Danfoss introduced the first production volume VLT frequency converter
back in 1968. Now, some thirty five years on, the company presents its
latest innovation - a universal drive platform for the 21st century that
encompasses the wish lists of a very broad user group
Danfoss' drives business delivers nearly a quarter of group turnover. In
volume terms, the company claims to be the number one supplier of drives
in Europe, boasting that all the inverters leaving its Graasten factory
in Denmark each year could save enough energy to make one medium sized
power station redundant. But drives could play an even more important
role in the fortunes of this privately owned Danish group with the launch
of a strategically important new family of products to complement its
established and well-respected VLT range.
The VLT AutomationDrive FC300 is the first in a series of highly modular
drives, sharing a common hardware/software platform, which Danfoss
describes as encompassing the 'wish lists' of a broad range of user
groups. Key areas addressed by this focus group approach included the
physical layout of the detachable control panel - which takes its cues
from the ubiquitous mobile 'phone - and a much clearer, less cluttered
display that uses graphic devices for a more intuitive interface.
The VLT menu structure has been retained, but with the FC300 there are
now three levels of access to the parameter set, according to the user's
experience. At the basic level, the information that is displayed is as
specified by the customer (speed, frequency, etc) and is factory pre-set.
At the next level up, applications-specific menus, or 'Quick' menus
(which may be factory or user-defined) allow the individual settings to
be adjusted. These menus also feature an 'automatic motor adaptation'
algorithm, enabling the drive to be optimised for any motor without
having to turn the shaft. For the most experienced user, 'Extended' menus
present all available parameters for adjustment, in an easy-to-use
format. And, realising that even the most experienced user makes
mistakes, Danfoss has provided a useful 'undo' button.
The AutomationDrive platform can be adapted to virtually any drives
application using its three-level user interface and selecting from a
number of hardware and firmware options modules. These can turn the drive
from a standard application to one where precise positioning or
synchronised motion control may be required; add PLC functionality (IEC
61131-3 programming compliant) or provide fieldbus networking in a
multi-drive installation. The option modules plug neatly into the front
of the drive, just behind the control panel and lower front cover.
Modularity allows customers to develop systems at their own pace, taking
advantage of future hardware/firmware offerings as they appear and
purchasing more sophisticated functionality only when it is needed.
The FC300 features a six-step 'logic condition controller' as standard,
and this handles a range of tasks that would otherwise require the
services of an external logic controller. However, a very useful device
in the FC300 option module portfolio is the IEC 61131-3 compliant VLT
programmable logic controller, MCO300, which is powerful enough to render
an external PLC redundant in all applications requiring basic PLC
functions, saving on cabling and additional hardware and panel space.
User-centred design
Danfoss adopted the US method of 'user-centred design' (getting the user
involved at each and every stage of the design process) some eight years
ago. The concept aims to get users testing and shaping the product from
the very beginning, a process that took between four and five years for
the VLT AutomationDrive, and the involvement of a host of users drawn
from a variety of professions and cultures.
According to Danfoss' Nina Wetcke, the key achievement was to kee