Testing your motor control coordination

Third Quarter 2024 Electrical switching & drive systems & components

Referro Systems, a supplier of control and automation solutions for the industrial sector, is warning against the risks of using untested components in motor control combinations. A motor control circuit is made up of numerous basic interconnected components that achieve the desired performance. The components will vary in size, depending on the motor’s power, but the operation principles stay the same. Therefore it is possible to design a high-performance motor control combination using a few basic components.

However, managing director, Adrian van Wyk says that combining type 1 with type 2 motor control elements without testing can have huge negative effects. If one uses an untested combination, there is a high risk of causing damage within the motor control centre, and there is also a risk of causing an arc flash, which could cause damage and serious injury to plant personnel.

“Testing coordinated combinations is hugely expensive, but it is very important to use these tested combinations to reduce risk, meet international standards, and ensure safe and efficient motor control combinations,” he explains. “A safer and more pragmatic approach is to rely on Rockwell Automation’s global short-circuit current rating (SCCR) tool, which provides coordinated high-fault branch circuit solutions for motor starters, soft starters, and variable speed drives.”

The one-line bill of materials provides coordinated high-fault SCCR ratings for all power devices used in the circuit, which saves customers time and effort to find and determine these ratings. The data provided by the SCCR tool is based on compliance with IEC and UL standards, pinpointing combinations that have been tested with coordination tables from 0,5 to 600 kW at various voltages and fault levels. These also include South Africa’s very unique and very common mining motor control operational voltage of 525V/550V, which is not a global test voltage.

“There are very specific products and variations of products that work together safely within a motor control circuit. These have been tested by Rockwell Automation, and are available to the public,” he adds.

The SCCR website at www.tinyurl.com/ybvztjf3 is the easy way to select safe combinations as Rockwell Automation has already tested all the different combinations, allowing companies to build their motor control combinations using complementary elements that have been tested and are compliant according to regulations. Customers can use tested combinations to ensure performance levels and safety is guaranteed.

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