Marie-Ange WEST: 10:15am Jul 28, 2008: 3 phases units - Tony M: 10:21am Jul 28, 2008: Several translations possible — we need more context to explain exactly how 'units' is being used in this specific situation.
Explanation: It really all depends on exactly what these 'units' actually are, what they do, how big they are, etc.
Very often, 'boîtier' is used in FR to indicate 'unit' in a non-specific way, but I feel is no longer applicable if the unit is actually very large!
And sometimes, when a manufacturer talks about 'units', they really mean 'models' (of our product) — I suspect quite strongly that is what is meant here, but as ever, lack of context makes it hard to be certain.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 16 mins (2008-07-28 10:31:07 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Just wanted to add that I am mistrustful of the use of 'unité' in this sense in FR; I have never encountered it personally in this exact context in any of my FR > EN documents, and of all the Google hits (not that many, in fact) I have been able to look at, the vast majority seem to be from EN manufacturers, suggesting that many if not all instances might be poorly-translated EN source texts. Most of the others I have seen related to a slightly different use of 'unit', with something of the sense of 'unité de production', for example.
I certainly couldn't say it is wrong, but I do smell a rat...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 18 mins (2008-07-28 10:33:52 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Yes, Marie, but that's not enough; we need to know, for example, if the writer is talking about 'the products of this specific manufacturer', etc. It is a very subtle difference of usage in EN, but will almost certainly affect which translation you need.
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 52 mins (2008-07-28 11:07:01 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Suggestions kindly added by GM and P/E respectively:
appareils...
matériels...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 hrs (2008-07-28 14:45:57 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Thanks, Marie, but I'm afraid that still doesn't tell us what we need to know. We need to know what these 'units' are that are being referred to, and what their relationship is with the fan/pump motors; here, it's the wider context that is needed...
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 4 hrs (2008-07-28 14:50:06 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +4
