Inverter brings intelligence and cost saving to compressor operations

25 February, 2016

The FR-F800’s on-board intelligence virtually eliminates nuisance trips, makes set-up easy and can achieve energy efficiency of 98 per cent. It includes many advanced features for specific industries and applications such as compressors, wastewater processing and HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning).

Fewer alarms

The FR-F800 is designed to provide higher reliability and fewer alarms in tough pumping applications than was previously possible. Unlike most drives, instead of relying on single set-points for trip activation, auto-tuning in the FR-F800 can effectively detect the torque curve of the attached fan or pump and react appropriately when operational limits are approached.

This means an end to nuisance trips caused by unusual, but not critical load variations. Far fewer false alarms means more uptime, fewer maintenance call outs and faster responses to genuine issues such as jammed pumps, broken impellers, snapped belts, etc.

Standalone capabilities

At the heart of the all new FR-F800 is a bespoke PID (proportional, integral, differential) controller and on-board PLC which provides the drive with standalone capabilities, including: a pump-stir function, upper and lower limit pre-warnings, pipe burst detection and dry run protection, water hammer prevention and automatic tuning to reduce vibration from a system. To enhance its capabilities, the F800 is also fitted with a second PID controller so that it can control multiple compressors, fans and pumps directly, without requiring an additional controller.

The F800 can even run pump cleaning cycles automatically, to a schedule or on demand. This capability should be of great interest at wastewater sites, where historically it has been difficult to achieve. In the event of an emergency, the F800’s fire override mode will also keep extraction fans and water pumps running to destruction when needed.

A six line LCD display includes an easy start-up and auto-tune wizard function and can show customised text messages. An auto-detect capability means connection to an HMI is straightforward.

Maximum backwards compatibility

As with all new products launched by Mitsubishi Electric, the F800 has been designed for maximum backwards compatibility with earlier generation drives. Existing installations can be upgraded to a new F800 in a simple swap-out.

With network connectivity now of major importance, the F800 has the capability to communicate via CC-Link, CC-Link IE, Profibus DP/V1, Profinet, DeviceNet, EtherNet IP, EtherCat, CanOpen, LonWorks, RS485, Modbus, BacNet etc. as standard. A wide range of I/O connections is complemented by options for input and output reactors, DC link chokes, harmonic filters, regeneration units and braking modules.

In order to meet customer demand there are 17 models covering the 200V-240V range from 0.75kW-110kW and 29 models in the 380V-500V range from 0.75kW-630kW. All have a three-year warranty.

The F800 is in full compliance with European EMC Directive standards. It meets safety directives, has marine approvals, TÜV, UL, cUL and CE certification.

eu3a.mitsubishielectric.com/fa