Inverter Drives Provide Enhanced Motor Control

Omron Electronics has developed the MX2 inverter drives to offer a comprehensive and cost-effective automation solution for machine applications. The inverter drives provide motor control features such as 200 per cent starting torque, torque control in open loop, induction motor and permanent magnet motor control, one-parameter auto-tuning, drive sequence programming and built-in position control functionality. They also incorporate safety functions that conform with ISO 13849.

Industrial standard networks such as Profibus, Devicenet, Ethercat or Componet can be integrated. For motor control, MX2 drives use current vector technology and offer a starting torque of 200 per cent at 0.5Hz combined with strong open-loop torque control characteristics. In certain applications, this allows the MX2 to be used as an alternative to a flux vector or servo drive. The MX2 allows the user to create solutions using logic programming, via a flowchart programming tool. Programs with up to 1,000 lines of code can be created with five tasks running in parallel. The MX2 can be configured to follow a master speed signal, with no additional hardware.

The drives can be used for simple positioning tasks without the need for an external position controller. Up to eight positions plus home can be programmed by the user and the drive can be switched between speed and position control as required. To help address machine control safety requirements in line with ISO 13849-1 Cat 3, MX2 drives incorporate two safety inputs and an external device monitoring (EDM) output. This means that the requirement to use dual contactors on the drive output to perform safety functions is eliminated.

Modbus RS485 is built in and option cards are planned for all key Fieldbus networks such as Devicenet, Profibus and Ethercat. A separate 24V DC input is standard, which can be used to keep the drive operational in the event of a mains input failure. Omron MX2 inverter drives for machine applications are available in 200V single-phase versions with ratings from 0.2 to 2.2kW, in 200V three-phase versions with ratings from 0.2 to 15kW and in 400V three-phase versions with ratings from 0.4 to 15kW.

Indexer Servo Drives Offer 32 Motion Profiles

Ormec Systems has announced the global launch of the XD-Series indexer servo drives to provide reliable motion control capabilities for challenging applications. The XD-Series allows programming of 32 individual motion profiles, which can be mapped to I/O points, one or two functions per point, initiated via Modbus/TCP and chained or looped together. The adaptable I/O, with 14 inputs and eight outputs, can be mapped to change from position, velocity or torque modes during program execution.

Motion can be synchronised with supported machine I/O, allowing for start, stop or trigger speed changes, with inputs at any point in the chain, and user-defined units for axis position speed and acceleration, further simplifying implementation. By employing an HMI or optional Fieldbus communication, the XD-Series allows motion parameter adjustments, remote commanded motion and real-time indexer status read capabilities. Communication setup may be accomplished via USB or Ethernet connections, with Modbus/TCP, Ethernet/IP, CANopen and Profibus-DP options.

The XD-Series is available in 115, 230 and 460V AC input power options, with 3A to 60A continuous current ratings. The drives feature a built-in Motor Wizard, which simplifies non-standard motor integration and enables users to quickly commission unproven motors. Once the program and motor data are loaded onto the indexer, configuration data is stored both in the indexer and on a removable memory card, simplifying software transfer, duplication requirements and hardware replacement needs. Software includes extensive support for monitoring and optimising an application, allowing the application program to be quickly honed to perfection.

Ormec's software tools can reduce conventional setup efforts, from what typically was days, to a matter of minutes, with the supplied pre-defined 'load and go' application templates. The XD-Series is said to be capable of handling a wide range of motion control applications, including intelligent conveyor control, pick and place, labelling, flying shear, rotary knives, scanning, high-speed printing, part storage and retrieval, plus many others. The built-in features of the XD-Series allow it to support otherwise difficult application requirements, such as tension control, dual-loop feedback, registration, gearing, among others.

Ball-Screw Drives Improve Vehicle Fuel Consumption

Schaeffler's energy-efficient ball-screw drive is being utilised on the electromechanical steering system for the Volkswagen Tiguan. Schaeffler supplies the ball-screw drive to Volkswagen, as well as a toothed rack, which is partly designed as a spindle on which the drive is located. Ball-screw drives are used to transform rotary motion into linear motion through a direct coupling between the drive element and the output element.

In the Tiguan, the ball nut is driven by a servomotor, which is linked to the ball-screw drive via a belt. These low-friction, low-noise ball-screw drives play a role in helping to improve a vehicle's fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. As well as offering the driver optimised handling, the latest electromechanical steering systems can also reduce fuel consumption by as much as three per cent compared to conventional hydraulic steering systems.

