Ac Motor Drives

AC motor drives are frequency inverters or amplifiers that interface between a controller and an AC motor by converting step and direction input from the controller to currents and voltages compatible with the motor. As a drive controller, the AC drives tend to adjust input frequency. These drives are appropriate machines that regulated high speed operation. More people prefer AC drives for industrial or commercial use because they are smaller, lighter, and more commonly available than DC motors.

The term AC drive is also used for an AC inverter that uses the DC voltage from a previous circuit stage to produce an AC current or voltage with the desired frequency. AC drives have been much in application because of the energy saving that can be obtained through the AC technology. Technology advancement has made the size, cost, reliability and performance of AC drives very appealing in industrial sector.

Types of AC Motor Drives:

AC motor drives are classified on the basis of the type of AC motor. Following are the most common types of AC motor drives:

Induction motors derive: In this motor drive, current is induced into the rotor windings without any physical connection with the stator windings and are able to provide ample power and speed.

Synchronous motor drive: This drive ends to operate at constant speed up to full load. A synchronous motor drive is often used where there is a need for maintaining the exact motor speed.

Sensorless vector drive: This drive uses independent control of both the voltage and frequency supplied to the motor for good speed control.

Servo drive: This drive carries the ability to take a low power command signal from a motion controller and turn it into high power current/voltage.

Specifications of AC Motor Drives:

When looking for AC motor drives, there are a wide range of design specifications available to consider including:

• Continuous current: This is the option that needs the current to be applied to the motor during continuous operation.
• Supply voltage: This ensures the voltage supplied to the drive.
• Output voltage: This is the range of output voltages of the drive.
• Input frequency: This is accepted by the device.
• Power: This output drives the motor system.
• Operating temperature: This ensures the temperature of the power supply. 

Advantages of AC Drive: