Hardware gives OEMs freedom to personalise drives
CHI Control Components introduces a family of some of the smallest drives available: the new Vacon 10 family. It offers features such as integrated EMC filters, intelligent navigation and a versatile application interface. The first micro drive product is called the Vacon 10 Machinery, and is designed especially for OEM customers.
The family covers the power range from 0,25 kW up to 5,5 kW. "The Vacon 10 family is the first member of our new product range. It offers great flexibility in meeting customer control requirements, and excellent opportunities to find new business in the very competitive and rapidly growing micro drives market. It ideally supports our strategy: a wide product range, outstanding drives know-how, customer orientation, the latest technology and mass customisation," says Heikki Hiltunen, executive vice president, Vacon.
Until now Vacon has not had a particularly strong presence in the fierce micro drives market.
Open adaptability
The secret of the new family lies in its architecture. The drive has been built to allow easy and fast tailoring of the product to meet various customer needs. The control interface of the drive is often the area that is in need of tailoring. The ability to adapt to customer control requirements is incorporated in the control card, called the application interface (API). A set of API boards is offered as standard, but the API construction also gives OEM customers freedom to create API applications for specific needs.
Extensive functionality
The Vacon 10, fitted with a general purpose API, offers a wide range of functions for a drive of this size, a good number of I/Os and MODBUS communication. With this solution, the micro drive will meet the needs of most general applications on the market.
The drive family also comes with mini API options, which provide an excellent solution when only limited functionality is needed, for example in a bus protocol for machines running with bus systems.
Replacing a contactor with a drive is tempting and challenging. To meet this application Vacon 10 offers a simple contactor miniAPI with DIP switch configuration and limited I/O. If the standard version does not meet user needs, CHI's design service can help to develop a tailored solution.
Construction
With its integrated filter, the Vacon 10 meets as standard the EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) requirements for industrial and public networks. It can meet even higher standards when fitted with external filters for special environments such as hospitals. The enclosure class is IP20, and it is designed for cabinet mounting. No side clearance is needed in parallel installations.
Powerful software support
The micro drive allows the customer to program, commission and monitor the drive in a way that is normally only expected from bigger drives. It supports Vacon's standard PC tools such as the manufacturer's NCDrive, NCLoad and NC61131-3 Engineering Tool. The Vacon NC61131-2 Engineering Tool can be used for creating customer-specific software. Other PC tools, which are available for free download at www.vacon.com, are intended for tasks such as commissioning, monitoring, and loading various applications into the drive.
The PC is connected to the drive with an optional micro communication adapter (MCA) and a cable. The cable can be a standard USB or Vacon's own RS485 cable. The MCA allows uploading and downloading of parameters without connecting the drive to the mains.
Environmentally friendly
Vacon 10 is an environment-friendly product. Like all Vacon AC drives, it is energy efficient. The product is RoHS compliant (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) and all materials and packaging have been chosen with recycling in mind.
For more information contact Rob Hare, CHI Control Components, +27 (0)11 824 7400, [email protected], www.chi.co.za
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