capability, enabling us to more effectively develop and validate new drive technologies,” said Dr David Jones, Innovation Director at Invertek.

“In order to be able to accurately measure the electromagnetic emissions from our products, it is important to ensure that any electromagnetic emissions from external sources are fully shielded and internal reflections absorbed. The anechoic chamber provides exactly this environment.

“The dimensions of the chamber in conjunction with the EMI receiver, antenna and turn-table enable measurements to be carried out in accordance with international standards – a key requirement enabling us to certify our products for global sales.”

Dr Jones added: “The end result is that the innovation team can now carry out in-house EMC emissions measurements at more regular stages during a product’s development cycle, reducing its time to market.”

The company places innovation at the heart of the business, investing at least 14% of its annual turnover into research and development.

Invertek is currently building a new 5,000sq m production facility its headquarters which will be completed at the end of 2018. This builds on the existing 3,000sq m production facility where more than 1.2million drives have been produced to date.

The new facility will allow the company to increase production to over 400,000 drives a year.

“Innovation is an important part of Invertek’s growth. We are constantly re-investing in R&D and the EMC chamber is one such investment that allows us to constantly evolve and improve our drives technology,” added Dr Jones.