Motor control gear aids plant commisioning

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 12, 2007

xStart motor starters offer tool-less plug connection, the components making up the starters are interconnected with plug-in links, greatly reducing the need for time-consuming wiring.

Presented with tight deadlines for manufacturing and commissioning a control panel for a cooling water process plant, electrical engineering and contracting specialist, L.Con, chose the xStart motor control gear from Moeller Electric to help them complete the project on time.

A crucial benefit of xStart motor starters is tool-less plug connection, the components making up the starters are interconnected with plug-in links, greatly reducing the need for time-consuming wiring.

Crucially, the plug-in arrangement applies not only to ordinary DOL starters, but also to reversing starters, and to the star-delta starters which this project needed for the control of the pump motors.

"The plug-in arrangement used in xStart starters greatly reduced the amount of time we took to wire the panel, which is not surprising when you consider that with a star-delta starter, four plug-in links replace 21 wired connections" said L.Con Managing Director, Les Carrington.

"That wasn't the only benefit, however, the starters are fast and easy to mount, as they just clip onto a DIN rail, and they're compact, which allowed us to keep the size and cost of the enclosure to a minimum".

"The star-delta starters also have an internal mechanical interlock which takes up no extra space and, of course, the plug-in links eliminate wiring errors, which makes for fast, easy testing".

For L.Con's engineers, the benefits of xStart's plug-in system were also apparent on site, during the commissioning phase of the project.

By unplugging the links between the contactors and the motor protection circuit breakers in the starters, it was possible to check the control sequence by observing the operation of the contactors, without applying power to the motors.

Removal of the links also provided a quick, easy and safe method of isolating individual motors during commissioning, irrespective of whether the motor was fitted with a local isolator.

In this application, the xStart motor starters were complemented by other products from Moeller Electric's extensive automation range.

These included an easy intelligent control relay, which L.Con chose for its versatility and ease of use, and an MFD-Titan HMI unit which is capable of displaying text messages and graphics, and which interfaces directly with the easy relay.

For the panel's main isolating switch, L.Con selected a Moeller Electric NZM circuit breaker, not only for its excellent electrical characteristics, but also because it is available with a door interlock which is easy to install, yet sturdy and dependable.

In addition, the door-mounted operating handle is IP65-rated, which was an essential requirement in this application.

"Using equipment from Moeller Electric, and particularly the xStart starters, played a big part in making it possible for us to build and commission this control panel on time", said Les Carrington.

"The end customer is absolutely delighted, and has even complimented us on the very neat appearance of the interior of the panel, something else which xStart made it easy for us to achieve".

"L.Con is a long time user of Moeller Electric equipment and is particularly impressed by the way the company tailors its developments the meet the genuine needs of users, as well as by the reliability of the products, their competitive pricing, and the ready availability of technical support".

"We already use Moeller Electric equipment wherever we can and, after our very positive experience with xStart starters, they'll certainly be our preferred starters for all future projects" said Les Carrington.