Best Motors and VSD's
Best Motors and VSD's
(OP)
I have noticed that the one thing that people in this forum like to discuss is QUALITY. There have been a few threads recently that address contactors. I am starting this thread so people may voice an opinion on the their motor and drive of choice.
I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I have found that ABB ACS-600 drives are very reliable and
for most applications I run into , easy to program.
I would also encourage all to include experiences with DC drives.
Best regards,
Afterhrs
I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I have found that ABB ACS-600 drives are very reliable and
for most applications I run into , easy to program.
I would also encourage all to include experiences with DC drives.
Best regards,
Afterhrs





RE: Best Motors and VSD's
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
From first hand experience, I can tell you that their MTBF number are pure fiction !
BTW : The ACS 600 has been COST REDUCED and is now the ACS 800. So much for quality and reliability.
jOmega
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
I do not know about the ACS800.
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
Please do not mistake my comments as a knock on the ACS 600.
I'm a big fan of it... and lived thru its birth and consequent rehabilitation.
My comments were a rebuttal of JB's reference to their MTBF numbers. There are a couple of other threads on the subject of MTBF numbers with regard to VFDs ... and their lack of veracity and meaningfulness.
Time will tell whether the ACS 800 enjoys the same reliability that the ACS 600 did.
I guess one would have to be extremely naive to believe that cost reductions don't affect quality and reliability.
One of the ways they've reduced the physical size, was to reduce the area of the heatsink which now requires that a lot more air be moved thru the unit to achieve requisite cooling.
What do you think the life of the fans are....?
Larger size drives, with more heatsink area, can afford to operate with the fans off until heatsink temperature requires additional cooling.... Saves life of fans.
ACS 800 fans run all the time.... ergo ... shorter life.
Time... will tell.
Oh, and most drive mfgrs, will offer custom software for their systems drives for the right price... The ACS 600 is a systems drive. The ACS 400 was their off-the-shelf drive (recently replaced by the ACS 550).
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
I would agree with comments made by JOmega relating to MTBF values. As this has been well addressed in other threads, I don't see a need to continue those discussions here.
On the subject of fan life however, I would suggest fans (together with many other pieces of electrical equipment) have a much longer service life if they are left powered/running, not switched. In simplistic terms, the bearings and windings of a fan left running are exposed to less 'stress' than of one which is switched. Confirmation of this can be obtained from any fan manufacturer.
As this is a technical forum, I will refrain from pushing any products or brands.
Regards,
GGOSS
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
General Electric AF300-P11 - Have four units up for about 3 years, no problems at all, not one. One unit was installed on an admittedly bad electrical supply where another brand failed horribly. Unit has worked flawlessly.
Goulds makes a variable speed drive for their pumps called Aquavar. Terrible, awful, stay away, cannot emphasize enough how bad they are. Out of four units installed, only one still working in 3 years. Some units replaced multiple times. Some units bad within one week. As stated above, replaced one Goulds unit with GE unit, never any more problems.
PUMPDESIGNER
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
My limited drive experience is with Toshiba for small drives to about 100 hp. All experience is good. We have purchased Ross Hill for large drives over 11000 hp. I did not go to the job site and have no idea how well they work but they are big.
John
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
The ABB ACS600 are now install as the drive of choise in are plant and I have no complants thus far. Technical service from our supplier is also good. This is a major concideration when deciding on a brand name or supplier.
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
The old ones (15 yrs. & older) were all Robocon's. I don't think they're even around anymore. They built HUGE refrigerator-sized VFD's that cost a fortune.
Everthing since then has been ABB.
Both choices were based purely on reliability.
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
In response to this pressure the major producers (guys like ABB, Toshiba, AB, Siemens) have had to struggle to keep their product from being "just another drive" . The way most have chosen to go is by being "better" both in terms of reliablity and features.
I'm not saying that a VFD from a developing nation is not reliable. I am saying that the more major players are very protective of their reputations. To protect that reputation they spend that little extra for better diodes caps resistors... ect and usually charge a bit more for the product, its up to the consumer to decide if that extra cost is worth it or not.
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
I suspect you might be referring to 'Robicon' (note the spelling). If so they are certainly still around.
Go to www.robicon.com
Regards,
GGOSS
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
Afterhrs
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
RE: Best Motors and VSD's
I have to admit that there are many drives out there that run without a problem for many years, but what makes a dive good or bad is how easy the drive is to fix when it does go down. Many drives give you a fault code that either has to be rembered or looked up, all of which takes time. If the drive can tell you what the problem in the language that a person speaks all the better.
RE: Best Motors and VSD's