An advantage of an electromechanical steering system over a hydraulic one is that the servomotors require energy only when specific steering manoeuvres are carried out, while hydraulic pumps need to maintain hydraulic pressure at all times. This means that pumps and feeds are no longer required on an electromechanical system, which reduces the space required for operating the steering system. Other customers of Schaeffler's ball-screw drives include automotive supplier TRW. The ball-screw drives are also used on vehicles manufactured in the US by Volkswagen, Ford and BMW. The aerospace sector is another user of high-precision ball-screw drives, which are often found in an aircraft's tail-steering system.

PI Drives For Automation And Handling

Physik Instrumente (PI) has launched the M-228 and M-229 linear drives, which feature travel ranges of 10mm/25mm and use classic stepper motors as drives, with either compact or cubic configuration.

The drives feature mechanical position display, a non-rotating spindle and safety limit switches. PI said the low-cost drives are ideal for tasks such as setting valves, adjusting components for further processing, and pick-and-place.

Rosa Surface Grinder Has Linear Motor Drives

NL Machine Tool Consulting has announced that Rosa Ermando has introduced the linear motor drive for the table of its grinding machines, series Steel Linear and R46. The linear motor is said to reach high speeds and accelerations, where during grinding a traverse speed of approximately 65m/min and accelerations of 2G are feasible. This increases the output capacity and/or reduction of machining times. It also generates high forces, where the thrust of the motor easily reaches up to 10,000N.

The linear motor has no mechanical components with power transmission components and avoids many disadvantages such as friction, mechanical backlash, and mechanical resonance due to elasticity. It is also said to be precise as it is controlled by a linear optical scale, which means positioning of table within micron precision is possible. The linear motor drive is claimed to be a flexible solution that allows creep-feed grinding, with slow table motion, interpolation between table and vertical axis, high-speed grinding till 65m/m. The machines are controlled through a Siemens Sinumerik 840 DiE CNC control unit and can be supplied with fourth and fifth axis for complicated components.

ABB Drives Reduce Swimming Pool Energy Bills

ABB drives have helped a UK holiday park operator save GBP77,000 a year on energy bills for its swimming pools. Bourne Leisure, which owns brands such as Haven, Butlins and Warner Leisure hotels, has swimming pools at a number of its properties. ABB Drives Alliance partner APDS was asked to investigate the energy-saving potential for the swimming pools and a trial was conducted on two of the three filtration pumps at Bourne Leisure's Devon Cliffs site.

The pump was monitored for a period before a variable speed drive (VSD) was installed. Monitoring with a temporary VSD fitted demonstrated that considerable energy savings could be made. The direct-on-line pumps were working at 50Hz drawing an average of 30A. When the drive was introduced, this figure was reduced to 23A during the day and 15A at night, with no effect on water quality. APDS and ABB recommended fitting VSDs to the pumps feeding the pool filters.

The pump filters operate by trapping dirt and debris in the sand filter and returning clean water back to the swimming pool. Pumping the water at a reduced flow rate improves the filtration process and removes more contaminants. The traditional method achieved this by increasing the diameter of the feed pipes and introducing a control valve to limit the flow. This was obviously wasteful as the pump was still running at maximum speed.

Doug Pitt of APDS said: 'The trial showed the predicted savings for each 18.5kW pump at Devon Cliffs was GBP4,899 per annum, giving a payback period of less than six months. 'The actual savings exceeded those predicted in the energy report as the motor speed could be accurately mapped to pool utilisation,' he added. ABB drives ranging from 3.3kW to 30kW were eventually installed in 36 Bourne Leisure owned pools around the country, including two Butlins parks, making savings of up to GBP11,000 depending on size of pool and number of drives. In total, the company is saving nearly GBP77,000 per annum on running its pools, with a total payback time for the entire project of just over a year.

'The conversion only takes a day, with most of the rewiring done at night, so there has been very little disruption for our guests,' said Craig Valentine, health and safety manager for Bourne Leisure. Other features of the ABB drives include the real-time clock that allows the pumps to be started and stopped according to a schedule of use. The drives also have a boost button that can immediately take the pumps up to full speed for the backwash cycle.

Reduced bearing wear of the pumps has also been another benefit of the drives, due to extended ramp times. ABB is working with a specialist pool company on phase two of the project, which will see the drives receiving signals from a dosing machine. This will ensure the drives run at a speed more accurately matched to how the pool is used to ensure the correct dosing of additives such as bromine to maintain the optimum conditions in the pool.

Agile & Intelligent Servos / Drives From Panasonic

The new A4 Servo is the next generation of Panasonic's MINAS product line. It sports a fast frequency response of 1KHz, improved real time auto gain tuning, new vibration control features, and 2Mpps command input. The size has also been reduced up to 30% compared to Matsushita Panasonic Electric Work's older A-Series, and along with the UL and CE certifications, the A4 Series servo drive & motor is also in compliance with SEMI F47 Standard.

