Conduit Adapters Make The Connection

A new range of conduit adapters designed for transitioning from conduit to 7/8-16UN Minifast, M12 Eurofast and M23 Multifast connectors. Hans TURCK has a range of new conduit adapters designed for transitioning from conduit to 7/8-16UN Minifast, M12 Eurofast and M23 Multifast connectors. The front of the adapter provides quick disconnect compatibility, while the back provides Screw Terminals for wiring inside the conduit. The conduit adapters are available with one or two connectors and attach to standard conduit bodies.

The conduit adapters are available with one or two connectors and attach to standard conduit bodies. These rugged Turck connectors provide IEC IP67 protection when all receptacles are connected or covered with plugs. Receptacle housings are available in nickel-plated brass or 316 stainless steel to suit many applications. The conduit adapter also includes a gasket and mounting hardware (8-32 by 0.5in) for ease of installation.

Novel Thermal Design Reduces Inverter Volume

Lenze has developed 8200 vector inverters using the 'cold plate' technique for cases where the inverter can be mounted directly onto a substantial heatsink. AC Tech (Lenze AG) 8200 Vector Inverters are available for power 0.55 to 90kW with three-phase supply. In the more popular smaller sizes up to 22kW, a space saving variant can reduce the requirement for panel space by up to 40%.

By dissipating the heat outside the cabinet, these 'cold plate' versions enable panels to have higher enclosure ratings. Alternatively a plate with external cooling by liquid or air can be used. The cold plate versions of the 8200 vector inverters have no heat fins, so heat generated is passed to the mounting plate and transmitted out of the cabinet.

In this way inverters require less mounting depth and the space savings are substantial. For a 1.5kW inverter the saving is 25%, rising to 40% for a 22kW inverter. Therefore panels can be smaller and costs reduced. As the heat is now transmitted to outside of the cabinet, requirements for a flow of cooling air through the cabinet are removed. Cabinets can be sealed and protection to IP65 is easier to achieve.

This is particularly advantageous in dusty conditions where any through flow of air would cause a dust build-up. Above 22kW the cold plate design is not available. However an alternative 'push-through' design can be used right up to 90kW. Here the Lenze Inverter Heatsink is mounted outside of the panel, gaining the advantages of panel space and enclosure as described. The concept of the 8200 vector frequency inverter is based on a modular system of complementary components.

Combined with a Lenze geared motor or a Lenze three-phase AC motor, it can be used to implement electronic variable speed drives for a multiplicity of applications. Compact: Side-by-side mounting saves space in the control cabinet. Integrated filters (optional) simplify installation. Flexible: The modular structure enables the inverters to be optimised for your application. This results in cost-effective but high-performance drive solutions. Whether as a "stand-alone" inverter with setpoint selection via potentiometer or a networked inverter with speed feedback in master/slave mode, the inverter functions can be adapted to suit every application.

Industrial PC Separates The Display From The PC

Xycom Automation's new 1510 Industrial PC answers a common need to separate the display from the PC. The 1510 series Xycom Industrial PC is a "node" box (without integrated display) with up to 700 MHz Pentium III performance for demanding factory automation applications. Coupled with the Xycom 3015 LCD flat panel monitor, the 1510 gives the user an array of options to choose from. The 1510 Xycom Industrial Computer offers a 10-slot passive backplane with 8 available expansion slots including 4 full-length ISA, 3 full-length PCI, and 1 half-length PCI.

Ian Law, Xycom Automation's Sales Director, explains "There is a large group of factory Automation customers that require a "blind" PC solution with ISA and PCI expansion, or have good reason to physically separate the display from the rest of the PC. Many of these customers have accepted the limitations of using commercial grade PCs with an Industrial Computer LCD monitor. Because these same customers usually require ISA expansion and the commercial market has abandoned ISA expansion capability, these customers are left with even less desirable solutions.

New ABB Industrial Drives Make World Debut

The new multidrives, extension of ABB Low Voltage Industrial Drives, based on a modular configuration of dramatically smaller inverter modules, were introduced on exhibit at the Hannover Messe 2004. Following the debut of the multidrives there, it has been a successful roll out to a wide range of applications and industries around the world. The modular configuration of the multidrive provides control of multiple motors across a 1.5 - 5,600 kW power range, from 380 V up to 690 V. A single rectifier unit can be combined with a host of inverter units that are connected in parallel, to provide output current required by any given application. The multidrive offers a state of art solution for offshore and drilling applications - ultra compact and modular design ensures high availability and service.

ABB's multidrive is built from industrial drive modules that are connected to a common DC bus bar. The common bus bar is used to supply the drive modules with DC power, and each module then inverts the DC to AC and powers an individual motor. The DC power is derived from a single supply unit (rectifier) that is built into the front of the same multidrive configuration. The standard DC bus arrangement enables single power entry and common braking resources for several drives. "Common braking includes regenerative braking and motor-to-motor braking depending on the demands and modes of the various motor loads in a process or on an original equipment machine," according to Tuomo Tarula, market manager for Marine and Offshore, ABB Drives, Helsinki.

Modular construction simplifies the total installation and results in many benefits: savings in cabling, installation and maintenance costs; reduced line currents and simpler braking arrangements; energy distribution over the common DC bus bar, which can be used for motor-to-motor braking without the need for a braking chopper or a regenerative supply unit; reduced component counts; increased reliability; and space savings.