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Liquid-cooled drives need 60% less space

01 February, 2007

Liquid-cooled drives need 60% less space

One of the many new arrivals on the Siemens stand at the recent SPS/IPC/Drives Show was liquid-cooled version of its Sinamics S120 inverter, which requires up to 60% less space than similarly-rated air-cooled versions. The company was also showing a version of the S120 with an integral positioning function which avoids the need for higher-level positioning controls.

The liquid-cooled S120 will be available in power outputs up to 1.2MW — or almost 4.5MW in parallel configurations. It is aimed at applications, such as ships, mines or paper mills, where space is limited or where there may be high temperatures or dusty or aggressive environments.

The liquid cooling allows the cabinets to be sealed to high IP ratings without having to worry about ambient temperatures. It avoids the need to install, run and maintain drive-cooling air-conditioning systems and, because cooling fans are unnecessary, the drives are quiet and do not usually need any noise insulation.

The version of the S120 with the built-in positioning functions can be used for dynamic servo applications or for simpler, vector-controlled asynchronous motor installations. The drive can store up to 64 target positions or traverse paths and other motion parameters. These parameters can also be sent to the drive by a PLC, and can be modified during a positioning manoeuvre.