Key Features:

• Motor types: Super low, low, middle and high inertia
• Speed response frequency 1kHz
• Incremental encoder (2500p/r)
• Absolute Encoder (17bit) available
• Vibration control
• Real-time auto tuning
• Pulse and analog command input
• Fast response and positioning
• Position, velocity and torque control

Servo Drives Provide High Control Flexibility

TCP/IP-compatible servo drives from Baldor Electric have simplified the construction of an automotive component tester from Dynamic Testing and Equipment (DTE). The new machine fully automates the accelerated life testing of the flexible boot seals used to protect ball joints in automobile steering assemblies. The use of programmable AC servos - instead of conventional hydraulic actuators - provides a high level of control flexibility, enabling test parameters such as joint articulation angles to be varied on the fly.

Capable of testing up to six boot seals simultaneously, testing regimes can include continuous articulation of the ball joints, hot and cold brine sprays, elevated humidity levels and air temperature cycling from -25C to +80C. DTE's boot-seal testing machine employs two motorised movement axes - one vertical and one horizontal - each driven by a Baldor Motiflex e100 three-phase servo drive and servomotor fitted with a multi-turn absolute encoder. The precise feedback signals enable both axes to be programmed to absolute zero, facilitating optimal positioning of the machine's tooling for parts loading and unloading, and ensuring ease of start-up.

The servo drives are connected via industry-standard Ethernet to the test machine's host computer, which runs National Instruments' Labview software, and are controlled via TCP/IP using the built-in ActiveX commands in Baldor's Mint programming language. Designed primarily for automotive component manufacturers, DTE's boot seal testing machine can be used to influence component design, or to demonstrate conformance with end-customers' performance standards.

Drives And Motors Help Simulate Hurricane

Motor Technology has supplied the drives and motors that operate critical components within a huge wind simulator, capable of recreating the conditions of a Category 5 hurricane. Motor Technology worked with Cambridge Consultants, who had designed a wind simulation system for the University of Western Ontario, Canada, for use in research into wind damage to domestic housing, known as the Three Little Pigs project.

The vast simulator was designed to operate within the Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes, a facility big enough for a full-size house to be tested. The idea was to recreate severe wind conditions and monitor their affects on the structural integrity of complete buildings to the point of destruction. The system designed by Cambridge Consultants involves a series of 100 pressure-loading actuators, which are mounted against the walls and roof of the structure to be tested.

Within each actuator is a rapid-acting valve system that allows the simulation of wind pressures, with rates of change up to seven times a second. Each actuator is linked to a control system that recreates the complex, rapidly changing pressures that would occur in a real storm, across the entire surface of the house. Motor Technology supplied a motor and drive system for each of the actuators, which would be capable of delivering the rapid pressure changes.

Despite the high performance required, Cambridge Consultants specified a low power consumption requirement, as during the test cycles all 100 drives and motors would be operating at the same time. To achieve this, Motor Technology's team designed a custom brushless servo motor, providing 12Nm at 1,000rev/min, in a direct-drive configuration to eliminate power losses of around 4 per cent from a gearbox. By doing this, the team were able to reduce current requirement by 15 per cent, achieving a power saving of 40A across all 100 drives. By using the flexibility of a Metronix servo drive, the team were able to use the standard resolver in the servo drive as an absolute feedback device.

This eliminated the need for separate encoders and made a huge cost saving for the project. Additionally, Metronix expanded the Ethernet capability of the drives to enable full control over Ethernet. This included full control over the control loops, power stage and positioning control. Thanks to the elimination of unnecessary components such as gearboxes and encoders, each drive system is completely maintenance-free.

ABB Drives Reduce Energy Used By Fridges

ABB Group's Variable Speed Drives have won an award for cutting energy usage and extending the life of refrigerators. The Food and Drink Innovation Network Clegg Food Projects Award for New Process and Environmental Awareness was presented to ABB at a gala dinner at the National Space Centre, Leicester. More than 60 per cent of industrial electrical energy is used to power electric motors, the majority of which are used on fans, pumps and compressors.

These devices are used in refrigeration equipment. The motors driving these applications usually run at a constant speed, even though the load is varying. Using variable speed drives (VSDs), the speed of the motor can be slowed down, thereby reducing the amount of energy consumed. A VSD can be retrofitted to most existing systems.

The mechanical controls are simply locked fully open and the VSD directly controls the speed of the electric motor. Since cold storages and fridge plants typically run for 24 hours, most refrigeration drive applications are potential VSD candidates. Any refrigeration system with a wide variation in operating hours or with a heat load that is less than the peak load can benefit from a VSD. ABB applied existing technology to the food industry by developing bolt on variable speed drive motors for refrigerators.

These keep units running at regular speeds and prevent peaks of energy use when something is put inside a fridge, reducing energy use and costs and cutting carbon footprints. This increases the life of the equipment. Instead of continually running at full speed, the lower speed reduces stresses, increases the equipment life and extends service intervals, cutting maintenance costs.

