Industrial Automation, System Integrator, Dubuque, Iowa, EvoLogic

The Dubuque area's premier control systems integrator

Motor Manufacture: Run-In-Rack

EvoLogic, Inc - Industrial Automation - 2011

Description:  This system consists of four motor racks; each of which can accommodate up to 40 motors.   After a new batch of DC motors are built and tested, they are connected to one of these four racks to be "run-in".  The run-in process identifies pre-mature component failures and ensures that all motor parts are shipped with the correct wear patterns.

System Specifications:

Before each run, the operator specifies the run parameters for the selected motor rack including voltage, amperage, run-time, and direction.  The PLC uses this data to configure the drive settings and motor alarms for the rack.

PLC logic is used to test each motor at start up for high and low amperage draw while taking into account inrush current.  At the end of each run, a report is generated showing the total number of motors tested, the number of motors that passed, and the number of motors that failed.

* 4 Allen-Bradley, 1397, DC drives provide adjustable voltage sources to match the motor nameplate voltage.

* 160 motors is the maximum capacity of the system.

* 3 to 12 hours is the standard run-in period depending upon the model of the motor.

A single operator interface provides centralized control over the entire run-in process.

Each motor rack can be configured to change rotational direction one or more times during the run.  This ensures proper brush wear-in.

Allen-Bradley, 1397 drives provide a stable DC voltage source regardless of the number of motors running.  These drives communicate with the PLC and HMI over an Ethernet network.

This system utilizes an Allen-Bradley Compact Logix PLC and an Allen-Bradley PanelView Plus operator interface.