When the Arizona Cardinals' new stadium opens later this summer, employees of electric motor and drive manufacturer ABB, Inc. will take pride in knowing that they've contributed to an architectural marvel. The new stadium is so unique that it's been featured in multiple series' on The Discovery Channel, for instance. Its retractable roof runs on a sloped track, making it more difficult to control, and the stadium also features a retractable natural-grass playing field—the first of its kind in North America.

Working with engineering and design company Uni-Systems, ABB supplied its ACS800 drives to help control the torque distribution system in the stadium's retractable roof.

"An important factor in choosing the ABB drives was the inherent risks associated with running a roof on a sloped track," said Lennart Nielsen, Danish master electrician and senior electrical designer with Uni-Systems.

If the motors fail to power up in this scenario, Nielsen explained, rather than remain in place, the roof sections would fall into the stadium's parking lot, due to the sloped structure.

"This caused us to look for a variable frequency drive that would allow us to test the drive torque before each roof motion, to ensure that each drive was operational and capable of a 100 percent torque output," a feat only ABB's drives were capable of, he said.

Uni-Systems and ABB are working on other, similar NFL projects. Already in progress is the Indianapolis Colts' new state-of-the-art retractable roof stadium, which will replace the RCA Dome. The companies are also working on a design for the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium.

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