mediamatrix (X) Jul 3, 2010:

@meirs I'm sure we all have a clear understanding of what a VFD is, what it does and how it works. But that doesn't give us leave to use words incorrectly. After all, the whole purpose of the exercise here is surely to ensure that Asker's client's readers also benefit from our clear understanding of these things.

As an expert in these things, I understand what you mean when you write "the VFD produces a variable frequency (electrical power) "; but that is actually not correct. A perfect VFD doesn't 'produce' anything - and least of all 'electrical power'. (And of course a real-world VFD wastes power - but that's another story.)

meirs Jul 3, 2010:

reset a motor or VFD overload It is clear (to me at least) from the context that is electrical (to reest an overload relay). Regarding 'vitesse' and 'fréquence' - they are practically equivalent in the case of a VFD - the VFD produces a variable frequency (electrical power) that in turn causes the (asynchronous) motor to turn at a proportional speed (with a minor deviation related to the motor slip at the particular load and frequency). So VFD describes the nature of the device and VFD describes its purpose (overall effect and reason of being used in the first place).

mediamatrix (X) Jul 2, 2010:

And ... ... please do not confuse 'vitesse' and 'fréquence'.

mediamatrix (X) Jul 2, 2010:

Il pourrait être purement mécanique ? Only if it was built at least 30 years ago :)

And even then, the phrase would not refer to 'fréquence', but to something specifically 'mechanical' such as the variable-ratio belt-drive system that was a (the only...) remarkable feature of DAF motor-cars ... at least 30 years ago (hmmm... more like 40+ years ago).

Arnold T. (asker) Jul 2, 2010:

But ... Il s'agit pourtant bien d'un entrainement ( "drive" ) à vitesse / fréquence variable et rien ne dit qu'il est électrique / électronique / mécanique. Il pourrait être purement mécanique.

mediamatrix (X) Jul 2, 2010:

No 'mécanisme d'entrainement à fréquence variable' is typical Termium-ese. A VFD is neither a 'mechanism' nor 'mechanical'.

Arnold T. (asker) Jul 2, 2010:

VFD Est-ce que ça pourrait être un "mécanisme d'entrainement à fréquence variable" ?

C'est ce que suggère Termium :

variable frequency drive = mécanisme d'entraînement à fréquence variable