Tim Dubbs, Advanced Energy Industries, Milpitas, CA
High-performance, complex systems for coating and deposition need to deliver reliable operation over many years, during which time equipment is likely to be in use for up to 24 hours a day. System operators demand stable, repeatable processes that keep operational costs as low as possible without compromising quality. As with any high-power application, a key focus for cost reduction is the price of energy used.
One way to minimize energy costs is to employ power architectures that improve power factor by reducing total harmonic distortion (THD). This leads to increased efficiency, lowering utility bills and eliminating the cost of hardware filtering. Better power factor also minimizes the risk of penalties to utility companies as they seek to cover the cost of wasted energy and the need for larger equipment.
In this presentation, Advanced Energy will consider the power demands of high-power coating and deposition processes and explain how using digital silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs) with voltage sequence control (VSC) in electrical heating zones can minimize operating expenses (OPEX) by delivering THD reductions that improve power factor.