Product category:
Industrial Drives/Controls
News Release from: ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors) | Subject: ACS 600 drive
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 08 February 2000
ABB drive saves two days of set up time
A 37 kW variable speed drive with Direct Torque Control (DTC) from ABB Automation is being used to control the speed of a motor in a friction-welding machine that manufactures valves for car engines.
A 37 kW variable speed drive with Direct Torque Control (DTC) from ABB Automation is being used to control the speed of a motor in a friction-welding machine that manufactures valves for car engines The ACS 600 has been installed in a machine that has been manufactured by Gatwick Fusion Ltd, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that builds special-purpose friction welding and resistance-welding machinery for the automotive sector
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 10 Apr 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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To save time when installing and commissioning the drive, the ACS 600 can be programmed with up to seven pre-set operational settings.
Gatwick Fusion has used all the settings to provide the right parameters for seven different joining tasks at the touch of a button.
"During the set up of each new machine we have to go through a whole set of trial runs to get the settings right for various different welding duties," says Alan Hall, Technical Manager at Gatwick Fusion, adding: "With the ACS 600 we can take the parameters from a configured machine and install them directly into a new one with the removable control panel, this saves us about two days of configuration time per machine." The ACS 600 was supplied by specialist ABB Automation distributor, Thames Electrical Controls Ltd, from their head office in Slough, Berkshire.
Further reading
Power supply extension increases drive capability
ABB has extended the range of one of the key elements in its ACS 600 drives range, by introducing new IGBT Supply Unit frame sizes which now cover 70 to 5000KVA, from 380 to 690V
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During the welding process, the valve head is clamped in place and the valve stem is offered up.
The two items are then pressed together by a hydraulic pressure of up to 7 tonnes, depending on the materials being joined.
The valve stem is then spun at between 700 and 4,000 rpm, again, depending on the metals' mechanical properties.
The friction between the two pieces generates localised temperatures just below melting point and the join becomes red hot.
As the join begins to fuse the spindle stops rotating rapidly, the ram sharply increases the force applied and the components are forged together.
The entire process takes around 8 seconds.
"Getting the spindle up to speed is an important phase in the production cycle," says Alan Hall,.
"If it is not done quickly, say three seconds instead of one, then you are looking at the speeding-up phase taking 35% of the time needed for the whole process, and that's just not good enough." An 18.5kW AC motor spins the valve stem via a clutch and pulley arrangement.
"During normal operation the motor's armature current is 34 A," explains Hall, "For about two seconds during the welding process this current has to rise to about 75 A in order to overcome the inertia of the spindle and accelerate up to speed." The ACS 600 drive's advanced Motor Model technology allows it to read the motor's parameters 40,000 times each second, giving it a very accurate picture of what the motor is doing and allowing it to respond to changes in demand very quickly.
This ensures that speed and therefore temperature are maintained, guaranteeing optimum welding conditions and enhancing product quality.
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