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ABB's standard drive for a host of industrial applications, the ACS550 series, features AC built-in maintenance triggers, which makes drive and driven-equipment care easier than ever before, according to engineers at the company. The triggers help users schedule maintenance of the drive and its associated equipment in stand-alone applications.

Called a Maintenance Assistant, the feature can prompt users to perform a maintenance task within specific monitored intervals. The drive monitors energy consumption, running hours or motor revolutions. Users can set their own limits, so that the drive annunciates whenever these limits are reached, flagging when the drive, motor, or driven equipment should receive preventive maintenance.

Consider a typical application like a white-pigment metering pump installed in a pulp and paper mill. Because the motor is installed in a nasty environment, the maintenance technician knows the motor bearings should be lubricated every 4,400 hours, or every six months, to prevent failures.

The Maintenance Assistant can prompt the user to perform maintenance, using number of motor revolutions or Megawatt Hours consumed. Additionally, the number of hours the drive's cooling fan is operated can be monitored so the user can be prompted to clean any accumulated dirt/debris, or actually replace the fan at the end of its' estimated life.

The Maintenance Assistant also can keep track of bearing- and drive-belt-replacement intervals. Dust also may build up inside the drive itself, obstructing airflow, which can cause components to overheat. This makes it important to clear out the dust up to a few times a year, which the assistant can prompt the user to do.