Tiny OEM drive completes the family

The fourth, final and smallest member of Siemens` new generation of variable speed drives made its debut at the recent SPS/IPC/Drives show in Nuremberg, Germany. The tiny "fit and forget" Micromaster 410 is aimed, in particular, at simple OEM applications in the 0.12-0.75kW range, in industries such as textiles and packaging.

Despite its low-end status, the 69mm-wide inverter offers a wide range of functions including flying restarts after power supply interruptions, a ten-bit analogue input, three digital inputs, RS485 communications, an adjustable ramp function generator, thermal motor protection, and the ability to withstand peak loads up to 150% of the rated output current. The drive does not need a fan, resulting in low-noise operation.

A built-in LED displays its status. Alternatively an operator panel can be plugged in to program the drive and to display its operating parameters. Settings can be programmed on a PC and then transferred to the drive.

Siemens also used the Nuremberg show to launch a series of drives systems with ratings from 0.5-18.5kW using the same 300mm format as its motion control modules. The Masterdrive Vector Control Compact Plus cabinets provide sufficient room for converters, inverters and rectifiers with a DC link bus module allowing rapid installation. Two inverters can be connected to a single converter without needing an extra rectifier.

A safety switch that prevents the drive from starting unexpectedly is available for all inverters and for converters rated above 5.5kW.