New Lenze 8400 L-Force VFD Inverter Drives

Lenze’s new 8400 Series Inverter Drives series offers impressive, consistent scaling. The clear functional grading of the BaseLine, StateLine and HighLine versions makes selecting the right inverter for the drive axis a very simple process – and the value for money is spot on too. Lenze will presentthe 8400 Inverter Drives as the newest member of the L-force drive and automation platform at the Hanover Fair from 21 to 25 April in Hall 14, booth H36.

All versions share the same kind of handling, operation, programming, logistics and service options. This makes working with the inverters incredibly simple. The cost savings available in all life cycle phases of a machine increase the value-added in the long term. In conjunction with matching geared motors, Lenze also supplies complete drive axes from one source.
Lenze, the specialist in drive and automation technology, is initially launching the 8400 inverter drives as BaseLine, StateLine and HighLine.

The BaseLine is available with power ratings of between 0.25 and 2.2 kW (230V single phase) and 0.37 to 3 kW (400/500V three phase). The StateLine and HighLine versions cover the single-phase power ratings of 0.25 to 2.2 kW, also five different power ratings are initially available for three phase between 0.37 and 11 kW. The 8400 BaseLine can be used as a voltage-controlled variable speed drive or in sensorless vector operation where it is suitable for continuous applications such as simple conveyor systems, pumps and fans. In terms of functionality and drive behaviour, it is the entry-level model.

In addition to the scope of the 8400 BaseLine, the 8400 StateLine offers functions such as S-ramps for gentle, low wear acceleration, a unique flying restart circuit to smoothly pick up freewheeling loads and integrated brake handling to control service brakes. In addition to this, an HTL encoder can be connected to the 8400 StateLine, thereby extending its potential range of use. Typical applications include extruders, line and travelling drives, high-speed roller doors and simple lift tables or dynamic variable speed drives.

The 8400 StateLine and HighLine have a CANopen interface fitted as standard for communication or diagnostics purposes. It also features another plug-in interface for extending to common fieldbus systems such as PROFIBUS, POWERLINK, EtherCat or PROFINET. At the third level of this series, in addition to the functional range of the StateLine, the HighLine 8400 inverter drives are equipped with full-value integrated positioning control. These inverters are therefore recommended as efficient drives for applications like rotary feeders, filling systems, rolling and sliding doors or for positioning tasks in warehouse systems.

The common features shared by all inverters include the integrated interface for connecting up to a PC, the same operating conditions at 45°C without derating, the high overload behaviour of up to 200 percent of the rated current and the ‘memory module’, an interchangeable module that greatly simplifies commissioning and service. The devices are either programmed using the keypad or ‘L-force Engineer’ project planning software,that is provided free of-charge in the ‘StateLevel’ version. All inverters comply with RoHS and satisfy CE and UL requirements.

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.

ABB Drives Promote Green Paper Making

Paper manufacturer UPM's plant at Shotton has achieved its goal of producing all its paper from recovered waste paper, rather than virgin wood, with the help of ABB variable speed drives. Known as the '100% Shotton' project, it has involved the building of a new recycled fibre plant, a sludge plant and modifications to Paper Machine 1 and Paper Machine 2. ABB General Purpose Drives are used mainly on pumps in the process, using variable speed to match pump speed to the production rate.

They are also used on chemical dosing pumps to accurately add chemicals to the pulp. Some conveyors on the process also use ABB variable speed drives. The drives help control the process better, adjusting the inputs to the plant to maintain the correct pressure and temperature conditions. The drives also make it easier to control the production rate. Additionally, they contribute to energy savings by reducing the power drawn.

Ray von der Fecht, Project Automation Manager on the 100% Shotton project, says: 'We chose ABB variable speed drives because ABB is a respected name, well known in the paper industry. Also, we know the products and the people. Overall, ABB offered a very good solution along with the best price. So well did the implementation phase go, that start-up of the system went according to plan, with the drives and automation system being switched on at the exact planned minute in the schedule'. 'It was like switching on a light', says von der Fecht.

One of the UPM's major criteria for the drives was maintainability. The drives had to be capable of being changed out quickly in the event of failure and also had to be easy to move. Interchangeable cards were also considered an advantage, allowing the company to keep dives running by simply changing some of the critical components. Compact size was also part of the demand, to save on space, improve efficiency and heat loss and cut cooling costs. The ABB drives scored on all the points. Another useful feature was their ability to communicate over Profibus, the industry standard for communication in paper production. The drives also feature input line chokes to reduce harmonics fed to the network and output filters to reduce the electrical stresses on the motor windings. High reliability was the most important criterion. Says von der Fecht: 'We have had good experience with the ABB drives'.