Omron Drives: A Brief Introduction
The area of machine automation is better known as “Industrial Automation”. Industrial Automation includes; systems, products and application expertise. Products within the field of industrial automation include; Industrial PCs and Networks, Vision Systems, Temperature Controllers, Monitoring Systems, Relays, HMIs, PLCs, Safety, Counters, Timers, Servo Drives, Sensors, Motion Control, Frequency Inverters and various other industrial components. In the article below I will be looking at inverters, or more precisely Omron’s latest range of inverters.
Inverters are used to control an electrical motor’s speed of rotation. The motor’s speed is controlled by modifying the frequency of the power supply to it. There are diverse range variety of inverter drives are available designed to be suitable for a huge range of applications. Frequency inverter applications include; conveyors, ventilation fans, pumps, elevators and machine tool drives (these commonly use what are known as variable frequency drives or VFDs.
When buying motion control products it is usual to make sure that you’re buying the best product at the cheapest possible price. Performance, longevity and reliability are also important considerations and also worth keeping in mind are the drive’s overall suitability for you particular application. Other considerations of importance are future expandability and adaptability for changing situations. Obviously your first decision will be in regards to which manufacturer/supplier is best to deal with and few motion control companies are renowned, in all of these aspects, as Omron.
Omron is a well established industry leader in the spheres of industrial automation and electronic components, employing more than thirty three thousand employees across 36 different countries. Omron feature strongly in Europe with European research and production facilities of their own, and the company also provide full support in every country in Europe, few companies are so well set up to provide drives, servos and other such industrial automation products.
Frequency inverters are most often placed into groups which match the type of applications for which they are best suited, such as; pumps and fans, lifts and cranes plus general purpose inverters. Omron sell various ranges of inverters, suitable for all types of applications, to the UK market, their most recent inverter drives, the MX2, RX and JX, examined below.
The Omron MX2 frequency inverter is an incredibly advanced machine and motor control unit using immensely fast CPU’s to process complicated algorithms to provide extremely precise control right down to zero speed. The Omron MX2 inverter drive is available up to 15kW and it has 200% starting torque. Other impressive features include; PM & IM Motor control, logic programming and integrated Omron Machine Automation. Available for 400v three phase, 200v three phase and 200v single phase.
Omron’s RX inverter is known for its superb quality and reliability. This general purpose inverter drive has impressive features with built in application functionality making it suitable for a wide range of applications. Omron’s RX inverter drive has; built-in EMC Filter, Micro-surge voltage suppression, automatic energy saving, logic programmability and Modbus RS485 and various other options for other networks. Available for 400v three phase and 200v three phase.
The Omron JX inverter is an incredibly popular choice. The JX inverter drive features RFI filter built in plus integrated communications making the drive perfect for a wide range of basic applications. The JX has many features including;
- a second motor setting
- Omron machine automation
- automatic energy saving
- PTC thermistor input
- micro-surge voltage suppression
- RS485 Modbus
. Available up to 7.5 Kw for 400v three phase, 200v three phase and 200v single phase.
The 3 above Omron frequency inverters are just a handful of the models available and all available in a wide range of configurations. Whatever the type of application Omron frequency inverters are more than capable of meeting the requirements and will perform better than you will be expecting. Well regarded for their longevity and excellence these inverters are frequently among the first choice within the industry. Frequently, further information is needed in making a final decision when purchasing a drive and I strongly advise that you talk about your specific requirements with an Omron frequency inverter specialist, such as Goodwin Electronics in in Great Britain.
