Help with AC Motor Drives specifications:
Drive Type
Category of motor or system driven or controlled.
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Your choices are... | |||
AC Induction Motor | Induction motors derive their name from the fact that current is induced into the rotor windings without any physical connection with the stator windings (which are directly connected to an AC power supply); adaptable to many different environments and capable of providing considerable power as well as variable speed control. Typically there is "slip," or loss of exact speed tracking with induction motors. | ||
AC Shaded Pole Motor | This motor contains an auxiliary winding around a portion of each pole of the motor. This winding, called the shading coil, provides the rotating magnetic field for the motor to run. These motors are often used for fans and can be varied in speed with TRIAC controls. | ||
Permanent Split Capacitor Motor | A PSC (Permanent Split Capacitor) motor uses run and secondary windings, and a capacitor that is permanently connected to the power source. These motors are often used for fans and can be varied in speed with TRIAC controls. | ||
AC Synchronous Motor | Synchronous motors operate at constant speed up to full load. The rotor speed is equal to the speed of the rotating magnetic field of the stator; there is no slip. Reluctance and permanent magnet are the two major types of synchronous motors. A synchronous motor is often used where the exact speed of a motor must be maintained. | ||
AC Pole Number Control Drive | Pole number control is a feature that is applicable only to drives that work with Pole Changing Motors (PCMs). PNC is a method for changing the number of poles on the primary winding. PNC is useful in general-purpose speed control applications that involve two to four constant speeds. | ||
AC Sensorless Vector Drive | Vector drives employ independent control of both the voltage and frequency supplied to the motor for good speed control, and low-speed torque output approaching that of DC motors. Sensorless indicates that no feedback sensor such as an encoder or resolver is used. | ||
AC Vector / Feedback Drive | Vector drives employ independent control of both the voltage and frequency supplied to the motor for good speed control, and low-speed torque output approaching that of DC motors. An encoder, resolver, or other feedback device is employed to provide position and speed feedback for highly accurate speed control and maintenance. | ||
AC Servo / Brushless Motor | AC servomotors are typically permanent magnet, synchronous motors that can often have low torque-to-inertia ratios for high acceleration ratings. They frequently employ brushless commutation with feedback provided by Hall Effect sensors, and sinusoidal winding excitation. | ||
Linear Motor | Linear motors generate force only in the direction of travel. The motor technology resembles rotary motor technologies simply oriented in a linear fashion. Linear motors are capable of extremely high speeds, quick acceleration, and accurate positioning. Linear motor technologies include moving coil, moving magnet, AC switched reluctance design, AC synchronous design, AC induction or traction design, linear stepping design, DC brushed design, and DC brushless design. | ||
Other | Other unlisted, specialized or proprietary style of motor or axis drive. | ||
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Integral Motion Controller | Integrated unit with both motion control and motor drive, or amplifier functions on board. | ||
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Number of Axes / Motors | Number of axes or independent motors that the device can drive or control. Follower or dependent axes are often listed as "half" axes. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the "At Least" and "No More Than" values. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
Resolution (if Applicable) | Number of binary digits (bits) the device used to characterize an analog signal. | ||
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Application Categories | The categories below are additional descriptions of drive types. Many drives and controllers can be categorized as one or more of these; this set of categories is based directly on supplier terminology, and multiple descriptions are possible. | ||
Your choices are... | |||
Battery Controlled | Battery controlled drives are designed to operate on battery power and may have additional design considerations to extend battery life or in general make more efficient use of the available power. | ||
Multi-axis Controller | Motion controllers that control and/or monitor multiple independent axes of motion, typically one motor per axis. | ||
Motor Speed Controller | Control units for motor speed, braking, and often torque control. Speed controllers are often application-specific for uses such as conveyor or web control, electric vehicle control, etc. | ||
Robotic Motion Controller | Robotic controllers use digital motion control hardware and software for the coordinated multi-axis control of industrial robots and robotic systems | ||
Servo Amplifier | Servo amplifiers are electronic modules that convert low-level analog command signals to high-power voltages and currents to operate a servomotor. | ||
Variable Speed Drive | Variable speed drives monitor and control industrial motor applications where speed control and adjustment is required. | ||
Regenerative Drive | Regenerative drives support motor braking and take the power generated by the braking action and send it back to the power source, such as the AC line or a battery. | ||
Inverter Drive | Inverter drives convert an AC power input into a DC voltage, and then convert it back to an adjustable or high-frequency power signal. | ||
High Frequency Drive | High frequency drives supply power to AC motors at frequencies much higher than standard power frequency for high-speed industrial applications. | ||
TRIAC Control | A drive that uses a TRIAC (Triode for Alternating Current) as the output method to control an AC motor. | ||
SCR Drive | DC motor drive that uses SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifiers) circuits for rectification of the AC input to produce the DC drive current. | ||
PWM Drive | DC motor drive using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to regulate the DC voltage level output to the motor. | ||
DSP-based | Digital signal processors (DSP) are special microprocessors used where real-time manipulation of large amounts of digital data is required in order to improve or modify it. They are used for fast and high-resolution motion control, and special programming equipment is used to program the DSP chip. | ||
Microcontroller Based | Microcontrollers are complete computer systems on a chip, typically combining an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), memory, timer/counters, serial port, input/output ports (I/O) and a clock oscillator. Microcontrollers require programming from external devices. | ||
Other | Other unlisted, specialized, or proprietary motion control or motor drive technology. | ||
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Electrical Ratings
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Maximum Output Voltage | Maximum output voltage of the device. | ||
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Rated Power | Power rating for the driven motor or actuator, often a nominal rating. Specified in watts or horsepower. | ||
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Continuous Output Current | Continuous current rating. | ||
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Peak Output Current | Capacity for current output for a very short period. | ||
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Supply Voltage (AC) | Range of AC input voltage for which the drive or controller will operate. | ||
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Supply Voltage (DC) | Range of DC input voltage for which the drive or controller will operate. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the "At Least" and "No More Than" values. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
AC Input Phase | |||
Your choices are... | |||
Single Phase | The AC input is single phase. Single phase is the more commonly used AC type. Usually, but not exclusively, for lower voltage applications. | ||
Three Phase | The AC input is three phase power. Three phase input is typically used for high-voltage power supplies. | ||
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AC Input Frequency | |||
Your choices are... | |||
50 Hz | Will accept 50 Hz AC input. | ||
60 Hz | Will accept 60 Hz AC input. | ||
400 Hz | Will accept 400 Hz AC input. | ||
Other | Other unlisted frequency. | ||
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Operating Temperature: | The operating temperature of the power supply. | ||
Search Logic: | User may specify either, both, or neither of the limits in a "From - To" range; when both are specified, matching products will cover entire range. Products returned as matches will meet all specified criteria. | ||
Configuration & Features
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Configuration | |||
Your choices are... | |||
IC / PCB-Mounted | Integrated circuit (IC) chip, chipset, or module that mounts onto a printed circuit board (PCB). | ||
PC Board | Device is a printed circuit board that installs into a backplane or motherboard of an industrial or personal computer, PLC, etc. | ||
OEM Module | Designed for incorporation by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) into their products. | ||
Stand Alone | Fully packaged unit that stands alone and communicates with other devices through a standard communication protocol. | ||
Panel Mount | Device mounts onto a panel, wall, or chassis of a larger system; includes slot or "bay" modules. | ||
DIN Rail | Device is designed to mount onto a standard size DIN rail. | ||
Rack Mount | Mounts into a standard rack system, such as a 19" rack enclosure. | ||
Other | Unlisted, specialized, or proprietary mounting configuration. | ||
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Features | |||
Your choices are... | |||
Soft Start | Control circuitry designed to allow the controlled motor to ramp up to full speed over time. This is often designed as a safety feature for motors moving large or fragile loads, and as a preventive measure for excessive current draw. | ||
Dynamic Braking | Method of motor braking in which the power supply is disconnected from the motor windings; the rotating motor then functionally become a generator whose power (heat) is dissipated through an often sizable resistor shunt across the windings. Also referred to as "rheostatic" or shunt resistor braking. | ||
Injection Braking | Applicable to AC motors only. The AC power is disconnected from the windings and a DC current is "injected" into the windings, creating a magnetic field opposing the motor rotation, thereby slowing and stopping the motor. | ||
Regenerative Braking | Method of motor braking somewhat similar to dynamic braking, in which the motor is disconnected from the power supply, and the power generated from the rotating motor is sent back to the supply. In some configurations, this generated power is used to recharge a battery that supplies the power to the drive. | ||
Brake Output | Relay or switch output designed to activate or control an external brake. | ||
Home / Limit Switch Input | Device has inputs for home and/or limit switches, indicating start, stop, or end-of-travel positions of the associated axes. | ||
Auxiliary I/O | Additional channels of input and/or output for communication with or feedback from the device. | ||
Alarm / Status Monitoring | Function in which one or more parameters are monitored for compliance with design operating parameters. In the case of a fault or non-compliant operation, an alarm or other signal can be generated to alert the operator or control system for appropriate action. Examples include overvoltage, overcurrent, and overspeed protection, temperature monitoring, and torque limiting interlocks. | ||
Self-Configuration / Auto-tuning | The unit is designed to detect operating conditions and independently adjust its settings for optimal system performance. | ||
Self-Diagnostics | Device can intelligently detect fault conditions or other system problems, and report the specific problem to the operator or control system. | ||
Electric Vehicle Design | Designed primarily for control of electric motors in industrial, recreational, or other electric vehicles. Many include application-specific features such as reverse alarm output, signal for speedometers and tachometers, etc. | ||
Other | Other unlisted or specialized features. | ||
Search Logic: | All products with ANY of the selected attributes will be returned as matches. Leaving all boxes unchecked will not limit the search criteria for this question; products with all attribute options will be returned as matches. | ||