Drives & Controls Magazine November/December 2022

n TECHNOLOGY UK-developed soft-starters can be set up in less than 60 seconds AT THE SPS SHOW in Germany, the Devon-based soft-starter developer Motortronics UK unveiled a low- voltage digital soft-starter with a duty range of up to 600V, 1,250A. The VMX- Synergy Plus starter includes 45 preconfigured parameters settings to suit a variety of applications, and can be set up and commissioned in less than 60 seconds. The device “tunes itself” to the load. Users can program the starter for any common application in just four steps via a colour touchscreen. The removable 3.5” touchscreens are rated at IP66/Nema4X, with 7-inch versions available as an option. A jogging function allows a motor to be rotated slowly into position for maintenance and process control, while a fire mode allows an external input signal to override normal controls so that motors continue to run in emergencies. The soft-starters support Modbus-RTU, Anybus, USB and Ethernet communications. Real-time information about drive events can be transmitted digitally from the device and used for predictive maintenance, energy management and resource optimisation. Event logging can identify energy savings, trends and fault conditions. The soft-starter is claimed to cut energy use by up to 32% without needing a variable-speed drive. A built-in calculator shows how much energy is being saved. Trips can be reset automatically in predefined situations, reducing the need to send technicians to reset nuisance trips. The soft-starters have CE, IEC, Nema and Ansi approval and can be used worldwide. Motortronics UK has grown out of Fairford Electronics which was one of the pioneers of soft-starter technology and introduced some of the first digital electronic controls for electric motors in 1979. Fairford was acquired by the US-based Motortronics group in 2018. Motortronics UK recently announced plans to build a new manufacturing and r&d facility at its site near Plymouth. The investment will boost its production capacity to meet growing demand for its products. www.motortronics-uk.co.uk Motortronics’new digital soft-starter can be set up in less than a minute