New drives from Ana-Digi

November 2009 Motion Control & Drives

Ana-Digi Systems recently released two new variable speed drives to the South African market. The drives offer the benefits of reduced energy consumption during start-up, with the associated reduction in cable size and maximum demand, as well as a smooth run-up to speed, which reduces wear on belts and other mechanical components. Start-up currents do not exceed normal full load ratings of motors. As a result, there is no restriction to the number of motor starts per hour.

The products are respectively from LS (formerly LG) Industrial Systems and Power Electronics for higher power equipment. The two makes share common HVAC operating systems, which offer some unique advantages over many opposition products.

Pressure, level or flow set-points can be adjusted, and controlled directly by the drives on a PID basis, without requiring expensive external controllers. When the multimotor control (MMC) algorithm is utilised, the VFD can be used to control up to eight pumps or fans, depending on process demand. This algorithm allows the VFD to control an entire pump station without the need for an expensive BMS or PLC.

Where required, the drives can interface to all of the normal BMS protocols (BACnet, LONworks, and Metasys). Additionally, when used in auto mode, the drives can control up to eight other motors, including their total running hours, depending on the process demand requirements.

Other parameters, such as ‘pipe fill’, which prevents the drive from running up to speed until a pressure is detected within a given time frame, are also standard features on these products. This dramatically reduces cavitation damage.

Programmable ‘sleep’ and ‘wake-up’ values are also available as standard. These are used during low demand periods. The products are able to catch reverse rotating fans before starting them. This phenomenon often occurs on pure ventilation fans, where wind pressure can cause counter rotation of the fan blades during static conditions.

On the Power Electronics version, information such as running hours, motor current and fault conditions can be extracted via SMS. The power range spans 0,75 kW to 1,8 MW.

For more information contact Keith Gross, Ana-Digi Systems, +27 (0)82 557 2654, [email protected], www.anadigi.co.za

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