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Omron expands its inverter and servo drive ranges

26 April, 2010

Omron has announced three ranges of drives to supplement the Yaskawa-produced products that it sold under their European joint venture, which ended last year. There are two new ranges of inverters sourced from Hitachi, and a servo range from Panasonic, all of which will sold under the Omron brand. Omron will continue to sell Yaskawa-sourced products, but no longer on an exclusive basis.

The first new range is a family of machine control inverters that offer features such as: 200% starting torque at 0.5Hz; open-loop torque control; control of induction and permanent magnet motors; one-parameter auto-tuning; drive sequence programming; and position control.



The MX2 inverter drives (shown above) are based on Hitachi’s WJ200 series. They are available in 200V single-phase versions from 0.2–2.2kW, 200V three-phase versions from 0.2–15kW, and in 400V three-phase versions from 0.4–15kW. In some applications, the current vector drives can be used as a cost-saving alternative to a flux vector or servo drives, according to Omron.

The drives support logic programming using a flowchart tool which can be used to create programs of up to 1,000 lines of code, with five tasks running in parallel. They can be configured to follow a master speed signal, without extra hardware. They can also be used for simple positioning tasks without needing an external position controller. Up to eight positions, plus home, can be programmed, and the drives can be switched between speed and position control.

There are two built-in safety inputs and an external device monitoring output. This eliminates the need to use dual contactors on the drive output to perform safety functions.

Modbus RS-485 support is built in, and option cards are planned for fieldbus networks including DeviceNet, Profibus and EtherCat. A 24V DC input is standard, and can be used to keep the drive running in the event of a mains input failure.

The second new range is a family of simpler drives for applications such as conveyor, fan and pump control. The compact JX drives (shown above), based on Hitachi’s X200 series, are available in single-phase versions with ratings up to 2.2kW and three-phase versions up to 7.5kW. They have integral EMC filters as standard, and provide RS-485 Modbus connections without needing extra hardware.

An advanced PWM technology suppresses the micro-surge voltages that can cause malfunctions in 400V motors with some drives. An integral PID function makes the drives ideal for use with pumps and fans, while an automatic energy-saving feature cuts running costs in these applications.

The front-mounted RS-485 Modbus communication ports make it easy to connect the drives to existing networks, especially when used with Omron’s PLCs which incorporate Modbus-RTU Easy Master functions.

The JX drives can store parameter settings for two different motors, allowing them to be switched between the motors as required.

The third new arrival is a range of pulse control servo drives that occupy half the space of their predecessors. The SmartStep 2 drives (above), based on Panasonic’s Minas E family, are available in power ratings from 100–750W and are suitable for point-to-point motion applications where simplicity and economy need to be combined with high performance.

The servo drives are designed for easy integration with other automation components, such as Omron’s CP1L PLCs and NQ operator terminals.

Matching 10,000 step/revolution motors are available in cylinder or flat formats. Their rated speed is 3,000 rpm, with a maximum of 5,000 rpm.

The servo drives provide a feedback pulse output for use in closed-loop positioning applications and for synchronising axes. A real-time auto-tuning function compensates automatically for load variations, offering adjustment-free operation. Adaptive resonance suppression tracks resonant frequency changes during operation, while a separate vibration filter increases positioning accuracy when stopping.

The SmartStep 2 drives support position control via pulse inputs at up to 500 kpps. Four internal speed settings are also available, and can be selected by external signals for easy speed setting.

Omron’s inverters and servo drives can be programmed using its CX-Drive software which offers parameter editing and monitoring, I/O status and alarm reporting, and real-time data tracing, plus an easy-to-use auto-tuning procedure.




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