Modern industry in the XXI century requires high-performance and fully automated technology. The best way to meet these requirements is the introduction of new progressive technologies in the process of transportation. One of the possible ways to increase productivity, as well as automate the process of transportation, is the transition from cyclic machines to continuous transport, namely to belt conveyors. However, with the increase in the length of the conveyor there is a need for stronger belts. This can be avoided by using intermediate drives of various designs. The article describes the principle of operation of the intermediate linear drive with transverse partitions, provides formulas for calculating the values of the tractive effort, gives comparative graphs showing the effectiveness of the use of an intermediate drive in various conditions. The possibilities of increasing the capacity of an intermediate linear drive are described.

The article presents an approach to determining the electric drive’s operability based on an asynchronous motor with a short-circuited rotor and a two-link frequency converter. Mathematical description of the frequency-controlled electric drive is performed, in particular, selection of criteria taking into account an electric and mechanical part. The harmonic current distortion coefficient as a component of the power coefficient is used for the determination of the energy criterion. The mechanical criterion is the coefficient of the electromagnetic moment pulsation, on the value of which the conjugated equipment depends. The operability field is represented as a function of three variables: (а) rotor speed, (b) current harmonic distortion coefficient, and (c) electromagnetic moment pulsation coefficient. The obtained surface makes it possible to determine the actual state of the electric drive and to estimate the reserve of operability, which allows reducing the operating costs in terms of repair and maintenance.

The frequency of maintenance of electromechanical equipment depends on the plant, which uses and runs this equipment. Very often the maintenance frequency is poorly correlated with the actual state of the electromechanical equipment. Furthermore, traditional methods of diagnosis sometimes cannot work without stopping the process (for example, for equipment located in hard to reach places) and so the maintenance costs are increased. This problem can be solved using the indirect methods of diagnosing of the electromechanical equipment. The indirect methods often use the parameters in the real time and seldom use the parameters of traditional diagnostic methods for determination of the resource of electromechanical equipment. This article is dedicated to developing the structure of a special automated control system. This system must use the big flow of the information about the direct and indirect parameters of the equipment state from plants from different areas of industry and factories which produce the electromechanical equipment.