- November 10, 2006
- ABB
(New converter series DCS800 from ABB with numerous user-friendly innovations, in a 20 – 20,000 Amps DC range, introduced to U.S. market; ideal for retrofit of installed base of DC motors) ABB has premiered a new, high-performance series of power converters called DCS800, featuring numerous striking innovations. These include operator control of unprecedented simplicity for power converters, uncomplicated scalability, plus IEC 61131 programmability integrated as standard (IEC 61131 PLC).NEW BERLIN, WI, November 10, 2006. . . The new DCS800 drives family from ABB easily outflanks all its DC predecessors via the unique simplicity of its operator control and commissioning functions: all controllers set themselves automatically; and numerous intuitive assistants mean there’s no need to look up every parameter and control setting in the manual. “The DCS800 features a user-friendly control panel as standard, with a high-resolution display and context-sensitive assignments for individual keys, rather like a mobile phone,” said Thomas Junger, product manager for the new series at ABB, Low Voltage Drives. Eight different languages can be set here, including Russian and Chinese.Three Cables In, Four Out: InstalledInstalling the DCS800 is unique in how simple it is, too: thanks to a completely integrated field supply, the entire power connection procedure comprises “three cables in, four cables out,” Junger noted. Automatic detection of the phase sequence means the user need not worry about in-phase connection. Thanks to supply voltages of 230 - 1200 VAC, 50/60Hz, plus CE, cULus and C-Tick approvals as standard, the drive can be used all over the world. DCS800 drives range from 20 to 20,000 Amps DC. The new DCS800 converters score in terms of almost unlimited scalability. Expansion modules for all commonly used field buses, and for additional analog and digital inputs/outputs, can be plugged in quite simply, with no need for tools. Use of the same expansion modules and PC tools as ABB’s AC drives ensures harmonized operator control throughout.Drive-to-Drive Communication via DCS-LinkThanks to DCS-Link, the fast, high-performance peer-to-peer communication feature, data can be simply exchanged directly from drive to drive. If, at commissioning, modifications unexpectedly do have to be made, the user can perform them at the control panel using adaptive programming, without needing any additional hardware or software. In addition, the DCS800 features yet another innovation: for each converter, a powerful PLC is available – and this without any additional computer modules. This enables the user to handle local control tasks affordably and efficiently directly in the drive. For programming purposes, the widely disseminated CoDeSys standard tool is used, which supports all IEC-61131 languages. Besides a comprehensive library of standard building blocks, users are provided with convenient drive-specific functions, like PID controllers, winders or tensile-force computations. The source files here can be filed together with the application in the drive on a memory card to keep them safe – with password protection if so desired.Deep, Full Feature Set All Built InBuilt into the new DCS800 converter range is a deep, full set of additional features. These include: