Soft starter incorporates adaptive acceleration
Second Quarter 2008
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Soft starters are maturing as more sophisticated units perform soft start and stop functions with greater control, more protection and detailed feedback. The AuCom EMX3 Soft Starter from CHI Control Components adds new motor management capabilities in the form of XLR-8, Adaptive Acceleration Control. This new technology offers a high level of control over a motor’s acceleration and deceleration profiles. Using this capability the soft starter learns the motor’s performance during start and stop and subsequently adjusts control to optimise performance.
The AuCom EMX3 is a compact soft starter featuring innovative acceleration control technology
To adapt the starter to the user application various start functions are available, including XLR-8, constant current, current ramp and kickstart. Stop functions include XLR-8, timed voltage ramp, brake mode and coast.
The protection provided by this starter is extensive and highly customisable, supporting motor thermal modelling, thermistor input, frequency, phase sequencing, under- and over-current and many other protective settings.
While soft starters are becoming increasing feature-rich, AuCom has taken steps to ensure that commissioning, operation and fault finding are still quick and easy. Quick setup mode gets machinery running speedily, and informative screens advise the operator on motor performance.
The EMX3 Soft Starters are compact, saving installation costs by minimising panel space requirements. Their design and flexible cabling options permit multiple units to be mounted side by side, or in a bank of starters.
The soft starter has been designed to suit a wide range of applications. The XLR-8 technology works well with low inertia loads such as conveyors and pumps where soft stopping can substantially reduce or eliminate the effects of water hammer. Additionally the starter is suitable for high inertia loads such as circular saws and ball mills as the Adaptive Acceleration Control allows precise control over the motor’s stopping time. Shorter stopping times help improve production efficiency by reducing downtime between operating cycles. The starter is also suitable for pump control in high head applications, compressor operation, band saw control and on irrigators, where its built-in timer proves beneficial.
For more information contact Rob Hare, CHI Control Components, +27 (0)11 824 7400, [email protected], www.chicontrol.co.za
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