New features for compact inverter drive

Yaskawa’s GA500 inverter drive is a compact device, which comes in three sizes and covers power ranges up to 30 kW; it is suitable for asynchronous, permanent magnet or synchronous reluctance motors and can be up and running in just a few minutes. Now high-speed applications can also benefit from these attributes.

The new variant of the GA500 from Yaskawa has no heat sink or fan and is suitable for mounting on special heat sinks, water cooling units or any other cooling elements. Depending on the size of the inverter, these can be mechanical parts of the machine or heat sinks for special applications, such as in textile machines where lint and dust can impair the cooling of standard inverters. Combining a GA500 Finless drive with the right heat sink solves this problem and prevents machine downtime and loss of production. In the case of inverters with a heat sink, mounting can take place outside the control cabinet if necessary. As a result, 80% of the power loss is eliminated from the control cabinet. It is possible to use smaller control cabinets, reduce control cabinet cooling or fit more devices in the same cabinet. Less air flow in the control cabinet also reduces dust pollution and increases maintenance intervals.

Robust and easy to use

The robust inverter design with coated circuit boards enables continuous operation at an ambient temperature of up to 50°C with no reduction in performance. At the same time, integrated functions for monitoring the machine status and for intelligent prediction of service life prevent unexpected production downtimes. The integrated STO function complies with the safety requirements of SIL3 or PLe. A 24 V interface can be used to add additional sensors, such as pressure sensors or temperature sensors.

Up to five GA500 inverter drives can be networked

The inverters can be controlled by all commonly used fieldbus systems. With a fieldbus interface card in just one inverter, up to five GA500 inverter drives can be networked. This significantly lowers costs and minimizes the wiring work required. An intuitive keypad, simple navigation and an interactive assistant reduce the set-up time to just a few minutes. DriveWorksEZ for PC and DriveWizard Mobile for smartphones also provides a powerful programming tool with an icon-based graphical user interface, predefined function modules and numerous logic functions. The electrical connection is also extremely practical. Mains and motor cables can be connected without removing covers. Spring-loaded control terminals create simple, long-lasting connections with no need for retightening screws. An EMC filter is integrated, which guarantees compliance with global standards and also reduces the number of components in the control cabinet. l