VFD Safety
VFD Safety
(OP)
Has anybody experienced a drive "going plasma?" I was at an equipment startup recently and a brand new 200 HP drive toasted after ~20 minutes of operation. The drive rep. said it "went plasma." It was very fortunate that the panel door was closed. Minutes earlier, technicians were inside the cabinet taking measurements.
I now know that I won't go near an open drive without a full-face shield (protective eye wear isn't enough). Any similar experiences out there? I'm not an electrical guy, so excuse my lingo.
I now know that I won't go near an open drive without a full-face shield (protective eye wear isn't enough). Any similar experiences out there? I'm not an electrical guy, so excuse my lingo.





RE: VFD Safety
NFPA seems to be putting it into practice. http://www.nfpa.org/PDF/70E-03-preprint.pdf
Nota Bene,
Annex A, Limits of Approach
Annex B, Sample Calculations for Flash Boundaries
Annex C, Sample Calculation of Incident Energy and Flash Protection Boundaries
Annex M, Hazards associated with Power Electronic Equipment
RE: VFD Safety
Several years ago I went to Argentina to install some drives. Two of the drives blew up due to some inverter software problems. My customer referred to this as the “BOOM TEST”….
We now install micro switches on our drives to prevent it from operating when the door is open. You may want to do this with yours. The “BOOM TEST” is no fun.
David
RE: VFD Safety
http://www.bussmann.com/services/training/docs/Pres10-Arc%20Flash%20Boundaries%20&%20Design-Script%202-02.pdf
for Flash Boundaries
http://www.bussmann.com/services/training/docs/59
for Bussmann slides that include, beside NFPA 70E, Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry, 29 CFR Part 1910, dated February 1, 1999
RE: VFD Safety